Dino Attack: At War's End

[Jacks]

OOC:

Did anyone else feel the Meaning of Life and the Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy during that afterlife sequence?

Well, it was actually a throwback to one of Atton's old brickfilms, "2001: A Space Oddity." As I recall, the hotel was sort of a combination of the hotel room from the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Magrathea from Hitchhiker's Guide, so it certainly makes sense that you'd be getting that vibe.IC: Kat cautiously made her way to the other mouth of the alley, cautiously peering around the corner. This street was clearer than the one on the other side of the block, but there were still too many dinosaurs roaming about for comfort. She slipped back down the alleyway, stopping at the first door she found. It was locked, but slightly ajar, so she was able to simply push it open."So," she muttered, "maybe I can slip through from one building to the next without being spotted, until I find some help..."Most likely not, Katerina interjected. The chance of success is quite miserably low."Well then, you got any better ideas?" Kat snapped. "You're the one who got us into this mess to begin with."

[Atton Rand]

OOC:

Did anyone else feel the Meaning of Life and the Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy during that afterlife sequence?

Well, it was actually a throwback to one of Atton's old brickfilms, "2001: A Space Oddity." As I recall, the hotel was sort of a combination of the hotel room from the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Magrathea from Hitchhiker's Guide, so it certainly makes sense that you'd be getting that vibe.

OOC: Well, it's nice to see somebody got the reference.IC: Dr. Shaw watched with remorse and sympathy as Carver took Hertz's PDA and started typing something into it. Slowly she walked up to the two of them."Look," she said, nervously. "Ears aren't my specialty, but if there's anything I can do to help, you just name it."

[PeabodySam]

OOC: Heh, we go from a day of lots of posting... to a day of barely any posting.

"Seven minutes. That's all I give for HQ's staff being able to survive that attack."

"Nein!" declared Dietrich Luzwheit as he slammed his fist down upon the computer desk. "Zirty zecondz!"Barely louder than a whisper, Ivan Tzenovich murmured: "Twelve seconds."Bob Rutherford stared at Ivan and clapped his hands together. "Yeah, they're screwed." With that, Ikaag, Lahka, Gromtin, Dr. Miner, Skorpeo, and countless others also gathered around the computer in City 25896 nodded in agreement.

What’s this? A reference to LOST? Do you mean to say that all the reference’s I’m made have not fallen of deaf ears! Oh joy!

Err... sorry to burst your bubble, but despite making this reference to LOST's ending, I'm actually not familiar with the source material. It's just that LOST's Gainax Ending is so infamous that it reached the ears of even non-LOST fans such as myself.

OOC: PeaSam, I knew well enough not to really expect anything; what I said was intended as a comment upon the fact that you deviated from the rough plan we had worked out, even though it wasn't a surprise as such. Of course, I never bothered to mention that I planned for Katerina to disown Ronald, so I suppose you had that up your sleeve the whole time, and we just out-bluffed each other simultaneously

Well, our "rough plan" was that my post would have Dr. Rex feeling ashamed and fighting back at the Darkitect. And, in a way, this did happen (as noted in my previous OOC, the Maelstrom tendrils basically were Typhonus's response to Dr. Rex's fighting back). This might have worked (as I was writing by the seat of my pants, no guarantees, and we'll never know otherwise), but seeing as Katerina made sure that she threw in that "I renounce you as my brother" bit, there was no way I was going to let the Darkitect not use that little detail to utterly break Dr. Rex's will. So, in the end, nice job breaking it, Katerina.Also, the comment about "out-bluffing each other simultaneously" brought these two Brawl in the Family strips to mind. Heh.IC: Despite Bill Ding's valiant efforts to build a blockade out of the wrecked Fire Hammer, it was only a matter of minutes before Frozeen, Greybeard, and Sam Race encountered Mutant Lizards running through the halls. Frozeen fired his weapon and Greybeard slashed with his cutlass to fell the beasts, while Sam the ever-quick just kept running. He would dart into one room, quick check to see if anyone was there, and immediately rejoin his partners to report his findings. Once or twice, they found Dino Attack personnel in trouble and saved them from the dinos."Thar!" Greybeard pointed with his hook at the door to the conference room. "That be th' room I told Mary Rose t' take cover in!"A few hungry Mutant Lizards smelling fresh meat were swarming into the room once used for mission briefings. Bellowing, Greybeard charged forward and slashed madly with his cutlass, bringing down most of them. The Mutant Lizard in the lead was just out of his cutlass's reach, so Greybeard pulled out his flintlock pistol and fired, and his aim was true.As Frozeen and Sam Race followed Greybeard into the conference room, they saw the old pirate looking around, frantically looking for the little girl. He became increasingly desperate and worried as he saw Mary Rose nowhere in sight. Calling her name over and over again, he checked under the table, behind the cabinet, everywhere he could imagine. When Greybeard laid his one good eye on a pool of blood in the corner of the room, he cried: "Mary Rose! Granddaughter, where be ye?""Grandpa?"The voice came as soft as the wind, but directed Greybeard's attention to the air vents above. Through the grating, he noticed a pair of eyes peering out at him."Mary Rose!" laughed Greybeard, relieved to see that the little girl was still alive. "How did ye get up thar?""I'm good at hide-and-seek," whispered Mary."You said that you found her hiding in the dumpster of a Mutant Raptor-infested neighborhood," murmured Frozeen. "I wouldn't be surprised if that experience taught her a few important lessons in survival.Suddenly, they heard the familiar roar of a Mutant Raptor, and saw the beast standing outside the room. Sam Race quickly ran to the door of the room and slammed it shut, then turned a key to lock it closed. He stepped a few paces back as the Mutant Raptor rammed itself against the door."You can't lock a Mutant Raptor out of a room," frowned Frozeen. "They're too smart!"A newspaper slid into the room from under the door. The Mutant Raptor slammed into the door again, knocking the key out of the doorknob. The key fell right onto the newspaper, which slid back under the door back out into the hallway. They heard the sound of the key clicking in the doorknob, followed by the Mutant Raptor opening the door with a vicious snarl.Although Frozeen prepared to fire his weapon, Greybeard stepped forward and raised his cutlass. "Lower yer firearm," whispered Greybeard. "This be me fight, says I!" As he confronted the hungry Mutant Raptor, Greybeard pointed his cutlass at the beast and gritted his teeth. "Yer kind took me eye an' Mary's parents, an' gave nothin' back," growled Greybeard. "That shall be all that ye be takin' from me, says I! Ye have come fer Mary Rose, but I won't let ye have her!"The Mutant Raptor growled and lunged towards Greybeard. The old pirate darted to the side and slashed with his cutlass. The blade of his sword cut into the side of the Mutant Raptor's face, leaving a scar across the dinosaur's eye. "An eye fer an eye!" declared Greybeard as he swung his cutlass again.The Mutant Raptor knocked the sword out of Greybeard's hand. Snarling, it tackled Greybeard to the floor. Unable to let the fight continue without intervention, Frozeen and Sam Race stepped in to fight the raptor. The only thing they succeeded in was pulling the beast off of the old pirate, but they were quickly knocked down by a swing of the raptor's tail.Just then, with a loud clang, the section of the air vents where Mary Rose was fighting fell from the ceiling and crashed down upon the conference table, depositing Mary right in the middle of the action. This immediately caught the Mutant Raptor's attention, and the creature quickly assessed that the defenseless little girl was far easier prey than the three older men. Baring its teeth, the Mutant Raptor stalked towards the conference table, as Mary Rose backed away in futility."Git away from her, ye bilge rat!" screamed Greybeard, who charged at the Mutant Raptor with his retrieved cutlass at the ready. Before the raptor could react, the old pirate jumped onto its back and thrust his sword into its hide. As the Mutant Raptor bellowed in pain, Greybeard made a few more strikes with his sword, swiped at the raptor's lips with his hook, and finished it off by planting the cutlass into the Mutant Raptor's skull. With a pained whimper, the Mutant Raptor collapsed, with Greybeard standing victoriously over its carcass."Grandpa!" cried Mary Rose as she ran towards the old pirate with her arms stretched wide. "You saved me!"Sheathing his cutlass, Greybeard met Mary Rose in a much-needed joyous embrace. "I be so sorry fer leavin' ye here!" whispered Greybeard, who sounded on the verge of tears. "But I be here now, and I be protectin' ye from them beasts! I won't let them git ye! Ne'er!""Okay," frowned Sam Race. "So, we rescued Mary Rose. What now? It's too dangerous to bring her with us.""Sam," decided Frozeen, "escort Greybeard and Mary Rose to the Teleport Pad in the basement as quickly as-"A voice came in on Frozeen's radio. "Attention! This is agent Shock! Due to the Mutant Lizards and Raptors infiltrating headquarters at an alarming rate, we've been left with no choice, and so we activated the self-destruct mechanism of the Teleport Pad in the basement. All personnel in need of immediate evacuation must travel to the rooftop! We are nearly finished building this pad.""Darn," murmured Frozeen. "Greybeard, if you can protect her, Mary Rose can come along with us while we search for agent Gromtin. We'll bring her to the rooftop to be evacuated as quickly as possible."OOC: Okay, so who caught the reference? No, not the obvious Aliens reference that I was building up to for a while (only to have Greybeard's thunder stolen by Sarah Bishop), I mean the other reference. Edited August 19, 2012 by PeabodySam

[Jacks]

OOC:

This might have worked (as I was writing by the seat of my pants, no guarantees, and we'll never know otherwise), but seeing as Katerina made sure that she threw in that "I renounce you as my brother" bit, there was no way I was going to let the Darkitect not use that little detail to utterly break Dr. Rex's will. So, in the end, nice job breaking it, Katerina.

To think I could have turned the tide in our favor if the fight between Lhikan and Nidhiki in LoMN hadn't suddenly popped into my head! :headdesk: I knew I should've drafted that post beforehand. To think I waited almost three years for this, only to screw it up at the last minute!Those two comics, though...made my night

Okay, so who caught the reference? No, not the obvious Aliens reference that I was building up to for a while (only to have Greybeard's thunder stolen by Sarah Bishop), I mean the other reference.

I assume you're referring to Things You Can Do With A Map Newspaper by MacRaptor?IC: "We can't spend any more time on the stragglers down there," Hotwire said, referring to the packs of dinosaurs still roaming the outskirts of the city. "They need everything at HQ, so we'll have to worry about these guys later." With that, the Talon II turned and floated back towards headquarters, followed by three more T-1s"What about Cabin and Rotor?" one of the other pilots asked."If they survived the crash, I don't doubt their ability to survive on the ground," Hotwire responded. "Those two are pretty hard to break." Edited August 20, 2012 by Jackson Lake

[Atton Rand]

IC: Mac slowly approached Rotor, accompanied by Harris."I've got good news," the former construction worker said. "We've completed the fortification best we can. Odds are they'll still be capable of breaking through but with enough resistance we should be able to fight them off long enough for a rescue.""How are we on food?""From what we salvaged in the chopper, and given the number of people here, maybe enough to last until tomorrow.""Actually," Spike said, having overheard the conversation and approaching them. "I probably won't be eating much?""Why?" Cabin asked. "Is there something you're not telling us?""What? No, no. What do you think I'm a vampire or something? I'm just not a big eater, is all. At least not with the stuff provided here."Rotor looked at him uncertainly, but went along with it. "Alright then," he said."We should be calling for help!" Mac said, sternly."We don't have a radio on hand, though!" replied Cabin."Not to worry sir," replied a really dirty, stinky agent who Rotor quickly recognized as Baldrick."Where'd you come from Baldrick?" He asked."Oh," Baldrick said, rather shocked. "I was hiding in the back, with the engine.""I thought I smelt something in there," Cabin remarked. "You were saying.""Not to worry, sir," Baldrick said. "I have a cunning plan.""I see," replied Rotor. "What's that.""Well," replied Baldrick. "What you need to do is move the house while we're still inside. What you need to do, is take the rotorblades from the helicopter; they weren't too badly damaged, and put them on top of the house.""I see," replied Cabin. "Anyone else got any suggestions?""There's got to be someone in here with a PDA!" Replied Mac."Good point," replied Rotor."I got one," said a young female agent. Rotor turned toward her. "What's your name?""Buffy.""Buffy, right. Get a message out, tell them we're stuck in a house. We're walled up, we'll try to hold but we'll need backup."Meanwhile, on the upstairs floor, Lance watched nervously as he saw something approaching. It looked like a small group of mutant raptors and lizards. Hastily, he opened fire.

