Chicago is a modern anomaly. Something that is rarely seen or accomplished in the current world, due to the threat that it faces and the scarcity of the B.A.I.T.R's reach. Chicago is a city that has managed to survive. It is a large city--perhaps not as large as the main cities that the B.A.I.T.R bases have been stationed in, but large none-the-less. It is protected by a shield generator that an ex-baiter managed to rig up from old salvaged parts. It currently holds an A.I. Shield over the entire city that protects it from any incoming threats, and has done so for centuries without fail. The baiter that set it up is long dead, though he had left the organization to save the city, and it made him a hero. There is a statue of this man in the center of the city, and Elias Hans Grueten's name has become well known and adored throughout the city. The generator, in its time, was incredibly advanced, but over the years it has grown much more dated, since B.A.I.T.R is not technically aligned with the city, for if it set up multiple bases within one continent, it would be forced to do so in every continent--to be fair--and they don't have the funds or personnel for such a mission.
B.A.I.T.R agents are often sent to the city to check it out, as even though they can not post a permanent base there, they can still do what they can with extra agents when they are available. The city itself seems smaller than it is on the surface, due to its massive underground works. It has a labyrinth of access tunnels beneath the city for sewage and power lines. These tunnels are where the entire inner workings of the city take place, and it is a huge employment sector. Many of the citizens of Chicago work in the underground, maintaining the pipes and wires that keep their city running smoothly. However, in recent years there have been disturbing reports from the tunnels, though nothing has been concretely found.
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:39 am
Sarah Hartwell
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Sarah could only nod at Acel when he said that Kawaguchi was actually a nice. She wasn't completely convinced. He barely knew her and there was he creeping up behind her, scaring her. If that didn't scream odd, she wasn't sure what did. But when Acel turned back to her and apologized for blushing, saying it was his A.I. Core, she could only widen her eyes. He could hear his A.I. Core as well? She wasn't the only one? She was sure it was a bad sign after what happened with Kad. She was sure the Guard was doing the same thing with his talking to her and it made her worry. But if Acel could hear his as well, then it may not be the case. “Y... yours talks to... to you as well? And it.... it's rude?” She couldn't help but ask. She needed to know. Who are you calling rude, Princess? The guard asked.
Sarah hadn't heard Acel's question about Kawaguchi talking to electronics, quickly recoiling when Acel had frowned at her. She wondered if she should not have spoken up, thinking she had become an annoyance with her talking. She should have wrote it down instead. She sighed in relief when Acel actually smiled instead of growled at her, giving a half smile at him when he said she was destined to join them on their mission. She wasn't sure how to take the comment, but she was grateful that he wasn't angry with her. She glanced at Kawaguchi when he repeated her words, only with much more confidence than she would ever to be able to muster up outside of a stage, and with a little mixed language in his speech. Perhaps Chinese, it sounded close to it. She only nodded to confirm what he said before starting to follow them to the portal room. Sarah looked at Acel, paling when he began to speak about what her core had said. He could hear the damn thing inside her own head? Could he read her mind as well? Her thoughts scattered when she heard the Guard start to laughing loudly, but he didn't provide any explanation. He only laughed harder not too soon after, unknown to her that he was laughing at what Midas had said. The human gave you a name? And you're mad that I called you a dog when the human only proved it to be even more true by naming you? Your human can't be any more terrible than mine. All I hear is either panicked thoughts or music. Hear me Princess, that music is getting annoying!
Sarah only ignored him, realizing that the Guard must be talking to Acel's core and that was how he knew what her core said. She wondered if she could do the same, only she didn't even know how he did it. Maybe it was an ability only his core provided. She stepped in the elevator with the boys, stepping to the furthest corner so she was out of the way. An old habit when she was deaf. Not able to hear someone coming up behind you was hard, ending up being in the way because you didn't move out of their path. One of the very many reasons she tried to stay inside or close to her family when she as deaf. She looked up, listening to the two men talk about Kawaguchi talking to electronics. She raised her eyebrow at the conversation. The robots did talk back in a sense, but only with the dialog that their programming allowed. She only looked at Acel when he looked her in embarrassment, blinking in confusion about why she should feel better about Kawaguchi's explanation on how he was able to understand binary. Didn't make any sense.
Sarah followed the men out of the elevator, letting them go out first before sticking her hand out to keep the elevator doors from closing on her. She had that happen to her many times and she really didn't want it to happen to her now. She waited for Kawaguchi to set the portals to Toronto before stepping on the portals, feeling herself being taken down to small bits and shot through the unknown. She had closed her eyes before, she didn't enjoy the scene of how the portal made her able to be able to go from place to another. She opened them when she felt the sensation was gone, looking at the portal room of Toronto. She stepped down from the portal, looking at the others. Kawaguchi seemed alright but Acel looked green. She frowned, knowing it was from the shifting from on portal to another. She took note, looking at Kawaguchi when he told her to show them the way to the train. She stiffened, feeling her nerves suddenly go crazy. They wanted her to lead them? She thought she was going to just point their way to the train station, not actually take them. She walked out of the headquarters, looking up and down the busy streets. A few people stared at them but she only ignored it. Not like they were actually interested in them. Sarah looked down the street, seeing a taxi coming down. She put her forefinger and thumb in her mouth, blowing out a loud whistle that could be heard over the busy noises of the large Canadian city without any challenge. The taxi pulled up in front of them without a second thought. Sarah waited for the men to settle where they were going to sit, seeing that Acel took the window seat and Kawaguchi was sitting in the middle. She frowned a bit, wondering if she shouldn't instead sit up front. She quickly remembered this was a taxi though and knew that wasn't going to happen. She slowly slid into the seat, sitting as close to the door without actually sitting on it, so she could leave room for Kawaguchi. Though it wasn't much, their legs were still touching since Kawaguchi was taller than her and that didn't count for the height of Acel as well.
She remained quiet during the drive to the station, paying the driver from her wallet that was sitting in a small pocket on her skirt. She led the way onto the train, being free of charge. The train ride was only a few minutes, being one of the fastest forms of transportation and one of the few still being used. Sarah was doing her best to contain her excitement to see her home city. It had only been over twenty-four hours but she was already homesick. When the train finally arrived, Sarah jumped off her seat and stepped out of the train. She smiled at the sight of Chicago. It seemed nothing has changed and she was glad to see that as she started to walk out of the station. “There she is!” Someone yelled out. Sarah looked to her right, seeing a large, a very large, group of people looking at her, phones out, ready to take her picture. She nearly choked at the sight of them, realizing they were fans. How did they know she was coming here? Only one person came to mind, Don Filachino. He was always able to get information about the baiters. He was the one she went to when she wanted to know anything about them. They had become a little close over the times, but when her training had become more intense, she saw him less and less.
Now he was reporting her progress to the public. She sighed heavily as she held her hands up when the group began to run toward her, trying to keep them at a distance as they began to take her picture and trying to hand her their magazines, posters and any other products that her picture on them. She gave a curse toward Don as she smiled at them nervously. “I-I-I'm sorry.... I-I can't s-stay.... I... r-really need to do m-my job.” She told them, turning away and pretty much pushed Acel and Kawaguchi away from the crowd, giving the crowd a smile and a wave good-bye. They all groaned in disappointment but didn't follow her thankfully. They began to disperse, making her stiffen when she saw who was trying to walk toward her. His hair was nearly to his waist, tied back into a single ponytail, dyed purple. Standing at five foot, seven inches, wearing a suit and a very pissed off look on his face. “Sarah!” He called out, trying to get everyone out of his way when he saw that Sarah had spotted him. She pushed Acel and Kawaguchi harder and more quickly, panicking that they wouldn't get out of the station in time. She let out a breath when they were out, quickly leading the way to where they needed to be, remaining quiet and refusing to look at Acel and Kawaguchi. She didn't want to look at them.
It was embarrassing. These men were serious fighters and then there was her where people treated her like a celebrity and not like a fighter. They would probably take back that she was welcome to the group and tell everyone that she would be a burden on every mission if groups like kept showing up where they needed to go. She kept in tears as she thought that this would be the last time she was going to be in a group. No one would want her to join them if fans kept popping up. She was going to have to talk to Don when she got the chance and ask him to refrain from telling the public exactly where she was going. It wasn't fair to anyone, and someone could possibly get hurt if they showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And then there was him, of course he would show up at the station. And now there was no way she could see her family. That's where he would go next. Don pretty much took the chance to see her family away from her just by that one public announcement. Now she wanted to get the mission done and get out of Chicago. He wouldn't have known she was in the city if Don hadn't said anything about it and she could have had a clean visit to her hometown.
She stopped after a while of walking, coming up to one of the many entrances to the underground works where the shield generator was. She only knew where it was exactly because of field trips during school. It was really important since a lot of her classmates were going to actually help down below. The shield generator was of course in the middle of the city, having been moved underground in hopes to keep it more safe. She did remember they had to cut off the top of buildings due to the relocation of the shield being lower than it was originally. Not to far from the entrance was the statue of Elias Hans Grueten's, the one that had made their shield for the city and saved them. Sarah didn't know all that much about him but she still gave the respect of looking at their savior's monument when so many others just walked by without acknowledging it. She looked at Acel and Kawaguchi, though not in the eyes, her kept her head down and eyes off to the side as she pointed to the entrance. “Th-th-the shield i-i-is in ther-there.” She simply said, letting them lead now.
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Outfit:Outfit Headphones: Attached: Can Hear Line Count: 246 OOC: Please let me know if I did something you didn't agree with!
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 89 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 712
Skill: 68 [78] Strength: 50 Defence: 60 [70]
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Tactical Advantages
Tank - Level 1 - You gain 10 extra Defense. However, you also receive a -5% to your defensive chances.
It was rather amusing that anyone could know so little about robots. He supposed, though, that this person was a fine exception due to his being a farmer. At least, as far a s Corrinne had said. And it wasn’t widespread knowledge that he was actually one of the people who had their hand in programming and engineering these things, but he’d leave that out, at least for now. Until it was asked what the KB meant in the code name. Still, he had to let out a chuckle when Acel felt embarrassed about it. “Yes, the little ball guy that I was talking to is a KB-4 unit, by the way. Named him Kiki.”
From there, though, things were rather simple. The portals were a simple teleportation, and from there, everything was dandy. Or, well, he thought it would be. Acel didn’t seem to take very well to the teleportation, though Akio was rather glad that Acel didn’t actually throw up like he look like he wanted to. Sarah, however took it like a champ, and they continued forward hailing a taxi cab with a rather… loud whistle. Akio couldn’t help but frown a little. She could whistle? Could Acel whistle to? How come everyone could whistle BUT him? Akio took it as a personal affront to his being, and felt slightly offended. It felt as though pretty much everyone he knew could whistle, except for him, even though he’s tried every which way. Was there an exact science to it? He had to find out later. For the moment, though, they all piled into the taxi, Akio somehow landing in the middle. It was a little strange, sitting in the b***h seat, but he took it as it was. Perhaps Sarah should have been sitting in the middle, but he wasn’t going to complain much. He was sandwiched between two rather attractive people, and there was little to no room between their shoulders and knees that he was actually fine sitting in the middle.
The ride was fast, both the taxi and the train, and soon they were in Chicago. It was all so big and interesting. Sapporo wasn’t very large, and there were very little cities left in the world due to the A.I.’s. So, this city being here was already a thing that was rather impressive. Not only that, but there was a shield that was made specifically for the city to keep any A.I. out. And it’s been rather successful, thus far! But, that was why these three were here, to check up on it and do some patrolling.
But, as soon as they got out of the train, it seemed that a rampage of adoring fans were hanging out waiting for… someone. The suddenly frozen Sarah, and the people yelling for her seemed to say that they were all there for her. Huh. Akio wondered what it was exactly that she did. But then…. He did get the feeling that it was normal for her. Perhaps she was famous for something, which was actually a little obvious. He’d ask later, however, as she then began pushing both him and Acel away, hardly letting them stay in contact with anyone there. Then, there was a man walking up to them, and Sarah began to push harder. Who was that, Akio had to wonder.
There was a lot going on, but finally she pushed them in the direction of the shield. It was all so interesting! He knew that she was a human, and therefore had a life from before she was a Baitr, but he never really stopped to think too much about about everyone else's lives outside of everything. Sarah was famous for something, Acel had obviously been through something, and he himself had as well. No doubt, the others had some sort of similar backstory to him or Acel. And, now that he thought about it, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t know or think to ask about the others. He just… didn’t care, at least until now. Now, though, he was curious about everything, and wanted to talk.