***

"That was close," Firecracker remarked as he got up from behind the barrels where he had been hiding. "If those guys had seen us they might have completely ruined everything."At that moment, he and Demoman were silenced by the noise of chaos within the building."It's the mutant dinosaurs," Firecracker said. "They've gotten in."Quickly, he ran back up to the upper catwalk and back into the main building. Working his way past groups of retreating agents before rushing into the basement where the plunger lay ready. He crouched down next to it, watching the door, and put his hand on the handle, ready to push it down."How much damage should this do?" Asked Elizabeth, who was sitting close by with Maynard."If my calculations are correct," replied Firecracker. "We should level the entire building. It'll be a beautiful explosion. Shame I won't be able to get a clear view."With that, he slowly began to push the handle down...OOC: Things are getting tense.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Atton Rand

[Brikman McStudz]

OOC: I'm back. And it seems our situation as not improved.Soloman can stay with Nazareno and Zelda, that guy. In fact, it makes an idea I have's awesome factor rising up to...well...eleven, at least.Now, instead of focusing on the Fabellos...and Zach, Nazareno and Zelda, have Vinyaya find a vehicle, or have Blaire give his rousing speech to XERRD, but instead, we're going to be focusing on...someone different!I'd also recommend listening to "Enter the Galaxy" from Super Mario Galaxy. Or "Grand Star Rescue" or whatever you call it.IC:"Would you hurry up and put me back together?!""I'm-a working on it!" Marco Martinet snapped. "There happen to be a lot of Mutant Dinos around here." As if to prove his point, Martinet rose to his feet and slammed his hammer into the side of a Mutant Lizard's face. "Now, shut up and let me do my job!"Dr. Marco Martinet's patient in-question was suffering from burn wounds from a Mutant Lizard. His name was Snake, but following a beatdown by a another man named Snake, he had changed his codename to Plastic Serpent, or simply Serpent. Only now, the other Snake had supposedly ditched the team, leaving Serpent free to take his name back. That Snake guy was a criminal Martinet noted. Why didn't inject him with microscopic explosives that the authorities could blow up if he decided to escape?Martinet applied one last bandage over Serpent's wound before sending him back into the battle. Martinet turned and sprinted back to his Fire Hammer, swinging his mighty hammer through waves of Mutant Dinos. He pulled off one of his grenades (designed to look like pills), pulled the pin, and jammed it into a Mutant Raptor's mouth before reaching the driver's seat and pulling open the door. Martinet watched with grim amusement as the grenade went off in the raptor's mouth, killing it."Well," Martinet said, turning to his medic partner Doctor Giovanni Wade. "Let's-a keep moving, shall we?" Putting the Fire Hammer into drive, Martinet and Wade set off to continue their medical work. As Martinet discovered recently, he was rather skilled behind the wheel. Heh. Perhaps I should have become a race car driver, eh?The battle in the sky had taken a definite turn for the worst. The Dino Attack, Alpha Team, and Agents all had to deal with not only Mutant Pterosaurs and Inferno helicopters, but now Maelstrom Dragons and Fright Knight windships. The air vehicles were particularly getting battered by the Maelstrom Dragons, who were much stronger than the average Mutant Pterosaur. They could also land and cripple land vehicles with their powerful Maelstrom fire."How are these guys still here?" Wade muttered. "I thought with the Maelstrom Temple's elimination, all Stromlings except for Hybrids and Mutant Dinos were destroyed!""Well," Martinet grumbled, running down several Mutant Lizards. "Seeing as the Darkitect is still there and I hear this Fright Knight witch has Maelstrom-enhanced powers, I imagine she bent the Maelstrom Dragons under her thumb, and the Darkitect bent her under his thumb.""The skyfleet's going to need to figure how to take these guys down or we're going to need reinforcements. And..." Wade paused and pointed to an injured agent trying to hobble away from a swarm of Mutant Lizards."I got this," Martinet said, kicking up his door and landing on the ground, hammer raised. He ran toward the agent and swung his hammer at the Mutant Lizards. After a short, bloody carnage, all the lizards laid dead or wounded. Martinet then turned to the agent. "Get into the Fire Hammer!" The agent nodded and started moving toward the Fire Hammer. Martinet began to follow, but stopped.Just beyond the Dino Attack Headquarters, a fleet of T-1 Typhoons were approaching. As they soared over Dino Attack Headquarters, Marco Martinet managed to count at least 25 T-1 Typhoons. In addition, five Dino Air Trackers were with the group, carrying two new Fire Hammers, two Iron Predators, and one High Voltage Half-Track.The T-1 Typhoon fleet connected with the Maelstrom's airfleet, guns blazing. Taken off-guard by the sudden reinforcements, Mutant Pterosaurs and Maelstrom Dragons were easily grounded and Inferno aircrafts and Fright Knight windships were ignited and being sent spiraling toward the ground in fiery explosion.Martinet raised his hammer and cheered. There was still no idea on how to defeat Dr. Rex, but the reinforcements against the new Fright Knight arrivals were greatly appreciated. As he cheered, the lead T-1 Typhoon broke off from the main group and oddly began to move in Martinet's direction. As it began to land, its weapons opened fire on Mutant Dinos below hoping to take a bite out of it. Martinet aided the helicopter with his hammer and grenades. As the T-1 Typhoon landed, a woman appeared from inside the helicopter's belly. Martinet gasped.The woman had long, platinum-blonde hair with several flips in it and a long bang that completely covered her right eye. She was tall and had a calm and commanding aura surrounding her. She had a chain around her neck with a star-shaped medallion attached to it and had star-like earrings danging from her ears. She stepped out T-1 Typhoon and looked at Marco Martinet with her one, light blue eye and gave a small, reserved smile."Rosie?" Martinet gasped, feeling shock, surprise, fear, and happiness all radiate out of his body at one. Rosalie Mercedes nodded once began walking toward Martinet. As he embraced her, he asked, "What are you doing here?""The Dino Attack Team had seen fit to promote to Elite Agent almost immediately after you left," Rosalie said in a calm, soothing voice. "After Dr. Rex launched his attack on the headquarters, I helped organize several T-1 Typhoons to fly over here from Antarctica to come to the team's aid."Even though Marco was happy to see Rosalie again, he was extremely fearful. He was still getting to know her. He didn't know how he would respond if she would die. Horrible memories of hearing what happened to another woman he had loved.Rosalie seemed to detect his concerns. "I can fight, Marco," she said, touching his shoulders. "I did spend a lot of time in Antarctica, but I didn't waste it sitting around. And when I was sent out on a mission, I held my own rather well."Martinet bit his lip with uncertainty. "I just...I-"Rosalie laughed gently, interrupting him. "I am a rather skilled pilot, Marco. I will be safe. There's is no use worrying about me when you should be doing your job."As if on cue, "Come on, Martinet!" Wade shouted. Martinet glanced back to Wade, then to Rosalie."Stay safe, eh?" was all he could muster.Rosalie smiled and nodded. "May the stars shine down on you." She then turned and reentered the T-1 Typhoon, which Martinet now noticed had a black star painted on its nose. As the helicopter rose back into the sky and engaged the Maelstrom's forces, Martinet heard Wade yell for him. Swallowing his bad feelings, Martinet ran back to their Fire Hammer ambulance. Rosalie was right; there was a job to do and people to be saved.

[PeabodySam]

OOC: Played TF2 for the first time in a long time, and I joined Atton Rand for a few rounds of capture/defend at GravelPit. He was a Medic, and I was a Pyro. We won some, we lost some, but we sure had a lot of fun through it all.

To think I could have turned the tide in our favor if the fight between Lhikan and Nidhiki in LoMN hadn't suddenly popped into my head! :headdesk[/sup]: I knew I should've drafted that post beforehand. To think I waited almost three years for this, only to screw it up at the last minute!

Oh, darn, I just remembered a line of dialogue that I wanted to use (I came up with it while reading your post, Jacks, but forgot about it when I was actually writing) which would have been perfect for the situation. Seeing as it isn't plot pivotal (but instead more important to understanding character), I guess I'll just go back and edit it in, but here's the line in question:"You... You are the reason... You are why I... did all this... You! You're.. the cause of all this! This... this is all... your fault!"See, because if Katerina's story is accurate (and I'm willing to bet it is), then the separation of Ronald and Catherine was truly Ronald's Start of Darkness. Everything he's done (and everything that's happened to him, including his fate worse than death) is a result of this. So, of course, the Darkitect would find it much easier to break Dr. Rex's will by redirecting the blame towards Katerina herself, not the situation.

I assume you're referring to Things You Can Do With A Map Newspaper by MacRaptor?

You're on the right track, but as I recall, his name was not MacRaptor; it was Mr. Pilkington. But perhaps I've said too much...

The woman had long, platinum-blonde hair with several flips in it and a long bang that completely covered her right eye. She was tall and had a calm and commanding aura surrounding her. She had a chain around her neck with a star-shaped medallion attached to it and had star-like earrings danging from her ears. She stepped out T-1 Typhoon and looked at Marco Martinet with her one, light blue eye and gave a small, reserved smile.

Hooray for Rosalina expy!IC: Frozeen and Sam Race ran down a hallway in Dino Attack Headquarters, firing upon Mutant Lizards and the occasional Mutant Raptor along the way. Greybeard ran after them, but kept his pace slow enough to ensure that Mary Rose could keep up, as he did not want to let the little girl out of his sight."Yeah," explained Sam Race along the way, "when my dad and I took a tour around headquarters, they said that the communication department was right around - oh my Builder!" As they rounded the corner, they were shocked and disturbed to find the entire area left as a burning ruins, as though a rocket had hit the area and took out an entire section of this floor."No," whispered Frozeen. "She... she must have escaped in time...!" With that, the Alpha Team agent turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction, desperate to find elite agent Gromtin. After recovering from his shock, Sam Race caught up to Frozeen, while Greybeard lagged behind to keep Mary Rose safe.At the far end of a long hallway, Frozeen was sure that he saw someone in a wheelchair. However, the hallway was also host to at least half-a-dozen Mutant Lizards, who knew that a handicapped Minifig would be easy prey, and were sprinting down the hallway with saliva dripping from their jaws. "No!" shouted Frozeen. He pulled out his personal handheld laser gun and fired at the Mutant Lizards. Although he downed a few of them, the survivors adapted quickly and made quick, random movements to throw off Frozeen's aim. They were outrunning him, and despite his athletic training in Alpha Team, Frozeen knew that he would not reach the end of the hallway in time."Shannon!" he cried out a warning. "Look out!"The Minifig in the wheelchair, who thankfully turned out to be agent Gromtin after all, turned her head and saw the advancing Mutant Lizards. In response, she pressed a button on one of the wheelchair's armrests. Suddenly, a minigun, a laser device, and a rocket launcher popped out of her wheelchair, and every weapon was aimed at the Mutant Dinos. A short round of bullets, lasers, and rockets later, there were no Mutant Lizards left standing.When Frozeen reached Shannon's wheelchair, he was panting for breath and wiping sweat from his brow; having survived Alpha Team training, this was not from any physical stress, but rather from the stroke of fear for Gromtin's life. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright," he whispered, unable to raise his voice any higher. "When I saw the mutants infiltrating the building... and I saw the communications department in ruins... I..."Gently tapping her wheelchair's minigun, Shannon grinned. "As I said, my brother got me interested in technology and engineering. Now, you'd think I would sit in a wheelchair for a few months and not make a few modifications? Besides, the Mutant Lizards needed a lesson in ballistics."By this time, Sam Race, Greybeard, and Mary Rose had caught up to Frozeen and Shannon. "I've been meaning to ask you," murmured Frozeen. "How did you end up in a wheelchair? I know now's probably not the best time, but...""... but might be the only time," completed Shannon. "Very well, I suppose. I was trapped on the third floor of a building infested with Mutant Raptors. While I fought them off as best as I could, I knew I was outnumbered. So, as I detonated an explosive to take care of the rest, I did the natural thing and jumped out a window. Broke my legs upon impact, but I still had enough strength to turn around and fire my Cosmotronic Ray at one Mutant Raptor who jumped out after me. Since some of the doctors here refused to let Enter and Return operate on me, I've been confined to a wheelchair until my legs heal. But don't worry, I've made the best of it."Staring at the impressive weaponry of the super-wheelchair, Frozene nodded. "I see. Look, Shannon, I...""Uh, guys?" called Sam Race. "We've got some company!"A large swarm of Mutant Lizards of all breeds emerged from a nearby stairwell and were looking for prey. Although Shannon fired her wheelchair weaponry at the Mutant Lizards, even more Mutant Lizards appeared behind the group. Greybeard cussed loudly and tried to slash with his cutlass, but it was quickly knocked aside by a camouflage Mutant Lizard. To top it off, a Mutant Raptor appeared among the group of Mutant Lizards.Suddenly, some of the Mutant Lizards began to screech and scatter. Narrowing his eyes, Frozeen saw a Dino Attack agent enter the scene, firing a Sonic Screamer that was duct-taped to a flamethrower. The lethal combo of sound and fire drove away the Mutant Lizards, but the Mutant Raptor held its ground and roared. In response, the Dino Attack agent whipped out a Cosmotronic Ray and opened fire, felling the great beast, and then proceeded to pull out a shotgun and end its life for good.Only after the Mutant Lizards were chased away did Frozeen recognize the Dino Attack agent... by the fact that he was in a wheelchair."Rex?" whispered Frozeen. "Is that you?"The Dino Attack agent shot a glare at Frozeen, which surprised the Alpha Team agent. For a moment, although the face was definitely Rex's, it was as though he did not recognize the agent at all. Then, Rex seemed to realize that it was Frozeen, Greybeard, and Sam Race standing there, for he nodded grimly."Blow me down!" grinned Greybeard. "We be hearin' rumors that ye be down!""Those rumors were true," Rex narrowed his eyes. "I was down... but now I'm back. And I swear to Builder that I'm not done here until every single one of these MegaBloking sons of 4+ Figures are dead. For too long, they've wreaked death and destruction upon the world... now, it's time for them to pay."Frozeen was taken aback by Rex's sudden change in attitude; this was completely unlike the friendly idealist he used to know. It took him a moment, but he put the clues together fairly quickly. "Amanda...?" he whispered.Rex shook his head, and only now Frozeen saw that his cheeks were wet.Horrified, Frozeen's jaw dropped. Greybeard shook his head in disbelief, as the memories of his dreams came flooding back with the image of Amanda Claw hanging from the very noose which took the life of "Bad Luck" Beatrice. "I'm so sorry," whispered Sam Race.Rex scowled. "Sorry? Don't pity me! I don't need your pity! If you want to waste your time with useless apologizing, then I have no use for you. Make yourself useful and assist me in killing every last one of these abominations! No one shall rest until we've sent them all to MegaBlokland! Now, come on!" With that, he turned his wheelchair and began wheeling himself down the hallway.Although Frozeen was relieved to know that Rex was still alive and had rejoined the fight, he was disturbed by Rex's change in character and news of Amanda's death. As he reflected upon the latter, Frozeen remembered the promise that he had made to himself and realized that he was still standing next to Shannon. Locking eyes with her, Frozeen spilled: "Shannon, I know this is crazy, and you probably think that I'm a moron and a fool for waiting such a long time to tell you and finally telling you on the brink of the world's destruction, but I love you, and I still love you, and I've never stopped loving you, even when I told you that I didn't, that was a lie, because I actually loved you, and there's no way that I'm going to let the world end without telling you that I still love you, and-""Peter," interrupted Shannon. Although the tone of her voice was harsh with urgency, the look in her eyes was soft and understanding. "I know, Peter. I always have known."Frozeen could not muster any more words, instead averting his eyes and blushing."Um, look, guys," Sam Race, feeling a little awkward, bit his lip. "We should probably get going."The others agreed, and began to follow Rex through Dino Attack Headquarters. "Ye know," Greybeard whispered to Frozeen, "thar be somethin' about Rex that be shiverin' me timbers. It be not just that he be lustin' fer revenge, says I. It be... well... th' way he spoke, an' th' look in his eyes... he be remindin' me o' Dr. Rex."Frozeen felt the blood drain from his face as he realized that what Greybeard said was, indeed, the horrible truth.

[Atton Rand]

IC: "The ceiling here should be thick enough that it won't be affected by the damage," Firecracker explained to his comrades. "There won't be more than a little bit of debris. Still, I'm going to give you ten seconds to get as far away from this door as possible. 10, 9, 8...."Quickly, Elizabeth, Maynard, Demoman, "See" and anyone else still there ran off. Firecracker pressed his hand against the handle of the plunger, early counting down. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1."With a large smile, he quickly pushed the handle down.

***

Snake felt tense as he drove down the roads of LEGO City. This was hardly nothing new to him, but escaping from a place like this where every other turn he had to back out after spotting a fire hammer, he did feel some degree of uneasiness. He couldn't help recalling his first meeting with the team, and how his business in this whole mess got started.The plane slowly came to a landing. Guards were all around, escorting the handful of prisoners aboard off. Among them was Snake, that one-eyed criminal. They led him through the airfield of Antarctica. It was dark, but they had lights set up to ensure that they could find their way.He was led past various other guards in the refugee facility, this particular section being one built specifically for criminals like him. He was processed, personal belongings were taken, though he was allowed to keep a pack of cigarettes. What surprised him happened shortly after they were done. A guard arrived, handcuffed him, and took him out of his cell. He was led down the corridors finally stopping to enter an office. There sat an older man with a bald head and mustache."It's alright" the man said. The guard left them. "Sit down."Snake slowly sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He held out his hands, showing the chain that binded them."I'm not a fool, Snake," replied the man. "My name's Hauk, I'm an elite agent of the Dino Attack Team. It seems you have quite a record here, Snake. Bank robbery, murder, arson, carjacking, mugging, multiple accounts of physical assault including several on officers of the law, smuggling, and selling pirated DVDs."Snake smiled slightly."As you may no doubt be aware, the planet is being overrun with Mutant Dinosaurs."Snake chuckled slightly. "That's not funny," replied Hauk. "This is war.""I don't give a znap about your war," replied Snake."Now I'm going to make you a deal."Hauk reached into his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Full pardon for every crime you've committed in LEGOLand. You join us, fight for the good of the planet and destroy the mutant dinosaur menace, and you're a free man."Snake took a moment. "I'll think about it." He said."I want you to think real hard. What's your answer?""I'm thinking about it.""I can't let you think for too long. I need an answer now.""Well," replied Snake. "I guess I have to deal with them one way or the other."Snake smiled to himself. He'd outwitted them. Hauk thought that they could keep a criminal in line, but Snake had escaped, now all he had to do was get out of LEGO City, and the- WHOA, he didn't see that one guy coming. He quickly swerved out of the way, and crashed the car into a nearby lamppost. Climbing out. He ran up the man."What the znap is your problem?" He said, before the man turned toward him. He was bandaged all over, but Snake could easily recognize that face, the mustache, grey hair, camo. "We meet again," Snake said, taking a moment to light a cigarette. He inhaled then took it out. "Smoke?"Serpent stared at him, a look of uncertainty. Snake smiled. "Good." He grabbed Serpent and placed the cigarette directly onto his forehead, the man screamed in pain as he pressed harder and harder. "How do you like that, huh?"He threw Serpent onto the ground. "All those years you tried to steal from me," he remarked. "That one job with Keyser Sozé where you watched me do the dirty work and then tried to make off with the goods."Snake kicked the man in the stomach. He grunted in pain. He forced him to his feet and punched him square in the face, dropping him into a small puddle in the side of the road. After he kicked him a few more times, Snake turned, lit another cigarette, and started to walk away.

[Jacks]

OOC: Snake appears to be driving out of the city. Serpent was in the thick of the battle, which is definitely happening in the city. I don't see how the encounter you just described could possibly happen.

[Atton Rand]

OOC: Snake appears to be driving out of the city. Serpent was in the thick of the battle, which is definitely happening in the city. I don't see how the encounter you just described could possibly happen.

OOC: Snake is trying to get out of the city, but he's still technically in the city. Driving out of town isn't as easy as it sounds. You ever tried to navigate a war-torn city? It's quite difficult, especially when you have to keep backing up after running into rubble and other agents who might be wanting to arrest you. Plus the battle's still happening all over the city. I really don't see how it was impossible for him to run into somebody.

[Andrewnuva199]

OOC: Noticed the "What the Heck, Player?" addition to the wiki tropes.Oooooooh. Tough luck, Jackson. But I have no worries that we'll think of something that doesn't involve just Deus Ex Machina to settle everything. We're too good for that... usually.IC: "That's it! I've had it with these monkey-fighting Stormlings on my Monday-to-Friday planet!""HEY! What did I say about references?!""That was a reference to something? I don't watch movies, I wouldn't know.""Yeah, just because something sounds like a reference doesn't mean it was. Some of us just say things that just happen to possibly be a line taken from a film or whatever.""Quit the conversation and focus on the lizards in front of you!""HQ's under siege! Darn, so much for my iPhone.""Blow it up on top of the dino scum!""Shoot the glass dome on top of Inferno's mech! It's an incredible weak spot!""But it's our headquarters! We can't lose it!""I doubt any Dino-capturing idealists are doing well morally.""We're at war's end, bud. If or when we win this battle, we won't need a headquarters anymore."-------------The Mutant Dinos were inside Dino Attack Headquarters. The time had finally come for the symbol of LEGO City's saviors to meet an end.Inside, agents were preparing to not let the Mutant Dinos have an easy time. Frozeen, Greybeard, and Sam Race were rescuing allies still stuck inside. Members of the Third Headquarters were trying to blow up the base to keep away parts of the horde. The medical team was bunkering down in the basement, preparing for the worse. Elite Agent Rex was slowly making his way back into battle, but with a dangerously large thirst for vengeance and reptile bloodshed. And others were trying to finish setting up Reptiles Green Goo traps in the hanger, though with the hordes hitting the main area of the building, such efforts seemed futile.Outside, past the Dino Attack vehicles fighting off the bulk of the rest of the Mutant Dinos, along with their remaining allies, Dr. Rex still stood. In spite of his anger and pressuring from the Darkitect, he remained near the demolished barrier wall, perhaps taking some pleasure and glee in seeing his minions-no, not anymore-allies go through the base and pick off agents still inside.This left him a big target to enemy fire, but he, of course, had nothing to fear about that. His Silge armor was taking most of the attacks, and anything that did hurt him was quickly repaired by the Maelstrom. He had nothing to worry about.But plenty to be annoyed at.As he watched Dino Attack Headquarters fall into more and more disarray, a T-1 Typhoon slowly began to draw close to his left. The giant Maelstrom-infused beast paid no attention. It was nothing, it could do nothing to him. The craft continued to draw closer, and the creature continued to think the same.The T-1 Typhoon was being driven by one Agent Pointman. Not an Elite, but given the times, even Standards could man such crafts at this point in time. Pointman didn't talk much, just obeyed orders and acted as seen fit when they weren't there. But he had drawn a reputation for both the stories of his past and the way he acted in battle. This would be an example of the latter.Pointman had dropped off his crew with an Iron Predator a few moments ago, confusing some, but making clear to others he was about to try something crazy. And as he directed his T-1 at high speeds at the biggest monster of the battle with no signs of stopping, the crazyness was clear here.Crazy. Pointman appeared to have had more than a life's share full of crazy, and not just because he lived on the LEGO Planet. He had been born by a teenage mother under study by some fledgling group of monster fighters, and was followed by a brother a year later. He hadn't gotten along well with either of them, and had suffered sizably for it. Eventually in 2008, they (his mother and his brother) went crazy and broke loose, going on a rampage of fire and murder within the small city of Fairport. Pointman joined with the Agent forces that eventually put an end to their reign of fear, putting a bullet in his brother's head himself.Some said Pointman still saw his family, appearing randomly to goad him into doing what they wanted him to do. Others said that the agent had gone crazy himself, with brief losses of sanity contributing to random acts without sense. Regardless, Pointman still served well as a member of Dino Attack, obeying orders and never failing to carry them out.Except for now. Agents, Semick among them, were telling Pointman over radio to stop what he was doing, that it was suicidal and worthless to lose such a good agent as him. Pointman ignored them, choosing instead to begin loosening the attachments of his cockpit's windshield as he drew closer to Dr. Rex.The creature began to finally take note of how close the T-1 was getting, sound-wise. He turned his head, expecting to seeing it aiming its guns in a pitiful attempt to try and shoot him. Instead, he saw the rapidly-turning rotors at the top of the helicopter aiming right at him like a fan on a hot summer's day. Just at that moment, Pointman managed to detach his cockpit windshield, kicking it open and letting it fall to the ground, letting the rain pour in on him.The T-1, now acting without guidance, began scraping its rotors on Dr. Rex's Silge armor, sending it out of balance as the chopper began to turn its tail up and over the Stromling Mutant T-Rex. Pointman leaped out of his cockpit, then, with quick reflexes, turned to let his backside hit the thigh armor, just above a row of sharp spikes.A Mutant T-Rex was huge, and Dr. Rex was no exception. But a T-1 Typhoon was large too, the main body itself wider than a T-Rex, and its total length much larger than the creature too. Pointman's T-1 rotors were snapping off from the strength of the creature's armor and Stromling dexterity, but they had done the job of taking the thing by surprise and stunning him. As the bulk of the T-1 Typhoon flipped upside down, its internal alarms blaring off, it easily eclipsed Dr. Rex and knocked him down to the ground.Pointman had seconds to act, but he acted in those seconds with pinpoint accuracy. As if the rest of the world was going in slow motion compared to him, he guided a slide down Dr. Rex's wet and Maelstrom-covered left leg. The agent avoided touching the tendrils of Maelstrom energy, as well as debris coming from the T-1 as it continued to fall atop the falling creature. At last, he slipped off the end of Dr. Rex's foot and landed on his hands and legs. The Mutant Lizards and Raptors had been startled away from the area by the incident, allowing Pointman to get up on his feet and run several yards away from the sight of his collision.The T-1 Typhoon, now without its propeller blades, lay atop Dr. Rex's form for several seconds. Then, within seconds, the creature's head rose, his eyes glowing in an inminifig fury, and snapped its maw down on the T-1's tail, tearing it off with ease. It then got up, knocking off the remains of the T-1 as it did so. Once on its feet, it lunged at the wrecked piece of Dino Attack machinery and tore it practically into all 605 of its component parts.When that was done, the creature that was barely still Dr. Rex raised its head to let out a roar. At that moment, barely twenty yards away, Pointman drew a pistol from a holster on his chest and began aiming it at Dr. Rex's left eye. Closed instinctively during the roar, the moment the creature opened it, the agent fired his gun, and hit with pinpoint accuracy the Dino Attack snipers could be impressed by.Dr. Rex stumbled back from the shot, shaking his head as the Maelstrom quickly patched up the damage. In anger, he looked in the direction he had heard the shot come from, and saw the ragged agent with long black hair and beard that was Pointman. With only a stern, emotionless face, the agent began running off, away from the direction of Dino Attack Headquarters.Perhaps it would manage to drive away Dr. Rex from Dino Attack Headquarters, if only for a little while. Perhaps it wouldn't. In any case, Pointman had set out do what he needed to do: make it clear that Dino Attack wasn't done yet, and they were willing to do everything necessary to bring creatures like him down.The agent reached the beaten hunk of an abandoned Steel Sprinter, lept upon it, and started it up. It sputtered, but the engine ran. He sped off, realizing that there was a good chance that he would find himself either in the white-hot maw of the Maelstrom T-Rex's jaws, or torn apart by claws or Maelstrom energies.So be it, he thought. He didn't fear death, no matter how horrible, thanks to his past. And if it bought time for Dino Attack to finish business in HQ, and possibly stop the beast as well, that was sufficient. His life didn't matter, his skill was easily equaled by other agents in the team.OOC: Yes, that's effectively clearance for you to kill him off, PeabodySam.His time may be up, but it was hardly the same for Dino Attack as a whole.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Andrewnuva199

[Atton Rand]

OOC: Slight miscomception Andrew. The Third Headquarters Squad isn't just "trying to blow up parts of the base". Firecracker is blowing up the base, as in, he has planted charges to destroy the entire building and he's just detonated them.

[that guy from that show]

OoC:Well Atton, you really seem to be making a lot of Insane/Negligent/Abathetic/Selfish characters lately. It seems to me that you’re the main reason why I had to create an internal affairs department in the first place!It’s clear at this point that Firecracker is not sane. (The fact that he is still inside the base he plains to blow up should be a clue to this.) Well this sort of incompetence falls under Pharisee’s jurisdiction the commander is currently knocked out in the back of a bowling alley. I think most of us have our characters eather outside the base or currently occupied. The only exceptions being PeabodySam’s group and your numerous NPCs. If you want to keep everyone inside the base from dying in Firecraker’s idiotic explosion you may have to address it yourself.Pharisee might come back at some point but unless you want him to beat up yet another one of your guys it might be best if this is resolved by your own methods.Pharisee post latter

[Atton Rand]

OOC: Firecracker's actually not quite as stupid as you might initially think. While he is definitely crazy, he knows what he's doing. He specifically placed the detonator in the basement because he knew the ceiling would be thick enough that it wouldn't cave in during the blast (this has been used as a bomb shelter before, for the record).

[Jacks]

OOC: He'd still be killing everyone else still in the upper levels, as well as destroying the teleport pad. I think that qualifies him as dangerously insane.

[Atton Rand]

OOC: I never said he wasn't insane, I just said he wasn't stupid.