However, they had work to do. Maybe on the way back to the headquarters, he’d ask. Or if the patrol ended up being rather boring. There were only tales, afterall. So, when they got into the lower tunnels of Chicago, he freed himself of Sarah’s pushing and jogged a little ahead, hoping that he would be able to look ahead to see anything. So far, nothing, but he did find the generator itself soon enough, which left for one thing that Akio knew how to do well: Engineering. So, Akio jogged up to the machine and activated the control panel, taking a look at the projected data. He lifted his right hand, tapping on the screen of his watch to activate that as well. There was a lot of information given, but Akio was able to sift through it rather easily, doing a quick diagnostics check to see if there was any issue with the machinery or the shield itself.
Akio let out a sound of frustration when he noticed that the inferior tech had an incompatibility issue with his much higher end smartwatch. This led to a few issues, one of them being that the display both flickered a little, and that there was an inability to pinpoint where anything was. This was an issue, but it meant that they would have at least a general location “chikushō…” Akio muttered again, while looking at the information given. Bad enough that the screen flickered a little, but he didn’t like that there was no strong information given. What was given, however, was a small dot given on a map that seemed to have a rather large radius around it shaded in a dull yellow. “Seems as though I can get a read on where there’s a hole in the shield, somewhere in the lower levels. I can’t get an exact read on it, due to this…. stupid inferior tech, but I can give a general location.” He began, sounding at least a little bit upset about the inability to find exacts. It would have made their lives a whole lot easier, if he could. “The good news is, though, that if we can find the hole while we patrol that area, I might just be able to fix it. We just have to find it.” Well, he did have a general location, so they didn’t have to look at every nook and cranny for the breach, but he still didn’t much like the idea.
But, he had to admit, it was a start, so, after disconnecting everything, he pointed in the direction they were supposed to be heading and began in said direction. With a map, it was rather easy to have found things, which made the use of his eidetic memory. And, with that, they were on their way, and their mission had officially begin.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 94 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 752
Acel thought about everything that was going on, trying to keep track of all of these new things. He smiled, inwardly, keeping a placid face as they went about their business, but he was thinking to himself how Jasmine and Lidia would have loved to meet these two. His hand instinctively went to the black cross that dangled from his sword hilt, tracing across it, his other hand dropping down to the other cross as well, just for a brief moment. His wife and daughter were still with him--watching over him--taking care of him. He knew that they were. This is the only thought that kept him sane, and he knew that he had been forcing himself to stay busy so that he didn't collapse. Already, today, he had been beaten nearly to death, killed by a couple of hot-shot A.I. Cores, and then he was off on another mission yet again. By the time that they were hailing a cab, the sun was starting to go down, beginning to dip from its central positioning in the sky. It was then that Acel realized that no amount of physical reconstruction could make up for how tired his body was getting. He knew, though, that there would be a little bit of time before they arrived in Chicago, and he would be able to pick up a quick bit of rest on route.
As they reached the corner, Sarah let out some sort of shrill noise from her mouth that Acel couldn't comprehend. His eyes closed narrowed as he winced, bringing his hands up to his ears to block out the enormous noise, as he had been standing right beside her and he blinked a few times as he looked at her in shock. "Wow...that's...rather impressive. I didn't even know it was possible to make that kind of noise with your mouth! And the fact that taxi cabs stop when you do it...useful." His words were spaced out by careful contemplation as he pieced together the finer points of how this society worked. He knew much about the new age, even though he had not experienced it first hand, but there were many finer details that passed him by. "And by the way, I am sorry I got sidetracked so much and didn't answer your question Sarah. My A.I. Core, Midas, does talk. He's an Obelion, but I decided that it wouldn't do to just call him by his model, I would much rather him feel more like an individual. They all have their own personalities and such, so why treat them like they aren't living things...because they are. Though, unfortunately, most of them are murderous little fizzbiscuits." He said with an exasperated sigh, though he perked up shortly after, remembering what the Guard had been saying about Midas' name. "I don't know if you're daft, or jealous, either, Sarah's A.I. Core. But I didn't give Midas a name because he's my pet. I let him choose his own name, and I call him that out of respect. He's as much a baiter as I am. You're just grumpy because nobody loves you. You need a hug, man." Audible laughter rang out in Acel's head as Midas had a good little giggle at Acel's response. "You know what, Acel...you're a good dude." He would likely look a little crazy, but the idea that he could hear other people's cores talking would be a known fact now.
At this point, they were all piling into the cab, and as Sarah got in one side, he allowed Akio to get into the cab first on the other side. Acel was still feeling unwell from his trip through the teleporter, and he wanted a window in case he yacked. Acel smiled as the cab started to roll, and he put the window down so the breeze rolled through and rustled his hair. It felt nice to be moving along like this. He had rarely ever been in a car before, and as he grinned like a fool, his thoughts went back to Lidia. His four year old daughter had never had the opportunity to ride in a vehicle like this, and he could imagine her reaching out to touch the sky, laughing with the huge grin she so often wore. Acel's smile died down a bit, but as they drove on in the taxi, he looked over the other two and he tried to build back his excitement. "Thanks for explaining all that stuff, before, Kawaguchi. It really does help. Kiki, eh? That's really cute. Do you have any reason for it?" He asked, not thinking anything of the Model Number in itself, just letting it pass by as a generic code given to something like "Obelion". Their legs were all touching, and their shoulders, being rather cramped together, but he didn't mind too much. And Akio seemed fairly alright with it as well, even though Sarah seemed ever so slightly uncomfortable. He wondered if she was nervous because she was so pressed up with the two men. "Sorry for the close quarters Sarah. I don't think they account for this many grown people in these little cars. But I'm sure Kawaguchi doesn't bite too much." He said with a grin, scratching the back of his head as he laughed, trying to lighten the mood and lift his own spirits.