[Brikman McStudz]

OOC: TITLE DROP!I forgot to mention this, but feel free to have any other agents you want be apart of Rosalie's reinforcements from Antarctica *coughcoughzennacoughcough*Now be prepared for this post to ooze unnecessary drama.IC:"Hey guys! I just found this cool technicolor butterfly. It's so hi-technicaaaal!""Just keep that thing away from me, man?""So I heard this Maelstrom thing has its soldiers set off bombs that, like, suck worlds into the Maelstrom! Like there's a subspace in the Maelstrom!""I thought the Maelstrom was created by some chaos heart and we needed heroes and technicolor pure heart things to defeat it..."You folks need to stop playing so many video games. Just because some vortex made of evil is purple and black does not make it the Maelstrom.""Hey! What did that guy say about meaningless conversation on the comms?"Fine. 'Yahoo! Reinforcements! Did you see those guys wipe out the Maelstrom's air force?' Happy?""Yes.""So, with dinos entering the base, I'm calling us out as officially doomed.""Wait, 'Vinyareno?' Is that a shipping name? Because I've got at least cargo ship full of parings. For starters....**************************Nazareno blinked several times. Zelda's entire face was red, but she looked at Nazareno with unwavering eyes. "I...like you too...?" he said with uncertainty.Zelda's face became a darker shade or red as she deciphered his tone of confusion. "I...I don't think if you understand what I'm getting at.""To tell you the truth, I really don't."Zelda blinked twice in confusion. "I-I like you. As in like-like you." Nazareno was unmoving, still trying to figure out what she was trying to say. He saw frustration begin to form on her face due to his lack of response. "I'm in love with you!" she nearly shouted.Nazareno stared for several seconds, trying to come up with a response to this revelation. She was in love with him?! But...how? "You're...in love with me?" Nazareno repeated dumbly, as if he couldn't comprehend what she was saying (which wasn't far from the truth)."Yes!" Zelda said, nodding furiously. Nazareno simply stared. He had never attracted anyone, let alone be attracted to someone else. Being a stoic ninja with your face covered up by a mask did that to you. For once in his life, he wasn't sure what to do. Some part of him did, apparently, because he started talking again."I-I'm sorry, Zelda," Nazareno began. "But I...just can't.""Why?!""Well, for starters; based on what you told me, I am thirteen years your senior."Zelda stared incredulously. "You're thirty-four?! But...you don't seem like you're in your thirties! I-""Well, I am," Nazareno interrupted, raising a hand. "I'm too old for you. You would be better off finding someone closer to your own age.""But I like you!" Zelda snapped. "We're both adults. It could work out! You just-""You've never seen my face!" Nazareno continued, a scowl beginning to form on his face. "How can be attracted to me when you don't even know what I look like."Zelda's eyes widened with mixed shock. "So? Love isn't based on physical attraction, Nazareno! I'm in love with you, not how ugly or handsome you think you are! Why are you-""What about the fact that we are basically a student and mentor? It would inappropriate for the two of us to be together.""Well, considering we're both adult and we are at the literal end of the world, it doesn't matter. Would you just-!""And you were a pirate," Nazareno said with a slight stammer. He growing irritated with how determined Zelda was at this. "It just wouldn't work out. It..." Even as he said it, he knew how weak of an argument that was. Did he dislike Zelda's pirate background? Sure, but did he really hold it over her head? No, and Zelda knew that."I was never a pirate! My parents were! You're just making up excuses!" Zelda said, her voice rising slightly. "Why won't you at least try something? What's your real problem with this?""I'm not in love with you!" Nazareno yelled without even realizing it. He immediately regretted it. Zelda looked at him in silence, trying to hide her emotions. But for a variety of factors, which could include never learning how to conceal her feelings or being a descendant of loud and boisterous pirates, Nazareno could see how upset Zelda was at this. "Listen, Zelda, I-""No," Zelda said, her voice shaking. She shook her head slowly. "You're right. It...it wouldn't have worked it. I'm sorry for bugging you. Just my stupid emotions getting out of control. And I can't really expect you to share my feelings. Let's just get back to fighting, okay?"Nazareno watched her retreating back with mixed emotions. He felt waves of bitter resentment wash over him. Part of it was how he had rejected her. He had let his emotions overrule his calm, logic demeanor and had, more or less, crushed Zelda's heart into a million pieces. The other part was:I'm not sure I'm not in love with her, Nazareno realized, a knot forming in his stomach. For all his skill and power, he had finally found an area where he had no control. No knowledge, no prior experience. Nothing. A feeling of being totally powerless washed over him. He had just alienated the first woman to show any romantic interest in him (with him possibly reciprocating the feelings) and he didn't know how he could fix it. Nazareno was about to turn to try and talk with Zelda when he saw Solomon Koplowitz standing by her. Nazareno winced slightly as he noticed how Zelda was careful to avert her eyes from him."We need to keep moving," Solomon said. "Or we're dead."Nazareno shot one last look toward Zelda, then nodded grimly. "Of course," he said, making sure to keep his voice controlled. "We must battle on." And with that, Nazareno, Zelda, and Soloman jumped back into the battle, swords swinging.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Brikman McStudz

[Atton Rand]

OOC: The main reason I cut the last post where I did was because I wasn't sure if anyone still had business in the base. If so, you're going to need to stop him, otherwise, the headquarters goes boom!IC: One of the Internal Affairs agents looked up from Montgonel's wound as Montoya stepped into the rain, a semi-conscious Carrie Enderson in his arms. "I got a civilian," he said. Slowly he approached them, one of them took her and brought her into the helicopter."What about Pharisee?" Asked the other agent. "Somewhere in the back of the bowling alley," replied Montoya. "That's where I last saw them. You mind if I go sit with her?""No problem," replied the agent before he stepped into the alley. Montoya slowly walked up to Carrie, and held her hand.

[PeabodySam]

OOC: Okay, while Snake vs. Snake was kind of funny, its novelty wore off, leaving Snake vs. Plastic Serpent feeling just unnecessarily mean-spirited.Before I forget, Brikman, I was inspired by your posts to redesign 6037 Witch's Windship. What do you think?So, we've got a Jarate'd-off, Maelstrom-possessed, nigh-invincible Mutant T-Rex, a mad scientist in a giant mech, a witch in her personal Maelstrom Dragon-carried windship, an entire army of mooks, and Mutant Lizards and Raptors infiltrating Dino Attack Headquarters... and it's raining. Sure can't get much worse, can it? Well, thanks to Firecracker, it just did.IC: There was a loud booming noise, like the sound of thunder, and Dino Attack Headquarters shook, as it had been throughout the battle. This time, however, the thunder was much louder, to the point of deafening, and the shaking was far more violent. Those that did not fall to the floor hit the deck as fireballs rose out nearly every stairwell. Mutant Lizards screeched as they were engulfed in the flames, while the more resilient took cover.When it was over, Rex performed an upper-body push-up and surveyed the area. Smoke filled the air and ash covered the floor. The walls were charred, windows were shattered, and there was rubble everywhere. There were some flames that still burned, and the entire area looked as though it had survived a Mutant T-Rex rampage.Still, despite all the damage caused from the explosions, Dino Attack Headquarters was still standing... for now, at least. After the original building's fate, Brick League United made sure that the new building could endure a blitzkrieg and survive. Many walls were reduced to rubble, entire stairwells and rooms had collapsed, but the building's core structure remained mostly intact.Rex's ears were still ringing from the explosion, so when Greybeard shouted "What th' devil?", it sounded muffled and distant."Looks like-" Frozeen paused to cough the smoke out of his lunge. "Looks like Demoman's been having a field day.""A lot of good that drunkard did us," Rex gritted his teeth. "Now, Dino Attack Headquarters is barely on its last legs, and there's still an entire army of Mutant Dinos out there ready to tear it down! Nice job breaking it, hero!" Locating his wheelchair, Rex crawled towards it and, with some insistent assistance from Sam Race, climbed back in.Likewise, Frozeen was helping agent Gromtin climb back into her own wheelchair. Frozeen asked if she was alright, and she reported that, aside from a bit of hopefully-temporary hearing loss, she was alright. "This is elite agent Gromtin," she spoke into her radio. "Agent Shock, can you read me?"After a bit of static, Shock's voice came in. "Loud and clear! What was that?""We'll worry about it later," frowned Gromtin. Glancing at Mary Rose, who was tightly hugging Greybeard's leg, she inquired: "What is the status of the Teleport Pad?""The roof collapsed during the explosion," reported Shock, "but luckily the thirteenth floor held out under our weight. The Teleport Pad has suffered some minor damage during the fall, and Throramebi is currently making some repairs. Other than that, we should be alright to continue evacuating units to Antarctica.""Good. I fear we'll need to evacuate many more units in the next hour."Everyone turned to see the four founding members - Specs, Shadow, Digger, and Viper - walking through the smoke."What brings you here?" inquired Frozeen. "Your team needs you out on the battlefield!"Specs shook his head. "I'm afraid that, given these... recent developments, we've been forced to land our T-1 Typhoon. We have only a short time before the next wave of Mutant Dinos enters Dino Attack Headquarters, and with the structural damage caused by these explosions, I know that this building will not survive. That is why it is of the utmost importance that we retrieve the Einstein Device from the technology center before it is too late.""As a former racer," declared Viper, "I can run down there as quickly as possible and get the Einstein Device before any of those 'scales' can. Sam, you're probably the only one here who can keep up with me in a race. As much as I'd like to say that I did this alone, it's probably a good idea to have someone covering me.""Sure," nodded Sam Race. "I'll accompany you to the tech center. Don't worry guys, we'll be back before you know it!""Just be careful," nodded Frozeen."Don't get yourselves killed," muttered Rex. He wheeled himself towards a nearby shattered window and peeked out the battlefield. Dr. Rex was roaring to his fellow Mutant Dinos, which were still massive in number and still rushing towards what was left of Dino Attack Headquarters. Locking his eyes upon Dr. Rex, Rex whispered, "Come on, Ronald, you sick 4+. We'll end this for once and for all."Although Dr. Rex was too far away and the sounds of battle were surely too loud to carry Rex's voice, the armored Mutant T-Rex seemingly turned to look directly at Rex as though he heard what Rex just said.Rex's heart began pounding, and he clutched his chest due to the pain. Now that Amanda was dead, the chest pain was worse than ever before. In his mind, Rex saw a brief flash of Baron Typhonus, the Darkitect, grinning and laughing in triumph. Gritting his teeth, Rex hissed: "I... won't... let... you... win...!"OOC: Does the Einstein Device count as Deus Ex Machina if it's been in the making since 2009?

[avmatoran]

OOC:I'd say, yes, yes it does.

[Andrewnuva199]

OOC: Does the Einstein Device count as Deus Ex Machina if it's been in the making since 2009?

OOC: I don't quite think so. I think you could get away with using it, but it has to be done right.I'll elaborate further in a PM to you, PeabodySam. I don't want to give too much away if you do consider it, nor do I want to invoke the Unspoken Plan Guarantee trope's effects.

[Jacks]

OOC:

See, because if Katerina's story is accurate (and I'm willing to bet it is), then the separation of Ronald and Catherine was truly Ronald's Start of Darkness. Everything he's done (and everything that's happened to him, including his fate worse than death) is a result of this. So, of course, the Darkitect would find it much easier to break Dr. Rex's will by redirecting the blame towards Katerina herself, not the situation.

Yknow, I thought it over, and I think even if Katrina hadn't disowned him, there was really no other way that scene could have played out. Katerina is pretty unforgiving by nature, so no matter what she said,the Darkitect would've been able to use it to drive Ronald into a rage.IC:"Does anyone know what happened to Kat?""Probably crushed under the rubble. Serves her right for friendzoning Hotwire.""Oh for znap's sake, Adam, you're not still bitter about Freya turning you down?""This isn't about me! Friendzoning is the single worst thing a woman can possibly do to a man. Death by collapsing building is the perfect fate for such a stuck-up, frigid--""GUYS. Please keep the comms free of both video game references AND misogyny from now on."------------------------Fortunately for "Adam," neither Hotwire nor Kat were listening to the comm chatter. Hotwire was more concerned with the fact that Pointman's stunt had just cost them an entire T-1 while simultaneously doing very little harm to Dr. Rex himself.These concerns were interrupted very quickly and replaced by more serious worries, mainly related to the fact that headquarters was suddenly rocked by explosions from the inside. While it was still standing, the internal structure was most likely severely weakened. The only possible advantage was that they could now say that Dr. Rex had not destroyed DAHQ, and whether that actually counted as an an advantage under the circumstances was unclear, to say the least.

[Atton Rand]

OoC:Well Atton, you really seem to be making a lot of Insane/Negligent/Abathetic/Selfish characters lately. It seems to me that you’re the main reason why I had to create an internal affairs department in the first place!

OOC: Oh come on, man. I can't have made that many characters of such nature.

OOC: Okay, while Snake vs. Snake was kind of funny, its novelty wore off, leaving Snake vs. Plastic Serpent feeling just unnecessarily mean-spirited.

I actually didn't intend to play that for laughs this time. This time the fight actually was supposed to emphasize Snake's character, and give him a possible chance to get back in the action (although completely against his will). That reminds me, someone might want to go give Serpent a hand.IC: The noise of explosions echoed throughout the basement. Shaw looked up from Hertz and Carver, terrified. She slowly handled her cross, fearing the worst to come. It was over in a few short seconds, but they were terrifying, and small amounts of rubble falling from the ceiling certainly didn't help.The noise had taken most of the other doctors by surprise. Shly, Shaw reluctantly released her grip on her cross, before sitting down with Carver. She certainly didn't feel the same attraction that Carver did, and probably wouldn't understand her feelings, but she felt bad for both of them. "I don't think a prayer's going to do much good," Carver said, sternly. Shaw nodded in understanding.