It wasn't long before they were out of the cab and into the train, and when they approached the train--coated in its very own personal A.I. Shield, Acel's eyes lit up. He had seen this exact train in a book before, from when it was first installed to allow easy access between Chicago and Toronto. It hadn't been all too long--within the last sixty years--that it had been built. He marvelled at it and looked like a child as he stared at its design, wondering how humanity managed to do such things as this. All of the things that they could do were remarkable, but he remembered this in particular from when he had read all about the train when he was a kid--it had been a childhood dream of his to ride it one day. As they got on board, he sat down in a car with the other two, relaxing into the comfortable seats, and as the train lurched forward he swung his feet giddily and looked at them with a massive smile, idly toying with the crosses on his swords. "This thing is pretty freaking amazing, huh!?" He asked, chuckling about it as he sat back. After a few minutes, however, the motion of the train, and his exhaustion kicked in and he was being woken up by the train stopping in Chicago. When they all began to get off there were a bunch of people screaming and shouting and trying to thrust pictures of Sarah at her. Acel was taken aback by the whole thing as he watched. 'Midas, are you getting this!? We're famous. Look at this! All of these people just because we are baiters? We've been assigned to help their city out, and they love us for it. THIS is why I became a baiter.'"You know, I sometimes wonder if you're just ******** with me, Acel. You can't be this stupid, really? You don't know this girl? She's all over the internet and she's played dozens of high profile events. She's a famous musician, you dolt." Acel blinked a few times and he looked from face to face in the crowds, scrunching his nose at them as he sighed. "Well, that's a bunch of bullhonkey. She plays some music and hundreds of people want her autograph. I risk my life to keep them from being murdered horribly, and I get didly squat. These people's priorities are some sort of skewed.""Well, you are kind of right there, but that's just the way people have always been. They need distractions from the disasters of their every day life, and the people who offer them that distraction from the darkness often gain their adoration for the reprieve that they gain from it.""You know what, Midas. I don't think I like your smart attitude. Can't believe this...getting lessons on the human condition from a damn robot.""I'm not a robo--you know what, never mind.." The voice went silent in Acel's head as Sarah suddenly started pushing them away from the people. Acel quirked a brow at the girl, but he followed her lead, along with Akio who seemed to just go with the flow of things as well.
As they moved through the streets, another man, separating himself from the crowd and going right for Sarah, caused the woman to push them even faster along, making sure they were almost half jogging to get away from the man, before they made it to the center of town. It would seem that the man decided not to follow them--but Acel couldn't imagine why she wanted so badly to escape him. Obviously she had some form of previous encounter with the man. As they began to make their way into the lower levels, where Sarah let them know the shield generator was, Acel looked at her while Akio ran ahead. "Is everything okay? That man back there...you were trying to rush us along before he could get to you...I know it isn't really my business, but, is he a danger to you, or someone you had a falling out with? Just want to make sure that nobody around here is looking to hurt you...I mean...not that I know you well enough to be all protective and stuff, but I don't much like seeing people sad...or just bad things happening in general. So...you know...if you ever need someone to have your back. I wouldn't mind. Oh...and thanks a lot for getting us here! Couldn't have done it without you." Acel said with a smile, keeping a low tone in the echoing corridors so that Akio wouldn't overhear their conversation, save for the last bit of praise which he let ring through the hallways. He let her have a brief period of time before he continued on his way toward where Akio had gone, and he hoped she would respond, though if she didn't he would continue on and not force anything out of her.
When he arrived where Akio had gone, the man had already started tapping into the machine, and he was working his technological genius on the thing. Acel watched him, again, awe stricken by the man's prowess with the technological aspect of things. He shook his head and as Akio unplugged the machine, he began to state that he had brought up some sort of map, and was able to get a general read on the area. As he showed Acel the map, Acel's eyes scanned over it and he looked up to Akio with a nod. "Alright, got it. I've got the general area down, and know the smaller access tunnels and side-paths that will most efficiently get us there. But you've got to tell me, how do you do what you do with the technology that you use? I don't understand half of the things that this world is capable of, but you run through it like you were born with a damn computer for a brain. Where did you learn it all?" He asked. He wanted to know about the people he was with..and they both seemed like rather agreeable people. Perhaps he could even make friends with them. The idea of his whole village being massacred, other than him and his parents, and being alone now, was something he didn't want to face. He wanted friends and support and people he could laugh with in the future. As he thought about the map, he brought up the image in his head--his memory was photographic--he couldn't think of any specific thing without being able to memorize it perfectly--and he had used that to his advantage when he had done ruin runs with his wife--going through the old destroyed sections of Bergerac together to look for relics of the past. This time he used it to lead them through the tunnels. Akio would have been able to do it to, using the map, but Acel had seen it already--and he never forgot. He kept it in his head, moving through the hallways swiftly, as they made their way toward the general area where Akio had pinpointed the possible breach in the shield. When the reached this point, he looked at the others, and he smiled. He could see a bright blue glimmer around the areas that the shield was protecting--the wall of it very apparent. This was the edge of the shield--made easier to see in these underground areas, Acel guessed, for situations just like this. "Well, here we go...I guess it's time to start looking around, huh?" He asked with a smile.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 96 Health: 840/840 Control Limit: 768
Skill: 60 [63] Strength: 74 [77] Defence: 58 [61]
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Tactical Advantages
Battleground Proficiency - Level 4 - You gain +8% to all defense chances, and your opponents receive -8% to their defensive chances against you.
Sarah kept her back to Kawaguchi when the taxi had pulled up, missing the frown he summoned by her little noise. She had glanced at Acel when he started to talk about her whistle, acting like it was some kind of magic trick. She wasn't sure how to respond to it, just looking at him in confusion as he seemed to stare at her mouth. Akio didn't seem to happy about it either. Were his ears sensitive? Sarah had listened to Acel's explanation of his core and how he had given his a name because he saw his a living thing. She couldn't deny that she saw them as living things as well, not a good ones for the most part, but living none-the-less. She looked up at the direction of her forehead, expecting the Guard to have something to say to Acel, but he remind silent. Was he jealous? She hadn't thought of giving him a name herself, but she hadn't been sure what to do wth him, especially since he didn't say anything until the fight with Kad. She had merely thought he was a program inside her headphones, not some person living inside of them.
She had let them go from the pushing but she was still looking behind her in fear. She was trembling all over, her eyes going this way and that. It took her a bit to calm down, letting out a slow, silent sigh. She was still shaking but not as badly. She was thankful that Acel and Kawaguchi had gotten the hint to move along so they couldn't tell. She looked at Acel when he had her about the man, but she merely looked down with an overwhelming of depression, not saying a word. She didn't want to tell him, how would he view her if she told the truth. That she was afraid of a civilian when she could probably actually stand up to him now. She didn't have the courage. She wouldn't be able to explain it well enough for them to understand. It's okay Princess, he isn't going to push it. Just stay calm..... I've got your back whether you want his help or not. The Guard said, but his tone was completely different than his usual snarky one. She didn't want to drag Acel or anyone into her life, she didn't anyone that close again. The only ones that were and will remain were her family and her one friend.
Sarah merely looked at the map on Kawaguchi's device, knowing the general area well enough herself. She had traveled these tunnels herself during her deaf period. Not much else to do when you can't enjoy television like everyone else or music. Reading was alright but there were times she wants to get out as well though. The area was quite a bit down, an area she didn't travel very often, she usually kept to the high levels of the tunnels so she could leave quickly. Sarah glanced around the area, looking at any signs with the shield, running her fingers along the wall, feeling a sort of power go through when she did. It felt nice, the shield being there helped her feel protected. To her the power was just a sign that it was there and she was fine. She only hoped that the shield was okay and protecting her at this moment.
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Outfit:Outfit Headphones: Attached: Can Hear Line Count: 459 OOC: Please let me know if I did something you didn't agree with! Edit: Rolled a 25 in the OOC for initiative!
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 89 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 712
Skill: 68 [78] Strength: 50 Defence: 60 [70]
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Tactical Advantages
Tank - Level 1 - You gain 10 extra Defense. However, you also receive a -5% to your defensive chances.
Akio smirked at Acel’s response to his naming of the robot. But, if he were honest, he wasn’t too sure why he named it Kiki. It was a name that floated about in Japan for a long time, and it just… made sense. He wasn’t too sure. “I named him Kiki because…. It’s close to KB and I’m uncreative.” Akio nodded, hoping that the answer would suffice. It wasn’t, perhaps, the best of reasons to name anything, but he liked it and it suited the little guy. He did have to give Acel a funny look when he said that Akio didn’t really bite. He didn’t say anything about it, but he wanted to. There was something fun about poking fun at his partners, but there was such thing as going too far, and he usually was able to stop himself before he made any sex jokes.
The rest of the taxi drive, and the ride on the train went smoothly, other than the hiccup with the crowd of people and that man that made Sarah radically uncomfortable. He’d have to ask her about that more when she calmed down. He felt as if she shouldn’t talk about such a thing while she seemed to be panicking. There was a history there, he figured. But… for the moment, he would let the situation be. Akio wasn’t friends with her, so he felt as if it would be rude to bother her about it anyway, not that he was above such things. Besides…. Acel seemed to be on the job, though he couldn’t quite hear what it was exactly that they were saying. Or what was said to her. Akio simply focused on the task at hand, finding out where it was that the breach was in the shield.
When he had the map, he committed it to his memory palace. In his mind, he took an ink brush to a piece of paper, drawing out his interpretation of the map in a rather old style of art from feudal Japan. In his mind, he could do anything. Paint, dance, sing, sculpt, whatever. But if he even attempted to do this in the real world, he would fail miserably. He was not even close to an artist. It took him a few moments to finish the inked painting in his mind, but when it was finished, he placed the finished image on the wall in his palace and turned off the image on his watch. In that time, the others had seen the map, and there was no need for it anymore, so it seemed. “Oh…. My father is the guy who made the medical droids you see around the building all the time. Him and my grandfather are the heads of that company, as well as the ones who made the droids themselves. Hince them all being KB units. Then my mom is one of the, ah… head engineer ladies in Shanghai. Engineering is in my blood. Plus, I went to college. Master in mechanical engineering, minor in software. Went back for electrical, though I never actually finished that degree.” Akio shrugged. He didn’t quite want to elaborate why he didn’t finish off his degree, so he kept moving, walking down the tunnels, following what he had on the map in his memory palace.
Sarah seemed to relax a little in the tunnels, which was good. He’d rather her be of a clear mind while they were down here. They had a mission to do, one that involved keeping a watch out for anything that was abnormal. Granted, it was a little bit of a boring job, but one they could get done rather easily. Unless they found a hiccup, or ran into an AI, which was a high possibility.
In the lower section of the tunnels, he could already feel as if there was going to be an issue. It couldn’t be that they were going to simply be able to walk down to the shield, find the hole, walk back up and fix it. It couldn’t be that simple, and it wasn’t going to be. That wasn’t how life worked. So, Akio took a look around, running his fingers along the wall, and looking at certain places where the shield was produced to see where it was faulty, if it was at all.
He crouched by one of the projectors, checking it out to make sure there were no faults in the machinery, resting on the balls of his feet as he poked at it. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it, there being no flickering or wires sticking out where there shouldn’t be. He sighed, standing and moving along the wall to continue looking for the hole. Then he heard a small scurrying sound that caused him to pause, placing his right hand lightly on his chest, frowning at the noise. That sound could mean only one thing…. Something he didn’t even want to think about while down in the tunnels.
However, as luck would have it, he saw the one thing he didn’t want to see, the thing scurrying by, sticking to the wall like glue. A ******** rat. Akio let out a light disgusted noise, backing up from where he saw the rat. Filthy creatures, always hanging out in the worst of places. Filthy and dirty, the lot of them. Everything about them right down to their nasty little tails offended Akio to his core. “Hē chùshēng zájiāo de zāng huò, Wǒ tā mā de tǎoyàn de lǎoshǔ….” He spoke, shaking his head as he moved on. He really did hate rats. They were vile creatures that lived in only the worst and most filthy places on the universe, and if this place was one of them, he didn’t want to be there anymore. Akio checked out, just praying to find the hole soon so he could get home and take a long shower.
Lines: 516 Ooc: Translation: "Filthy fornicators of livestock, I ******** hate rats"
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 94 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 752
As Acel had spoken with Sarah before they reached Akio, he had asked about the man that they had seen, and he couldn't even begin to admit to how terribly he had felt for asking her in the first place. He didn't think that it would have been such a big deal to ask a comrade about something that was bothering them, but when it came down to it, he realized he made a grave error when she looked down with such an expression on her face that almost broke him into tears. The poor girl had obviously had some sort of large falling out with the guy, or she was ashamed of something, and he couldn't figure out what might have happened between the two of them. He could only hope that the woman would be okay, and that asking her had not inhibited her ability to remain true to their mission. He just didn't want to make the woman's mind wander, or have her fall into emotional instability because of him before a fight, and then have her die. Her pain would be on his hands...even if she lived, seeing as they couldn't technically die, her suffering would all be his fault. He swallowed hard as he looked at her and as they continued on down the passages toward their general goal, all moving together, he looked at her apologetically and stopped her as Akio continued on.