[Brikman McStudz]

OOC: I think blowing up the headquarters is almost certainly crazy and will end up ruining us all. If the headquarters blows up, won't it destroy the Teleport pad on top of the headquarters that was going to be used to evacuate personnel?Though, of course, there is always the possibility that PeabodySam does not care that the headquarters is being blown up and force all of us (from small child Mary Rose to probably-should-leave-while-she-still-can Kate Bishop) to stay and fight (or die).Looks like PeabodySam saved the day. For now. And the windship looks great. As for the Einstein Device, I can only repeat Andrewnuva's point and say, if done right, it can work.And I... *cough* I mean, Marco Martinet still thinks Elite Agent Hauk should've injected explosives into Snake's body. I also feel compelled to hurry up and post more. But thanks to school starting, that's going to be a be a bit hard. But I'll pull through.IC:Minerva edged up closer to Zach, who was gripping Athena's arm as if to stop her from running away. "I'm really sorry about all, well, this." She gestured to Athena, then to Oswald, who had his gun trained on them. They were drifting to the west, moving away from the bulk of the battle. They had no way to call for help, as Oswald had made sure to confiscate Zach's radio and to destroy it.Zach gave a weak, half-hearted smile. "I'll pull through. Besides, you spent most of Adventurers' Island trying to deal with my issues. I suppose I should return the favor here with your crazy, dysfunctional family. No offense, by the way." Minerva cracked the barest hint of a smile. She could only imagine this being a lot worse if she didn't have Zach nearby, who was taken being held captive by her brother rather well."Which reminds me, Virchaus," Oswald spoke up, a hint of smug amusement in his voice. "I was watching you chase after Mom when I set you go. What was she doing?""She thought she was nineteen and I was following her and hitting on her," Zach said with a shrug. Both Oswald and Minerva's eyes widened at this."She thought she was nineteen?" Minerva repeated, shocked."Yeah. She got mad, then she decided I was 'cute' and decided to 'go out' with me. I guess her mind just decided to go with that since there was no one around to connect her to her past." A grin formed on his face. "The only real thing that taught me was that I am attractive to Fabello women, mother and daughter."Minerva chuckled quietly. Oswald didn't say anything. Zach then glanced up into the sky and laid his eyes upon the Brickster's T-1 Typhoon. Suddenly, a Minifig flew out from the hull on a skateboard. He had a red-and-blue shirt with blue jeans, a green backpack, and a white cap. In one hand was a pizza and in the other was a Sonic Screamer. The skateboard-riding minifig tossed a pizza at a Mutant Lizard, which screeched in pain as the skateboard landing on the ground. The minifig then turned a fired a sonic blast at the lizard, dropping it. The minifig then skated into the fray, launching pizzas and firing his Sonic Screamer."Knock me over and call me deconstructed," Zach laughed. "Pepper Roni flying out of the Brickster's helicopter on a skateboard. You'll never see that again." Minerva nodded in realization. More LEGO Island stuff. She would get this island's population and quirks down, only to probably be killed during this battle. "Anyway, Oswald, can you hurry this up? We're both kind of needed in the battlefield."Oh yeah. I heard about the promotion the two of you received. Surprised, Minerva. I didn't expect you to do anything noteworthy to even getting considered for promotion." Minerva didn't say anything, only feeling her face grow extremely hot. At this point, Oswald definitely had to have some type of split personality. One was the brother Minerva had known for years. The other was the revenge-fueled monster created by XERRD."Minerva more than deserved that promotion," Zach growled. "And she doesn't need her demented older brother to put her down at every opportunity." Oswald didn't have a comeback, resorting to only staring at Zach with hate.They were finally at the edge of the river. Far away from the bulk of the Dino Attack and Mutant Dino forces. Minerva and Zach turned to Oswald, who had an edge of uncertainty in his eye. "Now," Oswald began. "Get-" He was interrupted as a brown Mutant Lizard suddenly appeared and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.Zach and Minerva were quick and going to help Oswald when two more Mutant Lizards appeared. Deciding to bend Oswald's command about his Maelstrom powers, Zach quickly killed the two Mutant Lizards with Maelstrom fireballs. Before he could take aim at the one on top of Oswald, a scream pierced the air."NOT MY SON, YOU MEGABLOKER!" Athena Fabello charged past Zach and Minerva, who watched in shock, as she dived on top of the Mutant Lizard. Wrapping her arms around its neck, Athena used all of her strength to pull the lizard off of Oswald. It screeched and snarled at its new attacker and desperately tried to bite Athena's face. Athena hit its face as hard as she could with her fist and squeezed the lizard's neck against her chest as hard as she could. The Mutant Lizard desperately tried to shake free of Athena's choking grip and managed to scratch her arms multiple times. Athena winced with each attack, but refused to stand down. After several minutes, the Mutant Lizard finally stopped struggling and grew limp.Athena let the Mutant Lizard slide to the ground. Her entire was shaking and tears were flowing from her eyes. Oswald had climbed to his feet and stared at her mother. Minerva could tell he was terrified. She was too. Horrible visions of Athena approaching a twelve-year-old version of herself flashed through her mind. Watching Tod jump in front of Athena's path and take the knife meant for her..."Not my son, not my son, not my son," Athena muttered, glaring at the Mutant Lizard's body with pure hatred. "Not again. Not my son. Not again. Never again. My son. Tod. My fault. Never again. Not my son..." She was weeping quietly.Minerva and Oswald were both in shock. "Not again?" "Tod?" "My fault?" Does she remember what she did to Tod? Minerva thought. It was impossible. She couldn't possibly remember killing Tod that night. She blinked several times and saw that Zach had coaxed Athena into moving away from the Mutant Lizard carcass and was calming her down. Her eyes widened just briefly before she turned to Zach and smiled faintly."Oh, hello, Zachary," Athena said. She looked at Oswald and Minerva, which caused her smile to brighten considerably. "So we're finally all together!"Oswald snapped out of his stupor and shook his head. Picking his gun back up, he addressed Zach and Minerva, "Get to the side. Away from her." Minerva felt her arm get lightly grasped by Zach as he pulled her to the side, snapping her back to reality. "Take the helmets off. Don't argue, just do it." Minerva and Zach shrugged and threw both of their helmets to the ground, allowing their sweat-matted hair to get even more soaked by the rain."Ooh," Athena said, walking up to Minerva and running a hand through her daughter's hair, causing her to flinch. "I like what you did with the color!" Oswald growled and pulled Athena away before glancing back at Minerva's brown-and-white hair curiously."What's with the hair?""The Maelstrom," Minerva said coldly. "The Darkitect, Baron Typhonus, you know." Oswald ignored her and allowed a sincere look to form on his face."Minerva, I'm begging you, please join XERRD. If you don't, you'll die. I-I can't lose you like Tod. You're the only family I have left. And if you don't..." Oswald pointed the gun at Athena, causing Minerva to jump. "I'll kill her. Don't...don't make me do it. Please..."Minerva could see that Oswald was going off the deep end and was desperate to save his sister from the Mutant Dinos. She looked at Athena, who stared at the gun in absolute silence, then to Zach, who looked at Oswald with mixed shock, revulsion, and pity. He then glanced to Minerva. "Listen-"A gunshot shattered Zach's sentence. Minerva turned to Athena, who was unharmed but spooked horribly. Oswald had the gun pointed in the air, a scowl on his face."Virchaus isn't helping you," Oswald growled. The "bad" Oswald was back out. "No one is choosing for you except yourself. You've been helped along your entire life. It ends now, Minnie. Time to make your own decisions. If Virchaus says anything else, I'll kill him. Also, don't even consider saying yes to my offer, only to take Mom and run. If you do, I'll kill all three of you."Minerva stared at Oswald in horror. "Oswald, please," she pleaded quietly. "You aren't like this!"The barest hint of "good" Oswald appeared. "Decide." And that was it. Minerva had to find a way to stop Oswald and save her mother. She was getting help from anyone. No Zach to help her come up with plan. She was absolutely alone.Minerva first considered how to possible agree to Oswald's demands and still save Zach and Athena. It would be easy. Say yes and follow him. But, as Oswald had clearly demonstrated, he was mentally unstable. He could still turn and shoot Zach or Athena to break Minerva's will. Denying his demands would only result in Athena's death and possibly Zach's, if he was extremely desperate.Maybe she still could deny his demands. For all intents and purposes, only Oswald and herself were present. Minerva could try to appeal to his better nature. Possibly convince him of Baron Typhonus' survival. She could try to get him to reform. Zach had told her earlier that Oswald had expressed a desire to kill Athena, but now he looked like he didn't want to have to resort to it. He's doubting himself. His will, his decision to join XERRD. He's doubting it. Minerva was trapped. No way could possibly end well."Oswald," Minerva began with a shaky voice. She calmed it down quickly. She couldn't show doubt or fear to him. His "bad" side would take her weakness and grind it into the ground. "You can't continue doing this. You're destroying yourself from the inside out. I know that XERRD got you to join them by using your past against you. By convincing you that I helped ruin your life. And it's partly true. I did make life harder for the both of us. I...I was angry and sad at everything that had happened and took it out on everything, especially you. But because of you, I got better. I cleaned up my life." Minerva gave one weak sigh before continuing."I've known you forever, Oz. You aren't like this. You don't enjoy murdering innocent people. You don't want to watch the world burn because two mad scientists told you it was fate. You're my smart, kind older brother who gave up everything to raise me. You were the closest and greatest friend I ever had. Please, just drop the gun and come with me. I'll forgive you for what you've done. I just...want you back." She extended an open hand toward him.Minerva almost felt her little speech was kind of sappy, but she stood her ground. Oswald stared at her hand intently. His hand with the gun was shaking rapidly. He gave Minerva a look of desperation. Minerva knew he wanted to go with her. He couldn't bring himself to grab Minerva's hand. He turned back to Athena, who was watching in confusion. Oswald bit his lip and Minerva watched in horror as Oswald's finger pressed lightly on the trigger of the gun. He glanced at Minerva one last time. His left began to extend shakily toward his sister. Minerva held her breath, desperately reaching from her brother's grip.Then Oswald's radio crackled to life.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Brikman McStudz

[Atton Rand]

OOC: Interesting. I think Firecracker was trying to pull a "taking you with me" stunt, but from the looks of things, it seems ti have backfired, not that he'd care much. He's probably going to need a few sessions with Saran eventually. That reminds me, I'd make a KateSarah post, bu I'm not sure where the session's at.IC: Taking a moment to regain his senses, Firecracker stumbled out of the basement into the headquarters, what he saw was not promising."How is this thing still standing?" He asked. "The blast was supposed to obliterate the building! This should be a solid pile of rubble!" ***"Look over there!" Wade said as Martinet drove the ambulance down en otherwise empty street, as soon as he pulled over, Martinet saw what he was talking about; a man in a puddle, almost motionless. Martinet brought the vehicle to a halt and climbed out, followed by Wade. Both were shocked to find the man all covered in bandages. When they rolled him over, they recognized the face of plastic serpent. He groaned in pain. ***"Any luck yet, Cabin aske Mac."Nothing yet," replied Mac.Keep trying," replied Cabin."This is standard agent Kurt MacReady. I'm stuck in a house somewhere with a few other agents, including Elite Agents Rotor and Cabin, plus one guy I'm starting to become convinced is a vampire. Some help would be appreciated."Meanwhil, Lance, sitting at attention, suddenly spotted something coming round the corner; mutant lizards, a whole group, with some raptors mixed in. As they got closer, he opened fire.Cabin walked over to the window and looked through the crack in the boards, seeing the incoming horde."They're on both sides," Harris said. "We're surrounded."OOC: For the record, Vampires actually DO exist in this world. This is proven by the fact that at least one appeared in the horror sub-theme of LEGO Studios, plus the fact that several have appeared in that new line, I think it's called something along the lines of "Monster Hunters" or something.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Atton Rand

[Andrewnuva199]

OOC: Just to remind you Atton, Dr. Cyborg sent some help in search of Rotor's crew in his last IC. I believe it was Cyrista's Bane and the prototype Mutant Pterosaur Screech.

[Atton Rand]

OOC: Yes, but they still have to actually find them first.

[avmatoran]

IC:Kara woke up, which was odd, as the last thing she remembered was being hit in the chest with Mutant T-Rex eye lasers, which should have incapacitated her for more than half an hour, according to the ship's HUD clock. Why am I awake?"Ah, I see you are awake. Good," came Cortana's voice through the cabin speakers. "As you can see, if you look out of the cockpit, I had to lift off of the landing pad for the Dino Attack HQ. Some cool dude tryed to blow it up.""Cortana, why am I awake?" Kara asked."A very good question. I ran some scans on your body, and it appears that you have regenerative nanobots inside of you.""But how did they get there?" Kara asked."I do not know," came Cortana's reply.----------------------------------All UlTech employees are ordered to get shots for protections from any mutant diseases that may occur. Thank you.Dr. Cyrista read over the short email that was sent to all employee email accounts."Here, Joseph, send these orders to the lab setting up the immunity shots."Joseph Twoplate carried the memo, reading it as he went.Set up Kara's shot with the nanobots I cooked up.-----------------------------------Cyrista's Bane and Screech were having trouble finding the building were Rotor's crew crashed.Hey, Bane, don't you have infrared vision? Screech asked.Yes, I do, he replied.Then turn it on, you cool dude! It would certainly help my aerial search, she yelled back.Cyrista's Bane, who had apparently been nicknamed Bane, thought. From anyone else, he would most certainly not stand for being called an i diot, but for some reason, from Screech, he didn't mind.Hey, Bane, I think I found something, Screech yelled back as she saw a building with machinery on top being assaulted by Mutant Dinos.Cyrista's Bane confirmed her find as he heard from a Kurt MacReady on the radio."Do not shoot at the T-Rex or Pterosaur attacking the other dinos," he broadcast back as he started attacking the Lizards and Raptors.OOC:Yes, this is a Screech/Cyrista's Bane shipping. I'm sorta doing it as a joke after reading Brikman's recent posts. Also, somebody needs to think of a name for this pairing.OOC:I'll finish this up later.

Edited August 21, 2012 by avmatoran

[Atton Rand]

Hey, Bane, I think I found something, Screech yelled back as she saw a building with machinery on top being assaulted by Mutant Dinos.

OOC: What machinery? they're holed up in a common suburban house armed with basic weapons.IC: Lance fired everything he had. "DIE! DIE! YOU MOTHERZNAPPING RAPTORS!" He shouted. Things were rough elsewhere. Cabin looked in surprise as Buffy actually punched a lizard in the face, and it actually showed pain. Spike had his hands full, as well, he'd jumped out the window and landed on a raptor, and with a swift motion broke it's neck."How'd he do that?" Cabin asked."Long story," replied Buffy. "You'd never believe me."Baldrick was just wandering aimlessly. If any man ever embodied the concept of "too dumb to live" it was him. It ran in the family.As Lance took a moment to reload, he looked up at the sky. There was a mutant pterosaur, unlike one he'd seen anywhere before. Promptly he opened fire. "DIE YOU MOTHERZNAPPER!" He shouted over the noise of his gun."I got something!" Mac shouted. Rotor fired a shot from his revolver at one of the lizards before turning toward him. "We got a response. Someone's coming!"

[avmatoran]

OOC:I read something about putting the rotors on top of the building for some reason.

[Atton Rand]

OOC:I read something about putting the rotors on top of the building for some reason.

OOC: That was a joke. That was a reference to Baldrick's inspiration. (For those of you who don't know, a running gag with his namesake involved him coming up with "cunning plans" to get out of trouble, and with each season said plans got stranger and stranger as each generation of Baldrick becomes an even better case of too dumb to live). That was supposed to be a stupid idea Baldrick proposed that was immediately rejected. How did you miss that?