"Listen, Sarah. I'm really sorry about brining up that fellow before. I didn't mean to upset you or to make you think of detrimental things. You're a strong woman--a baiter--and you can handle yourself. I suppose I was just trying to be there, and to be helpful, and I didn't mean to push my boundaries. I hope that you will forgive me. I won't pester you with such things again." He stated with a warm smile, though slightly twisted with guilt as he nodded to her and separated, resuming their path toward the final destination. When they all reached the same section and decided to begin their search for anomalies, Acel looked to Akio and he smirked. "I don't think that Kiki is uncreative at all. 'Ballboy' or 'Rolly' or 'Binary Speaking Drone' or 'Bot' or something. That would be uncreative. I like it." He said with a nod, as if the simple motion of his head would assert that it was indeed a good name, and that it was now factual. Then, Akio began to go over all of his schooling, and the positions that his parents held, and Acel looked at him like a child might look at a live unicorn sitting in their backyard just casually eating a pair of dirty underwear or something. He instantly gained more respect for the man's scholastic endeavors. "That's actually really incredible! You're a lot more amazing than I first thought, Kawaguchi. I've always wanted to get a degree, but there wasn't really any availability for schooling in Bergerac, nor was there any real reason for it when it came to having an occupation like a farmer. Though I went hunting for books and my parents would bring me textbooks and assorted reading materials from Paris and the surrounding areas when they could. I learned a lot from the various things I was given to read, but I didn't ever get a real education. I envy you, Kawaguchi." He stated, admiration coming from the man's eyes in droves. It was clear that Acel was a pitiful failure when it came to hiding his emotions.
Then they all split up, going down the dingy corridors of the underground working facilities. They were expected for the day, so all maintenance of the lower floors had been completed during the day, before they arrived, and by this time, all the workers had gone home, and it was completely uninhabited. There was enough dim light to allow them to see around the labyrinth that the were wandering, but it was still dark enough to be a frightful atmosphere. As he was walking through the tunnels, following the shield's light, as it was easy enough to find in the dark tunnels, he heard Kawaguchi's voice echoing out through the area in his foreign language. He didn't know what the man was saying, nor did he know why, but he did know that the man sounded positively disgusted. Acel heard the echos of his voice seeming to grow more and more silent as he slid along the darkened passages, watching for any abnormal fluctuations within the shield, though he couldn't find any. Until he realized that he had gotten himself turned around in the maze of access tunnels. He stopped himself as he tried to remember his way back, tracing his steps mentally and remembering each and every turn that he had taken with ease, that would lead him back to where he began. He sighed as he figured he was okay--he would absolutely be able to make his way back, and he was sure of it--so he moved forward. Though, as he moved through the tunnels, he stopped dead in his tracks, as one of the tunnels was not right--the way that he was supposed to go was leading directly forward and to the left, and the one in front of him was completely blocked, though not with rubble. It was a fully constructed wall that looked just like any of the other walls--except, when Acel thought back to the map, once again, he found that there was no recollection of this wall. He approached it with some hesitation, and when he reached out, getting closer, his hand was about to touch the pipe, but instead there was a distortion in the metal and his hands went right through it. He stumbled forward, not expecting the zero resistance, and he stumbled directly through the wall into the corridor that was supposed to be there the entire time. However, this time, there was a man in his worker's overalls, bright orange and wearing a hard hat, and he was busy cutting certain pipes on the wall in half. Hell, the guy had already made quite the hole in the wall.
The man stopped his work, and his eyes widened as he met Acel's stare. "Hey! What are you doing down here!? You can't be down here!" Acel threw his hands up instinctively, feeling as though he was in the wrong, and he ought not to resist against this fellow. "I am sorry sir! I know that these tunnels are meant for the workers, but I am here on a special assignment.""Assignment? You don't look like no worker to me!" Acel nodded and shook his head afterward. "No sir. I am a baiter, here to check out the tunnels and look for breaches in the shield. There are some strange reports goin--" Acel was cut short as a wrench was hurled toward his face, and his hand snapped upward and grabbed the object from the air, his eyes widening. "Well, I believe you've seen a little too much." The worker stated with a growl. And then, suddenly the man lurched forward, blasting forward toward Acel at a pace he could only compare to that of a fellow baiter, and his eyes widened as he saw the eyes of multiple creatures behind the man suddenly open up within the darkness of the hole that had been placed in the wall. He was letting them in...s**t...he was letting in the A.I. Cores into Chicago. This was a disaster! The city could very well be taken out by a troupe of the things! Acel turned around immediately, knowing that this man was obviously being controlled by the A.I., and he high-tailed it back towards where Akio and Sarah had been earlier. "KAWAGUCHI! SARAH!! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!!" Acel screamed as he ran through the halls, repeating their names, mixing in things like 'help' and 'sweet mother of moses' and 'why the hell is this guy so damn fast' though his favorite of them all seemed to be 'I'm just trying to help!!!!'.
As he burst into the main general section they had been searching, he could only hope that Sarah and Akio would return to the same section that he had been running toward and he whirled around to see the worker standing in the opening from the halls, three creatures, obviously A.I. Cores standing behind it. The first that showed itself was a hulking suit of armor--a Royal Guard. The second that came forward was another armored foe--a strange energy radiating around its hands as it walked--the E-Trooper. And lastly was an odd little creature, dog-sized in stature, but with strange bulbous feet and a tail-like extremity on its head. The creature looked absolutely volatile, as if it were going to vomit on top of all of them any moment. Acel recoiled at the group of enemies and hoped to sweet baby jesus that he wasn't destroyed as thoroughly as he had been before--because something about these bastards told him it wasn't going to be easy.
Worker: 115 standing / 860 Health Royal Guard: 82 Standing / 1060 Health E-Trooper: 69 Standing / 1180 Health Quazzar: 66 Standing / 840 Health
Line Count: 600
OOC:
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 96 Health: 840/840 Control Limit: 768
Skill: 60 [63] Strength: 74 [77] Defence: 58 [61]
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Tactical Advantages
Battleground Proficiency - Level 4 - You gain +8% to all defense chances, and your opponents receive -8% to their defensive chances against you.
Ominous Noodles
Zenko Kaze
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:03 am
Turn 1
Using these human scum to get what they needed put a bad taste into the Royal Guard's mouth. It was supposed to be a highly prestigious member of an army. Placed there to protect royalty! And yet, here it was! Stuck grovelling at human feet. The bastards. But they had little choice. Right now the humans were the only ones who could get them into the city--they were the only ones who could get them through that damned shield. The larger cities like Paris and Kampala were not so easy--their defences were insane, and they would be spotted without ever being able to get close to doing damage to the city itself. They might kill a few people--but at what cost? Nothing worth it. But here in Chicago, B.A.I.T.R didn't have a base--they would have the whole city destroyed before anyone would even know about it! But, then, as they were making their way through the breach that the worker had made in the pipes, concealing the damage done to the shield behind a fake wall, a man stumbled upon them. Some sort of blonde pretty boy with a stupid face. The human saw him and immediately tried to scare him off--but then the man admitted to being a Baiter. God damnit! What luck!? How was there a baiter here of all times?