[Andrewnuva199]

OOC: That was a joke. That was a reference to Baldrick's inspiration. (For those of you who don't know, a running gag with his namesake involved him coming up with "cunning plans" to get out of trouble, and with each season said plans got stranger and stranger as each generation of Baldrick becomes an even better case of too dumb to live). That was supposed to be a stupid idea Baldrick proposed that was immediately rejected. How did you miss that?

OOC: The same way you missed the fact that Amanda's body was in the middle of a situation that made it impossible to have been recovered for the scene you had with the medical staff's reaction to her death. We all miss a few things when reading everyone's posts from time to time, especially if they're not exactly clear due to being a reference to something not everyone has watched. Just relax, point out the error, and move on.

[PeabodySam]

OOC: Baneech?

OOC: I don't quite think so. I think you could get away with using it, but it has to be done right.I'll elaborate further in a PM to you, PeabodySam. I don't want to give too much away if you do consider it, nor do I want to invoke the Unspoken Plan Guarantee trope's effects.

PM received and will likely be taken heavily into account. It's just going to require some cooperation from everybody to make it work.

I actually didn't intend to play that for laughs this time. This time the fight actually was supposed to emphasize Snake's character, and give him a possible chance to get back in the action (although completely against his will). That reminds me, someone might want to go give Serpent a hand.

Perhaps, but in a battlefield filled with Mutant Dinos to the point where Snake hasn't even left the city, surely there must have been a less mean-spirited way to show his character and bring him back into the action besides kicking Plastic Serpent while he's down?

OOC: Interesting. I think Firecracker was trying to pull a "taking you with me" stunt, but from the looks of things, it seems ti have backfired, not that he'd care much.

Of course, given that he was trying to pull this stunt when only a fraction of the Mutant Dinos were actually in the building (with Dr. Rex, the most important target, still far enough away from the building to be unaffected), it would never have worked to the desired effect. However, seeing as we still have a number of important characters (Rex, Hertz, etc.) and things (the Teleport Pad, the Einstein Device, etc.) in the building, and no one down in the basement to stop Firecracker, I decided to tie the original building's fate into how the new building could have possibly survived such explosive power.IC: When Viper and Sam Race arrived in the technology center, the entire area was in ruins. The floor was littered with rubble, broken glass, and damaged machinery. Snapped electrical wires over dripping pools of water sprayed sparks everywhere, and the fires throughout the center were filling the air with smoke.Most disturbingly, although there were a few Mutant Lizard carcasses scattered across the area, most of the blood staining the walls and floor did not belong to any Mutant Dinos.Already, the next wave of Mutant Dinos were breaking into Dino Attack Headquarters, and with the damage caused by all those explosions, they were finding it easier than ever to infiltrate the base. Viper and Race fired their weapons at any living Mutant Dinos they encountered, but had to be careful to aim their shots precisely to avoid shooting any machinery and potentially creating an explosion.After felling a Mutant Raptor, Viper and Sam Race scavenged the area as quickly as possible and discovered, amidst rubble, fire, and pools of blood, the Einstein Device. The fabled weapon looked like a miniature missile, with an outer coat crafted from sleek silver- and blue-hued metals. Nearby, they located a bazooka-esque rocket launcher that appeared to be what the Einstein Device was intended to be fired from."You think it's damaged at all?" inquired Sam Race.Viper shrugged. "If it is, Specs is a techy; he'll know how to fix it. Come on, let's get out of here before any more 'scales' show up!" Viper grabbed the Einstein Device and its launcher, and the two former racers made their way towards the exit.As they passed a broken window, Viper glanced outside and saw the familiar armored and Maelstrom-possessed form of Dr. Rex himself, slowly lumbering towards Dino Attack Headquarters. There was no way he could be stopped, what with that armor that no bullet could pierce, and all that Maelstrom energy wrapped around his body. Surely, Dr. Rex was the biggest and baddest of all Mutant T-Rexes.And, as Viper thought about it, he was now holding in his hands the one weapon that could potentially defeat the biggest and baddest of all Mutant T-Rexes for once and for all.Digger would tell me to wait until the most intense moment to strike, mused Viper. He loaded the Einstein Device into the launcher and aimed at Dr. Rex. Well, MegaBlok that! It's time to bring him down!But as Viper was about to pull the trigger, Dino Attack Headquarters shook again, just violently enough to cause Viper to stumble. Before he could regain his balance, Viper dropped the rocket launcher onto the floor and tripped over it. Sam Race stopped in his tracks and proceeded to give Viper a hand in getting back up. However, when they both looked at the Einstein Device lying the floor, they noticed a few blue light bulbs on its surface were now lit up and flashing."It... wasn't doing that before, was it?" Sam Race bit his lip."MegaBloks!" whispered Viper. "I... I think I just armed the Einstein Device! I don't know if that means it'll go off, or how much time we have until it does... um..." As Viper picked up the rocket launcher, he now saw that it had suffered a bit of structural damage and, try as he may, he could not load the Einstein Device back into the launcher. "This isn't good," frowned Viper."Hurry!" beckoned Sam Race. "We have to bring the device back to Specs! Maybe he can fix it before it's too late!"Gritting his teeth, Viper glared out at Dr. Rex, still visible through the shattered window. "I'll get you soon enough," he promised himself. "You and your scales are all going down!"*****When Viper and Sam Race caught up to Specs, Shadow, Digger, Rex, Frozeen, Greybeard, Gromtin, and Mary Rose on the tenth floor, Specs's eyes widened at the sight of the flashing blue lights on the Einstein Device. "You armed the Einstein Device?" gasped the team leader, and as he raised his voice, it seemed that he was on the verge of lose his reputed composure. "Viper! What did I tell you about the Einstein Device?""Why are you blaming me?" Viper raised an eyebrow."Because I know that you secretly desire to be the one to deliver the final blow! I know you want to be the one who defeats Dr. Rex! But Viper, look... there's still too many of our own units on the battlefield. If the Einstein Device goes off... I don't know for sure what will happen, but I fear that it will place all our lives in danger. The Einstein Device is supposed to be a last resort, not just some toy that can defeat the big bad for us!""Well, why wait?" snapped Rex, earning some stares. "They're all going to die, anyways! Why does it matter if we wait for the Mutant Dinos to kill them first? We might as well go down and bring all those abominations down with us in one swift and clean strike!""Rex!" blinked Gromtin. "I understand that you're eager to avenge Claw, but what you're suggesting is-""Guys, stop it," stepped in Digger, who was raising his arms as though he was trying to physically contain the argument. "I know that we're all on the edge given the situation, but this is no way to be acting in a crisis. Trust me, I've learned that lesson the hard way. I'm all for exciting and intense moments, but this is a time to act calm and reasonable.""You're right," Specs nodded grimly. Rubbing his forehead, he thought for a moment, considering his options. "Perhaps, with some combined effort from some of our elite agents, we can modify the Einstein Device to lessen the risk to our fellow Dino Attack agents. Even with the technology center in ruins, we still have some strong scientists and engineers in the team, like Reptile and Dr. Cyborg.""And it's a device that deals with Maelstrom," added Digger. "Perhaps Zachary Virchaus can lend a hand in that department.""And with skilled fighters like Rotor," murmured Shadow, "we will find the strength to keep the Mutant Dinos where we want them for just a little longer.""Sounds like we have a bit of a plan emerging," Rex raised an eyebrow. "I've learned to hate plans... they never go right. But, if this works... then we can stop the Mutant Dinos for good. Count me in."

[Brikman McStudz]

IC:"So," Blaire Darkling said, smirking slightly. "Have we reached an agreement?"There was silence over the radio briefly before there was a response. "Yes," Doctor Matthew Cyrista said with certainty. "I will be your second-in-command."A wave of relief washed over Blaire. XERRD's future was secured in the Elite Dino Attack Agent's hands. "Excellent. With you on standby in case I should die or do something... regrettable, you will continue XERRD's reformation and continue to aid the Dino Attack Team against the Darkitect.""'Regrettable?'" Dr. Cyrista repeated, an air of suspicion in his voice. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"Blaire's smirk widened considerably. "Nothing, really. The point is you are now my second-in-command and will aid in commanding XERRD, provided your Dino Attack duties do not stand in your way. I will now make the official announcement to XERRD regarding our truce, your place, and hopefully weed out any last fools who refuse to see that Baron Typhonus is alive.""Good luck," Matthew Cyrista said."As to you, old friend." Dr. Oak then cut the connection to Dr. Cyrista and extended his radio signal to all of XERRD. Scratching his beard briefly, Blaire crossed his arms and gestured for Dr. Oak to put him on the air."Members of Xenon Elite Researchers Regarding Dinosaurs! This is Blaire Darkling. The time has truly come that we save the world. Not with the extinction of the Minifig race, but with preserving it so it may continue to strive another day. At this point and time, XERRD is now officially allied with our sworn enemies, the very team will helped create in our foolish decision to destroy this planet's civilization; the D.I.N.O. Attack Team!There is no doubt now! While Ronald Alexander had tried to deny it and some of you have backed him up, Baron Typhonus, the fabled creator the Maelstrom, is very much alive. Not only is he alive, but he is the Maelstrom. We have been tricked. Manipulated. Underneath Typhonus, now being referred to the Darkitect, we perverted the very name of science and used it in our attempt to bring about the end of the Minifig race on the LEGO Planet. Not to restore it to its former glory and allow dinosaurs to repopulate the planet, but so Baron Typhonus could destroy this planet. We have been nothing but pawns to him that he cast aside once his goals are accomplish!What's worse is that once Dr. Rex was usurped and our organization was taken over by Michelle Glados, we continued this fruitless campaign of self-destruction! She knew very well that Baron Typhonus was responsible for having us start this Dino Attack, but continued this battle for no other reason but for science! Our time as Baron Typhonus's playthings is at an end! Most of us were members of Paradox! We control the Maelstrom, not let it control us! Our former leader is nothing more than a puppet at this point! Merely an invincible weapon for Typhonus to use to destroy us all! Once Dr. Rex has left nothing of this planet but ruins and corpses, he will be destroyed as well!And with our destruction assured if we continue to aid the Mutant Dinosaurs, I have seen fit to align with the Dino Attack Team. I have come off a conversation with one of their top members and will welcome us among their ranks with the idea that we will pay for our crimes. We'll pay some of our debt off by helping them destroy the monsters we have so foolishly created. With this move, will have lost the favor of Dr. Inferno, whose overinflated ego continues his fight against the Dino Attack Team, and Willa the Witch, who I believe is also being manipulated by Baron Typhonus thanks to her Maelstrom-enhanced power. But in there place, we will gain the favor of not only the Dino Attack, but the Agents, Alpha Team, and the forces of the Brickster, Evil Ogel, Sam Sinister, and Lord Vladek, far better allies in my opinion.And to assure that we will no longer aid the Maelstrom's agenda in the case that I must resign from command, I have established Doctor Matthew Cyrista, now an Elite Dino Attack agent, as my second-in-command. Yes. The same Matthew Cyrista of UlTech Industries who went missing. The one who designed Cyrista's Bane. He has become a top figure in the Dino Attack's ranks and will keep XERRD on the Dino Attack's side provided I pass on. Feel free not to believe me. I'm sure Dr. Cyrista will be more than willing to prove his survival.Now, go forth, members of XERRD! Restore right to the wrong we created!"Blaire stepped away from the microphone and turned away. It was official now. He didn't pride himself in public speech, but he believed his words should have hopefully convinced any remaining supporters of Dr. Rex of Baron Typhonus's hand in this affair.Blaire's thoughts were seized as a pained scream cut through the air. Turning quickly, he saw an electrospear jutting out of the chest of Dr. Oak. He stared at in morbid shock before his eyes rolled back and he became limp. The Quasifigus lacertilia pulled his electrospear out of Dr. Oak's body and glared at Blaire as three other Hybrids joined him. All of the Hybrids' eyes flashed bright purple and seemed almost to be on fire. They snarled at him and began to move toward him. Blaire quickly noticed the unmoving bodies of other XERRD scientists in the area.Their advance was cut off as Gary Oak, who had grabbed his grandfather's Space Marauder gun, shot one Hybrid multiple times. Gary's distraction gave Blaire enough time to run at the Hybrids. Pulling out a dark gray katana with a violet line running along the edge of the blade, Blaire jammed the sword into one Hybrid's chest. Before the other could respond, Blaire had already shot him in the head with his gun.Blaire pulled his sword out of the Hybrid's body and placed it back in his trenchcoat. He stared at the bodies briefly. The Darkitect is not happy with our change of allegiance. Blaire allowed a small smile to form on his face as he shook his head. How ironic. Huntsman had the Hybrids betray the Dino Attack Team, and now Typhonus has had them betray XERRD.Blaire turned to Gary, who stared at his grandfather's remains with watering eyes. "The Hybrids have betrayed us. Spread the word, then get out of here. Nowhere is safe now, might as well fight." Blaire turned and began to descend the stairs. He had a battle to join and, more importantly, had a space ninja to find.OOC: I hope how I did this will work for you, avmatoran.

[Andrewnuva199]

IC: The stakes had never been higher. HQ was massively damaged and close to collapse. The Mutant Dinos may've taken severe losses by now, but they were far from backing down. The Castle Cove witches and Inferno forces were not giving up. And the Dino Attack agents were suffering from their casualities, fatigue, and moral state.But there was still hope. Most Elite Agents were still up and directing orders. Rotor was appearently close to a rescue by Dr. Cyborg's allies. And they had Alpha Team, the Agents, and XERRD themselves gunning for them. They may be starting to suffer, but they were far from being done with."Keep clear of HQ, and hold formations around the diameter of the site!" Andrew was saying to the team members over radio. "What matters now is that we keep together, and don't let ourselves fall victim to claws, witchcraft, or a giant metal foot!""Also note that we do have an opening coming up for beating Dr. Rex!" Semick also said through the comn. "The Founding Members have gone into HQ to fetch a device that I've received word of being capable of driving the Maelstrom out of that son of a brick's body! If they can get it and work it right, we could definitely turn this battle around!""I'll take any chance we can get by now.""I wouldn't rely on it. It's going to take more than the press of a button on some device to end this, I'm sure.""Why doesn't anyone just shoot the Znap out of that mother-!""Which part of 'Silge armor and Maelstrom regenerative properties' don't you understand?!""The Einstein Device isn't a myth! I knew it!""Miss Witch, I'll give you something to wave a stick at!""That stunt of Pointman's was completely pointless! Why'd he throw his life and ship away like that?!""What did you expect from the likes of him?""B better get back here, stat!""And so does Zach and Fabello too, for that matter, assuming they weren't injured in that explosion.""What caused it, anyways?""Someone get Pyro and Andrew Jackson to fight fire with fire in regards to that Inferno mech!""I overheard some of the Third Headquarters Squad talking about blowing up the building as a last resort in Dr. Rex's assult. Seems like they were a little pre-emptive, though.""Seriously, they should've consulted with us first! You don't just blow up our HQ without teling anyone, darn it!""So much discord right now," Laxus remarked."Yeah," Andrew muttered briefly as he looked up to the skies through his Fire Hammer windshield. Along with the Alpha Team craft carrier and the still-surviving ADU forces, they still had a good fifty-or-so T-1 Typhoons still in the hair. Half of them were recent reinforcements from Antarctica. Most were occupied with defending the ground forces, while a good ten of them were keeping busy attacking the witch crafts and Inferno's giant robot, which was almost taking up the role Cyrista's Bane had been playing eariler ("Someone sic that cyborg T-Rex on the Inferno robot!" someone on the comn had said. "it'd be the coolest battle tonight!").Semick was still leading somewhere around the middle, helping to cover the front lines, while Reptile was still hanging around close to the area of the Headquarters, defending the rooftops as much as he could for the sake of the Founding Member's T-1. Hotwire's team was coming back into the main battle just now, having been helping out B's team with the bulk of the Inferno agents at LEGO City's outskirts.Andrew turned his attention back to the radio. "Semick, how is everybody?""Bluetooth's been helping me get everything understood," The former Power Miner replied. "Hertz apparently went deaf in the attack on the communications and is still getting treated. He's not going to be much help with the radios, but I'm getting Bluetooth to try and talk with him via PDA to see if he can help out with coding and working out how to best narrow frequencies between us and all our allies.""I've already sent a message to him," Bluetooth chimed in. "He better reply soon, and I've told him to let the medics know he has Semick's authorization to be helped back into the field. Or at least, help from the bunker they're making in the HQ basement."Andrew felt horrified that Hertz had suffered such a cruel handicapp, which made Hotwire and Rex's conditions seem minor by comparison. But he was happy to hear Semick working things out. "Good to hear," he said. "how about Cyborg and Rotor?""Rotor sent out a PDA message about their situation," said Bluetooth. "I replied, explaining to him about Dr. Cyborg sending Cyrista's Bane and some kind of friendly Mutant Pterosaur to find them. Hopefully they'll be able to understand what's going on when the two arrive.""And Dr. Cyborg was appearently talking to that Darkling fellow currently leading XERRD," Semick added. "Appearently, our fellow Elite's now the second-in-command, and if Darkling dies, he gets command of the scientists. He should report back in any time now.""Sounds excellent!" Hotwire added, just now flying in with several other T-1s. "Hope I'm not too late to regroup with-Znap, what's up with the Maelstrom dragons?!""You've missed quite a bit," said Swerve. "Including Kat try to talk down Dr. Rex.""What?! Where is-""The building she was on got pulverized not too long afterwards," said Semick. "We haven't found a body yet, though, so there's a chance she's still out there. We're keeping an eye out.""Along with several other agents," said Andrew. "Reports are saying that Zach and Fabello were forced out of HQ with Athena by some XERRD guy. I've asked Joike, Gypsy and Observer to look for them, but they haven't found them yet."If you use thess guys, Brikman, have fun molding out Observer based on his namesake in relation to Joike's and Gypsy's."And where's B, by the way?" Semick asked. "I heard something about him having to settle a score with someone alone.""Uh, yea, that would be true," said Hotwire. "Hopefully he'll have that finished up soon, though.""He'd better. Once the Founding Members get out of HQ, I suspect they'll want us to focus our efforts in a certain way in regards to how they're going to use that device they're planning to use. I want all of us to be able to report quickly and immediately in case they need our help.""Understood," said Andrew. "We'll keep holding out in the meantime.""Great. Now focus back on the task at hand, people. There's no time to waste."

[Atton Rand]

IC: "Can you show me where they were?" One of the internal affairs agents asked. Montoya nodded as he turned toward him. They stepped back into the bowling alley, Past Walter as he shot another ball.Finally, Montoya led them into the dark room in the back, where the bowling pins were set up. "This is where I last saw them going," he said. "I found Carrie- the civilian, back here."The room was mostly dark, as they looked around. Finally, amidst the dim light, they could see a still figure. The two of them approached for a closer look. Sure enough, the man in question was a large black man."What happened here?" The agent asked. "Give me a hand, here, will ya?"Montoya slowly grabbed the commander by the arm. He was incredibly heavy, they practically had to drag him out into the alley."What the znap happened there?" Dude asked as he saw them carrying out the body. "Here, let me give you a hand.""Don't worry about it Dude," replied Walter."That guy's been hurt, man!" Replied Dude. "I think we got to do something."Quickly, he got up and ran over toward them, and struggled to help pull Pharisee's weight.Finally, they reached the chopper, where another man came to their assistance.

***

"Something's happened," said a female raven-haired doctor as she stepped into the room. "We got a problem.""What happened this time?" Copper asked."There was an explosion," replied the female doctor. "Apparently someone tried to blow up the base but failed.""I see," replied Pierce. "Shaw, Carver! Get over here!"Quickly, the two women approached nervously. "What is it?" Shaw asked."Apparently someone tried to blow up the base," replied Pierce."That would explain the noise," replied Shaw."Yes," replied Pierce. "There's a possibility of several dead, many with injuries. We're going to have to split up. What's your name again?""Hale," replied the female Doctor. "Naomi Hale.""Hale, right," replied Pierce. "Hale, I'd you to take Shaw and Carver. Do a sweep of the base. Take a stretcher with you in case you find anybody. Crusher and I will go in another group. Copper, you and Clickitt stay behind and keep an eye on the patients already here. Be ready to perform surgery if we have to rush someone into here. And much as I hate to say it if we can find Enter and Return we may have to rely on them as well. Okay, let's move!"

Edited August 22, 2012 by Atton Rand

[that guy from that show]

OoC:If I remember correctly Saran was asking Kate what she wanted to do with her life. I think that if Kate can identify her passions it would give her something she can hold on to and allow some individuality and confidence in her life. So far Kate has said she wanted to do something good but something more specific would be helpfulConsidering Firecracker just blew the base the session may once again have been interrupted. Once I get caught up with Pharisee and Hertz and can come back to Dr. Saran.EDIT: Darn, it looks like Atton intervened and messed up my plain here. I was hoping to get to Pharisee myself but Montoya seems to have moved him. What I’m about to post will create a redundancy but considering it took over a day to write, is relatively long, and features some defining character aspects of Pharisee I will post it anyway. We can deal with what is canon latter.iCSomething was on his face. It was an annoying sensation as a small rough tongue swept back and forth across the bruise that now covered the majority of his forehead. Commander Pharisee’s eyes opened slowly and instinctively his hand went to his head. It was sore but it would offer little more than an inconvenience latter in the day.As he rose from the hard concrete floor the scrawny ally cat that had awoken him scurried into the shadows of the bowling alley. The commander needed to reassess his surroundings and came to several startling conclusions.The first and most apparent was that Trigger was gone. He remembered beating the mercenary within an inch of his life when the man had clubbed him over the head with a bowling pin. The impact had knocked him out and in most cases it would have been enough for Trigger to make an escape. However based on the toll he had recently taken Pharisee assumed he could not have gone far. He would have no means of escape and he was likely apprehended by the agents just ouside.The second thing he noticed was that Carrie Enderson had vanished. All that remained of her presence was a pool of blood on the floor. The drops of red disappeared down the hallway and vanished behind the dour that led to the bowling lanes. Pharisee’s detective skills informed him of the peculiarity of this scenario. If she had dragged herself along the floor there would be a continuous messy trail of gore. Instead, the result was small spots an equal distance apart. The only thing that could lead to such an effect is if someone carried Carrie.The commander slowly picked himself of floor and followed the trail of blood back down the row of pin-setting machines. On the way he spotted the gun that had belonged to Trigger and he realized his own weapon was missing. He took the mercenary’s weapon as a replacement for his own and carefully opened the dour back to the lanes.Nothing seemed to have changed since he last saw Walter, the Dude, and Donnie. The trio was still playing their game of bowling with little regard to what was happening around them. Dude rose from his seat and called over to Pharisee.Instead of walking around the lanes Pharisee opted to cut directly across them. In the process he stepped across the role that Walter had just thrown and disrupted what could have been a strike.“What the Znap!” barked Walter, “It’s illegal to step over the line! You’re on the znaping lane!”Pharisee paid no head as Walter continually cursed at him. Since the angry bowler’s previous weapon had been torn apart by the commander, Walter opted to charge him with considerable tenacity. Without breaking stride Pharisee dispatched him with a quick punch to the face. Walter fell to the floor with a thud (on the other side of the line) and the commander walked over him.“Hay man, what were those gun shots I heard back there?” asked the Dude. “It would not have anything to do with that lady that came through here would it?”Pharisee nodded his head. “Where is Montoya? I entrusted the man to your care.”“The guy went back where you were and picked up that lady,” Responded the Dude, “I think he took her to that helicopter outside. She looked pretty messed up man.”“I should know.” Responded Pharisee, “I was forced to shoot her so I could get to Trigger. Her injury was enough to throw the mercenary of kilter and allow me to take a shot.”“Was the necessary man?” asked the Dude. “Did you at least kill him?”Pharisee walked over to the seat where he had hung his trench coat and put it on. “I don’t know. Either way Trigger could not get far. I brought the man down a few levels. He will bear the scars of my reckoning for some time to come.”With those words Pharisee vacated the bowling alley threw the hole in the wall. He had lost valuable time during his unconsciousness but without a vehicle the escape radius of an injured man could not be high. Pharisee hoped his men had already apprehended him but he had never before lived on the concept of hope.As he once again stepped out into the rain he spotted the T-1 Typhoon landed in the street. There were more agents then he expected. Those who had been tasked with guarding the back door had now relocated to within the helicopter or outside in the rain. The entire party was present.Standing just inside the dour was Montoya. He was holding the hand of a woman under a blanket who was trembling terribly. Beside him was a man on life support and an agent covered beneath a white sheet. The mood was as somber as the rain pouring down and Pharisee stepped across the puddles in silence.“What happened here?” asked Pharisee quietly. “Where is Trigger? Who is that man beneath the cover?”“Trigger stumbled out of the bowling alley after the fight.” Responded a rookie agent, “he was faltering and seriously beaten up. We tried to apprehend him but he killed McGovern and shot Montgonal. We emptied quite a few rounds into the guy and he went down in the back. We were so busy tended to Montgonal that he slipped away.”Pharisee sighed. “How far do you think he could have gotten?”“He’s probably dead now sir.” Said the rookie. “No one could have survived what you did to him combined with how many times we shot him. He probably had just enough energy to crawl away and die.”“I don’t want to take any chances.” Said Pharisee. “Never utter the phrase no one could have survived that to me. If a man has enough will power he can accomplish a great many things on the brink of death.”“With all due respect sir, searching for a mortally wounded man seems like a poor use of time. Montgonal is in critical condition and Carrie has quite the nasty gunshot wound. She said you shot her sir, is that true?”Pharisee sighed. His actions would be defined by weather or not shooting Carrie was a reasonable sacrifice. He knew very little of whom she was and unless he learned otherwise she did not deserve what befell her. Pharisee did not often feel doubt; his actions were calculated based on a vast range of factors. At the time it seemed shooting the innocent woman was the only option if he hoped to take down Trigger. To some degree it worked and he had seceded in bringing down the mercenary, but if Trigger survived the sacrifice would have been wasted.Either way the commander had to ask himself whether Trigger’s crimes outweighed Carrie’s innocence. He knew he had committed many crimes for the sake of the greater good and as long as the villain was defeated he did not allow those moments to weigh him down. It was in this particular instance that he understood his failure. He had not defeated Trigger, the man had escaped to kill again and now the blood of Montgonal and McGovern were both on his hands.Yes, Trigger could be dead at this very moment but in his heart he would have to grasp that what he did to Carrie was in vain. He had hoped that one innocent would be the last expense in the fight to take down a man who had committed a lifetime of wickedness. Instead she had become collateral damage in his sacred fight against the evil men of the world. It had been unproductive; her life was now wasted because Pharisee had failed to stop the man he shot her for.“Sir do you really need to find Trigger?” asked the rookie agent. “We can’t afford to let Montgonal stay here any longer. He needs blood now!”“No.” answered Pharisee bluntly. “I must see the body. I need to know whether or not the sacrifices of these three people are in vain. My failure already had led to the suffering of two good men. I must know whether or not it will lead to more.”To spite the rookie’s protests Pharisee turned away and headed down the side street to the right of the bowling alley. The blades of the helicopter began to spin behind him and the pilot flashed his lights in a sign of impatience. The commander held up a finger to indicate his absence would only take a moment before he disappeared behind the corner.There in the middle of the street lay the body of the man once known as Trigger. He lay on his side with his arms and legs sprawled out beside him. The rain created ripples in the pool of blood surrounding him and his open eyes gazed up at the gray sky.Thunder boomed as the commander approached. There was no doubt that the mercenary was dead, his lifeless eyes continued to express his final moments of life. Pharisee could not pretend to know what his final thoughts had been; his life had taught him never to sympathize with his quarries. It was threw his apathy that Pharisee was so effective in his mission.In the grand scheme of things Trigger had been just another unrighteous man whom the commander had dispatched. Although Pharisee was not directly responsible for the man’s death he still held responsibility. He wanted to remember the names of the men who he had unleashed justice on. He hoped one day he would learn Trigger’s name so he would not become just another number.Although he believed Trigger deserved his justice Pharisee had to remember the man’s humanity. He had to remember his face so could live with the burden it carried. Even the death of an unrighteous man was still murder and he had to grasp the toll it took on his own soul was a necessary sacrifice for a greater society.Now Trigger was dead and Pharisee had to ask himself whether his demise were worth the suffering he brought down upon Carrie Enderson. Would she be able to comprehend what he had done to her was for the greater good? Would she see his justification and understand Trigger’s death was worth her leg?It was unlikely; Pharisee would live with that cross forever. It may not have been his choice to decide what Carrie’s role would be and he would have to learn there might not be a justification. If he had not shot Carrie Trigger may have escaped and killed more of his agents but McGovern’s life was one too many. Threw his head Pharisee would replay the actions of this knight forever and wonder whether he had made the right choice. He left the body of the mercenary where he lay. Pharisee retrieved his original weapon from the dead man’s hand before turning back to board the helicopter. He would have to confront both Carrie Enderson and confess his failure to her. He would try to explain but he knew she would no listen. He might have destroyed her life forever in exchange for the death of an evil man. Was Trigger’s death worth more than her life?As he boarded the T-1 Typhoon the helicopter immediately made its way to the headquarters. The suffering of Carrie was directly on his hands and the suffering of Montgonal was a direct result of his failure. Pharisee rarely experienced regret but on this night he did. It was a sensation he was not familiar with and pained him to except his failure to people he swore to protect.As the helicopter made its way back to headquarters Pharisee was forced to look into the eyes of Carrie and Montoya. They held feeling of pain and anger that the commander could not ignore.“I’m sorry.” The commander said simply. “I put my mission over your lives. I shot you Carrie because I thought I could end the suffering a single man could inflict. It was useless in the end and Trigger went on to shoot two more good men. This was my failure Carrie; I sacrificed your leg in futile effort to destroy a wicked man. Trigger is dead now but I will always remember the cost I inflicted on you. I hurt you Carrie and I failed to do my job. I’m not asking for forgiveness, I just hope you can understand.”Rain gushed threw the open dour of the helicopter. Lightning continued to flash outside illuminating the suffering and behind Carries eyes. She said nothing to the commander but continued to gaze upon the remnants of her knee. It was obliterated beyond recognition and it was all for not. Pharisee had chosen to make her an unwilling sacrifice and had achieved nothing but one last dead agent.“Montoya.” continued the commander. “I’m sorry for what I brought you threw, I carried you threw continuous suffering in hopes of catching a wretched man. It was waste and an unmerited punishment for a man I now start to see as good. You are not the attempted murder I once saw you for Montoya, you saved the life of Carrie and even now you ease my suffering. I ask for the forgiveness of my ways Montoya. You did not deserve what I wrongfully unleashed on you. I can see that now.”Montoya stared into Pharisee’s eyes. It was on this man’s account that he had been beaten and humiliated. He had been forced to confront his own dark past and the memories of Trigger and the commander would always haunt him.The driver locked eyes with the commander and uttered one simple word. “No”Pharisee frowned. “Then this will be my burden. I will forever remember my wrongs against you two and I will never forget. I will live with the suffering I inflicted on you forever, this is my justice.”The helicopter continued back to the headquarters in the rain. No more words were spoken, nothing more transpired.OoC: Now that that’s done I’ll probably focus primarily on Hertz in the future. Pharisee might still make some appearances in relation to other trouble makers but considering where the battle is I had better start utilizing my main character