The Royal Guard growled under its breath as it stepped through the hole in the wall, and the worker had already begun chasing the man down. The Guard was large--but it was in no way slow. It was able to make up for its lumbering size with almost equal speed--which made him a brutal enemy. He rushed in behind the human, and as they reached a large open area in the underground, the baiter was standing there, facing them. At least he wasn't a complete coward. But as he stood there, two more of the bastards came scurrying out of the passages like rats. But it didn't matter how many of them there were. It was still three versus four. The A.I. Cores had the clear advantage. As the three baiters set themselves up in the opening, the Royal Guard looked them all over, trying to see just what kind of enemies they were up against. The Royal Guard knew two things. The girl was controlling an A.I. Core that was the same class as he was. And this blonde b*****d was the owner of a damned Obelion...he was a problem. The other one, though, he could not make out. He didn't know what kind of core he was using, as he only knew the first two because of his intimate experience with both of the core types. So, Blonde boy it was. The Royal Guard rocketed forward, using its speed and strength to shoot in front of Acel with blinding speed. The Guard pulled its arm back, and the first strike was thrown for this battle--a wicked uppercut directly aimed for the center of Acel's gut. It would crack ribs and bludgeon his insides if the man was unable to dodge it.
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Royal Guard
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 82 Health: 1060/1060
Skill: 40 Strength: 64 Defense: 60 [70]
Tactical Advantage:Tank: Your A.I. Core has imbued you with an inhuman durability. You can shrug off heavier blows with ease that your comrades might not be able to. You gain 10 extra Defense. However, you also receive a -5% to your defensive chances.
Line Count: 656
OOC: Let the double lines beginnnnn!
BlankCaption Captain
Intellectual Smoker
Offline
BlankCaption Captain
Intellectual Smoker
Offline
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:28 am
Turn 1
The Quazzar had been waiting in the darkness for quite some time. It never really planned the whole 'invasion of Chicago' thing with the other A.I. Cores, but it figured that it might as well take the opportunity for slaughter and put it to use. The creature knew that when they broke through the walls it would be able to run around causing trouble whenever it wanted. It would be able to poison the populace down to the last woman and child, and it would watch them in glee as they slowly died, shrivelling away beneath the power of the acrid poison. It would bathe the whole damn WORLD in the poison that it released in its very blood. The strange creature, having been more than ready when the human had finally fully opened the shield, bounded out of the hole, the glowing lines across its skin signifying the dangerous poisons flowing through its blood. It shot across the hallway and its bulbous hands stuck to the wall, allowing it, like some sort of tree frog, to hang on surfaces and walk around the walls and ceilings. As the baiter man ran, screaming for his friends, the Quazzar imagined, it followed close behind, though it kept enough of a distance to know that it was safe. The beast bounded across ceilings and walls as if they were nothing, leaping from wall to wall to ceiling to floor and back to the walls once again, until they were finally face to face with their enemies.
As the baiter stopped, turning around to meet the A.I. cores in a more open area, the Quazzar scurried up the wall, making its way into the ceiling as it watched the worker make it to the opening, and then the Royal Guard came in close behind. The worker seemed to merely observe the enemies, whereas the Guard didn't seem to want to wait for anything as it launched itself right into the fray. The giant suit of armour blasted in toward the blonde man that had found them, and it aimed a massive punch towards the human's gut--somthing that the Quazzar certainly wouldn't have wanted to be hit by. However, directly after the Royal Guard blasted in and threw the punch toward Acel, the Quazzar set its eyes on the woman that was there with the two male baiters. The Quazzar seemed to grin for a second and then it pushed off of the wall, blasting down toward Sarah and unleashing a gob of mucous at her that, if it hit, would burn her skin and seep poisons into her body. As the Quazzar shot through the air, it aimed to land behind Sarah, hoping to keep in her blind spot, but who knew how she would react or if she would see the thing coming.
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Quazzar
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 66 Health: 840/840
Skill: 30 Strength: 62 Defense: 40
Tactical Advantage:Poison Blood: Whenever you attack, you may sacrifice any amount of Health. 30% of the sacrificed health will become damage that can not be reduced if the attack is successful.
Line Count: 706
OOC:
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:26 am
Turn 1
The worker had been at it all day--today was the day, after all. He would finally do it--he would finally be able to break through the pipes and get the shield hacked so that the code could be parted in the small section that he had managed to bore through in the tunnels. He had chosen a place that he knew was out of the way--an old access tunnel that nobody ever really used. So, as he finally opened up the shield, a few of the A.I. cores already waiting on the other side, he was ready to get this plan started--he was ready to watch the city fall. All of those people who had ruined them for years--the people sitting in their safe havens and watching the world around them die as they did nothing but sit on their asses and enjoy life. They would all feel the suffering they had managed to avoid soon. They would all feel it, and they would never see it coming. The worker giggled to himself as he went about his business, and as the eyes of the A.I. on the other side glowed, he knew that they were as excited about this as he was. But, suddenly, someone came through the other side--walking directly through the wall, and it seemed like he did it by complete dumb luck. But when the Worker attempted to dissuade him from being in that area, trying to tell him he needed to leave, the b*****d admitted that he was a baiter! The Worker immediately picked up the wrench beside him and hurled it at Acel, though the man actually caught the damn thing out of the air before he ran away. The worker snarled as he immediately bolted after the man, his armoured body--a worker class body reinforcement that allowed them to do heavier labour than a normal human body would allow--shooting through the tunnels. The Worker knew exactly what he was doing, and where he was going, he had, after all, been through these tunnels many times.