[Atton Rand]

OOC: I'm not sure what you can do with Hertz, given he's a deaf radio operator. A Naomi Carver post in the near future wouldn't be too bad, though.I didn't have anything specific in mind for Kate. I'd always imagined her as the kind of person who wanted to do something people would remember her for, she just isn't sure what. She joined the team because she wanted to leave behind her hard life and do something that would ultimately help save the world, only to realize she'd gotten in over her head.By the way, I think you'll have a harder time catching Firecracker, given he's an ax-crazy psycho armed with dozens of explosives.IC: Firecracker slowly worked his way through the headquarters. He had failed to destroy it completely as planned, and he felt determined to see the building levelled. As he walked, he occasionally tossed a stick of dynamite into the adjacent room. Here and there he heard a mutant lizard snarling, and tossed yet another stick within, but he had to figure out what went wrong, and fast.

[Andrewnuva199]

OOC: I didn't have anything specific in mind for Kate. I'd always imagined her as the kind of person who wanted to do something people would remember her for, she just isn't sure what. She joined the team because she wanted to leave behind her hard life and do something that would ultimately help save the world, only to realize she'd gotten in over her head.

OOC: Well, I'd understand the "way over her head" idea after seeing the Maelstrom in its purest and learning about the dark side and family secrets within XERRD, but one would think after that crowning moment of awesome when she delivered the final blow to the Darkitect at the Maelstrom temple, she would at least start pulling herself back together and become a willing and strong agent.But for some inexplicable reason, she's failed to do so, and with her mother virtually taking over for her, she's been basically sitting in a corner crying over her circumstances. Surely at some point she would be expected to start recovering from her grief and move on, don't you think? She handled being an agent in Adventurers Island pretty well before the XERRD Fortress, I believe. Can't she do it again?

[Brikman McStudz]

OOC: I'm just going to go with Plastic Serpent being addressed in the back of Martinet and Wade's ride, because I want him for this post.IC:The area was filled with silence after Blaire Darkling's speech. The only noise was the rain splatted against the ground and the occasional rumble of thunder. Minerva and Zach simply looked at each other before looking back at Oswald, who was staring at his walkie-talkie in shock. XERRD may have joined forces with the Dino Attack Team, but has Oswald."Baron Typhonus..." Oswald muttered absently as he began to put the pieces together. "He...is...the Maelstrom?" Minerva stopped herself from nodding, not wanting to trigger a negative reaction from him. Oswald glanced at the two of them as could see in their face that Blaire was right. "H-he...is...the Ma-Maelstrom."The color was draining from Oswald face rapidly. "Everything was a trap," he said. His gun was now shaking violently. "A lie. We're nothing but tools. What...what have I done?" Minerva could feel the sudden agony and remorse that traveled through his body. He looked at Minerva and Zach."There's no hope...we're all going to die...nothing matters...I failed...can't save Minerva...all going to die..." The gears in Oswald's head were turning. His remorseful face suddenly became darker. In fact, the entire area seemed to become darker. A mad glint appeared formed in his eyes."There is nothing I can do," Oswald muttered. Minerva watched madness descend over him like the rain. "Everyone I ever loved is going to die and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm so sorry, Minerva." His eyes pierced his sister's. "For everything." Turning to his mother, his entire person became bitterly grim."You monster," Oswald spat at Athena. "How could a mother do what you did? Force her children to fend for themselves when they needed her most!" Minerva and Zach glanced at each other. Minerva was glad they could read each other expressions, for she saw a purple spark travel up Zach's arm. Just knock him out. It would be safer that way."Had her kids suffer while she hid behind memories of the past," Oswald's tone became darker. His gun was still shaking, but it was steadying out gradually. "Ki-ki-killed her own son while trying to kill her daughter." He looked back at Minerva with eyes sparked with madness."Oswald," Minerva whispered, trying one last time to reason with him. "Please..." Oswald's jaw slackened as he stared at his sister. His arm was shaking again as he looked back at Athena. Minerva realized what was about to happen. She started running at him instinctively as Zach fired a Maelstrom fireball.Bang!Athena Fabello's eyes widened to astronomical proportions. She looked down at her children, who were both lying on the ground after being struck by the fireball. They both shakily crawled to their feet. Minerva had attempted to shove Oswald away, but only ended up getting caught in Zach's Maelstrom attack. Her entire body screamed in pain, but she muffled it as she looked at her mother. Athena stared at Minerva with wide, unwavering gray eyes before looking to her son. Then to his gun. Finally, she looked down at the growing red stain on her sweatshirt, around her chest. Athena fell to her knees slwoly.Minerva whipped her head from Athena to Oswald. He looked as though he was going to be sick. He dropped the gun and, without a single word, fled from the scene. Minerva didn't bother chasing him. She started to move toward Athena when Zach grabbed her arm."Are you alright?!" He seemed extremely worried. "I didn't mean to shoot you, it's-""I'm fine," Minerva snapped. She wasn't, both physically and emotionally. But she was more concerned with getting her grievously wounded mother to safety. It was like Tod all over again. "Help me!" Zach nodded in silence and approached the fallen Athena. Together, they wrapped Athena's arms around their necks and lifted her off the ground."Athena, can you hear me?" Zach asked, maintaining a calm voice. There was a small interlude before Athena weakly nodded, staring straight ahead. "Can you walk?" Athena didn't respond to this. Her pupils were still wide open. "I'll take that as no," Zach said, looking away. "We'll just have to be careful with her feet." Minerva nodded. With Athena in between them, they hurried as fast as they could back to Dino Attack Headquarters so they could find her medical attention.It was hard going. Oswald had clearly been anticipating this, so he had brought all three of them all as far enough away from the headquarters (which was now smoking and seemed on the verge of collapse) so they couldn't save Athena. Despite this, Minerva was felt a sudden determination to get her mother to safety.As they walked, Minerva felt her heart sink. Oswald had finally lost it. She had hoped learning the truth about the Dino Attack would've helped, but that, combined with remorse for his previous deeds, had crushed Oswald's hope entirely. He believed there was no hope left. That he was going to lose everyone that he had cared about. His plan had failed. There was no chance of saving his little sister now. And with his sunken sanity, Athena had become his first target.Minerva suddenly realized she was trying to stop the blood from exiting Athena's chest with her hand. Her glove now soaked in blood, she looked at her mother again. Her eyes had returned to a normal size. However, Athena was now muttering something, but Minerva couldn't hear it as they reached the battlefield. Gunfire, explosions, and roars muffled everything."Hey! HEY!" Zach suddenly yelled out. He waved his free hand. "MEDIC!" Minerva finally saw it. A Fire Hammer (or was it a Dino 4WD Trapper? It lacked the gun and instead had a small, cube-like area in the back) with the Star of Life painted crudely on the side of the door. The Fire Hammer stopped in its tracks and a mustachioed doctor jumped out of the cab and started running toward them."What's-a going on?" the doctor exclaimed. He looked at Athena "Is that a-?!""Yes, Martinet," Zach said. "A civilian. Whose been shot. We need help." Martinet nodded and gestured for them to go to the back of the Fire Hammer."I think we can-a make space for her," Martinet was saying in a hurried tone. "We found another injured man, but her wound appears to be much more serious. The headquarters has-a been blown up and at this point, I'm not-a sure if we should take her-""Stop."Zach and Minerva froze in their tracks and looked at Athena in surprise. Her breathing was shallow and her head was bowed down, allowing her long blonde hair to cover much of her head.Martinet raised an eyebrow. "Excuse-a me?" Ma'am, we need to do something or else-""No," Athena said, lifting her head to face the medic. "Thank you...""Dr. Martinet.""Thank you, Dr. Martinet, for wanting to help," Athena paused, trying to catch her breath. "But it's far too late. I want to speak to Zachary and Minerva." Martinet looked at the two Elite Agents curiously. Minerva nodded slowly, her breath taken away.Martinet sighed, but nodded. Lifting up a massive hammer, "I'll keep the dinos away." Athena smiled weakly and nodded once. As Martinet went to guard them, Zach and Minerva set Athena down on the ground and leaned her against the side of the Fire Hammer.Minerva stared at Athena, trying to find something to say. The only word that made it past her lips was, "M-Mom?"Athena bit her lower lip. There were tears in her eyes. "I'm here, Minnie." The younger Fabello woman was still guarded. "Minerva, I...I'm so sorry. For everything."Minerva froze. Memories of herself as a young child flooded her vision. She had her ear to a door. She could hear a woman weeping gently. The woman hadn't left her room for days. She would only leave to get more bottles full of a liquid that Minerva wasn't allowed to have. A blonde-haired boy pulled her away from the door and told her to stay away from her. "But she's my mom," Minerva had argued. Oswald had grimaced."She's not Mom anymore. She doesn't care about us anymore."Tears were forming in Minerva's eyes. This was her mom. The happy mother she had known when she was toddler. Not the alcoholic woman who used her memories to hide away from the present, but Athena Fabello. It was only now did Minerva realize how much she missed her mom in all those years growing up under Tod and Oswald's care. Being shot must have freed her mind from her amnesia somehow.Minerva leaned forward and hugged her mom. Athena returned the hug. Her crying was louder now. "I'm so sorry. Because of me, you had no mother and lost a brother." Athena choked at mentioning Tod's death. "Oz...Oz had every reason to do what he did.""No," Minerva muttered, not wanting to let go of her. "He didn't. He shouldn't have. He's...not okay. He's-""Shhh," Athena said soothingly. Minerva became quiet immediately. Minerva pulled away and looked into her mother's eyes. There was calm comfort and acceptance in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you, Minerva," Athena whispered, wiping a tear off of Minerva's cheek. "You haven't let what I've done to you control you.""But...but, I-"Athena put a hand to Minerva's lips and shook her head. "I've been watching you for the past hour, Minerva. I remember everything you said, including what you said to Oswald. You've become a strong, beautiful young woman. I...I only wish I hadn't missed watching you grow up." Athena looked past Minerva and up to Zach. He was clearly shaken, but had remained silent. "Thank you, Zachary. Thank you for helping me reunite with my daughter one last time. Even if I was a little annoying." Zach smiled faintly and nodded."No!" Minerva gasped. "You can't die! You've come back. You're yourself again! You can't leave!"Athena smiled sadly. "It is certainly unfair that the only way I could speak to you as myself is when I'm on the verge of death. You'll pull through, Minnie. I'm sure of it." Athena touched Minerva's cheek quietly. "I wish I hadn't been so weak." Her voice was becoming weaker. "I wish I hadn't given up.""Mom!" Minerva sobbed. "Martinet! Get back over here! Please! You can-""Shhh," Athena whispered gently. "It's okay, Minnie. I get to see them again. I hope Tod forgives me. I'm so sorry...""Please!" Minerva begged, her desperation growing. "I forgive you! Just don't go!"Athena looked into Minerva eyes, a motherly smile forming on her face. "I love you, Minerva. Tell...tell Oswald that I...love him...too." Athena closed her eyes. Her chest rised one last time before falling and become still."No!" Minerva yelled. She shook her mother's shoulders once, knowing that she wouldn't respond. Minerva laid her head upon Athena Fabello's cold shoulder and sobbed loudly, grieving the loss of her mother.