As he chased the man, he was yelling for others, and asking why the Worker was so fast, and why he was doing what he was doing. The worker wanted to just tell him to shut up, but he didn't, he chased onward and when they finally reached an open area in the underground tunnels, the baiter had stopped, and the A.I. cores that the Worker had let in behind him had made their way to the opening as well. This was going to be the battle that decided everything. If these baiter pricks managed to defeat them here, then the whole plan could fall apart. But...maybe...just maybe...he had already let enough of his brothers through the door. The Worker grinned as he stood there, waiting for the smaller cores to go about their business first. The Royal Guard charged forward and went for the blonde man that had discovered them. The Worker was going to smash the bastards face in already, for what he had done, discovering them and putting everything at risk, but the Royal Guard was occupying him. The Quazzar was on the ceiling, launching an attack at the woman from a distance as it shot toward her, and then the last man was standing alone--the one that was currently unoccupied would need to be dealt with as well. Too dangerous to leave them alone. Besides, the man was too damn pretty. Something about his stupid pretty hair, and his stupid pretty face--even more-so than the pretty boy blonde--pissed the man off. Why were the baiters so attractive? It was like a trio of models came to beat back the tides of war. Strange. But this wasn't the time to think of that. The Worker blasted forward--the modules on the man's armour glowed as they enhanced his speed and strength and he cocked back a fist as he got close to Akio, launching a vicious strike toward Akio's jaw. But he did not stop there. As soon as the man had sent the punch flying, he twisted his body, following the momentum of his punch to bring his fist downward after the jaw strike, and flipping his body, swinging his left leg around with the twist of his body, and bringing the foot down in a spinning downward kick towards the crook of the man's neck--hoping to put him out of commission immediately.
The E-Trooper was examining his armor, making sure everything was working properly. You didn't survive on this planet without getting into a few fights, and with fights came damage. One cannot be too sure that everything is working just because it worked just a few minutes ago. He allowed a bit of his electrical attacks crackle around his arm, watching it closely to look for anything that may say that that something was wrong with it. He kept it low, so he didn't end up using all of his juice. He would need to recharge reguarlly and with him getting inside a city like Chicago, there would always be a constant resource of energy. He glanced at the human, looking over the worker. He wasn't sure what made this man want to help them into the city. Maybe he was one of those worshipers that wanted to help them so they could be spared. Humans were odd like that, they never came to the same idea for something. Some chose to fight them, others chose to treat them like gods. He would just count them lucky that such a human had found their way inside the city and was opening the shield for them to get into the barely protected city. All this city had was a shield, nothing more. Not like the other citites that had a full base for the resistance that called themselves B.A.I.T.R.s.
The Trooper looked at the entrance, seeing a blonde male stumble upon their little hole. He watched as the human that had helped them in spoke to the blonde, not entirely impressed by the conversation. But it didn't care, their entry point was now exposed, to a baiter no less. This couldn't get out. The whole thing would be ruined. The E-Trooper followed the human and the other cores after the blonde male. The male was stupid enough to keep yelling instead of trying to remain quiet and lose them, calling out some names to who were probably other baiters that were with into the tunnels. As they all reached an opening, the trooper looked at the newest members of the small party. A young female who didn't look at that threatening and another male. As the blonde stood among them, it was too obvious that these were the people that blonde was calling out for. He didn't care to remember the names himself, he just looked between the three of them. The female seemed to be the most vulnerable. If he was reading right, she had a guard just like the one that with it. The other male he couldn't tell what kind of core he had, but it was something strong, he could tell that much.
The Trooper didn't catch what kind of core the blonde had, but he didn't care much as the Guard charged forward and went for a gut attack with the male. It was an attack he didn't care to experience at the moment, he knew what it felt like fighting other Guard's before. They had such a large pride and didn't care to have it be aimed at, something learned from his experience with them. He looked at the bug core as it launched itself off the wall and promptly spit it's acid at the girl. If the Trooper had an expression at all, it would have been in disgust. The worker went after the last remaining baiter, going after the black haired male with what seemed to be a ridiculous about of piercings. But he did agree with the little bug, the female was the best choice to attack. The trooper clenched it's fist, making lightening crawl around it and it's arm. He charged after the female soon after the bug core made it's attack, not giving much time for the female between attacks, as he threw his fist at the woman, lightening crackling toward the woman through the air and toward her head.
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E-Trooper
B.A.I.T.R Standing: 69 Health: 1180/1180
Skill: 46 Strength: 46 Defense: 46
Tactical Advantage:Acupuncturist: Your blows hit pressure points, causing the foe to move slower and be less proficient with their attacks. When you deal damage, the foe suffers a -2 to their Strength stat for the rest of the fight.
Sarah was surprised when Acel had stopped her, speaking to her again, only in an apology. Though his words didn't help her, making her feel like she was just living a lie. If she was a baiter, someone strong, then why would she be afraid of someone? That just didn't seem right and if he knew, he would only agree. She merely gave him a blank look, one that was filled with depression as she merely just turned away and continued down the tunnels behind Kawaguchi. Hey Acel, ease up, you're really not helping at all, with or without the apology. Just ease up and drop it. The Guard said, merely wanting Sarah to be a little more focused. This was a mission and she needed to be alert. If Acel continued talking about the sensitive subject, she wasn't going to be able to fight properly. He knew of course, the memories played before him the moment she set her eyes on the man. Frankly he didn't understand why she was afraid of him, but he wasn't going to bring it up himself unless she spoke about it first. For now, he knew he needed to be there for the girl when the time was needed. But now was not the time since the man seemed to have backed off when she ran and dragged the men away with her.
She didn't listen as the men spoke to each other, her eyes wondering around the tunnels, looking for any sign of give or just merely anything to distract her from her thoughts. With her distraction, she didn't realize that Acel had wondered off somewhere else. She did however hear as Kawaguchi began to speak in Chinese, recognizing the language and what he was saying. She looked to where he was looking, seeing that indeed there was a rat. She merely rolled her eyes, looking at Kawaguchi as she spoke. “Tā bù huì duì nǐ zuò shénme, tā zhǐshì yī zhī lǎoshǔ.” She spoke in Chinese, but she struggled with the words as she did in English. No sooner did she speak, she heard Acel's voice. It sounded like he was panicking. The hard footsteps also said that he was running as well. She charged back, going toward Acel's voice that continued to speak, saying things that had her a little confused. He was just trying to help? What did that mean? Did he piss off a worker? She couldn't see how that was possible.
She came to a halt as Acel came around a corner, looking past him to see a few cores and a worker. She blinked in surprise to see that a worker was standing with a few cores. That wasn't right. She was sure of that. But she couldn't think of any logical explanation. Was he being threatened by the cores and that's why he was on their side. Perhaps his family was being held? What better way to get inside than get someone that knew how to work the shield? The cores didn't wait for anything. She watched as the Guard that stood with them charged after Acel, the bug that had scurried onto the ceiling launched itself off of it and promptly spat at her with a weird glob from it's long month. She could only give a disgusted look as she dodged the ball of acid. She quickly leaned back as a blue streak of sparks came toward her, feeling the electricity from it as it went past her. Her hair rose a bit, but feel back down when the lightening was out of her range. She took a deep breath. That was close. “Engage.” She said allowed, her belt lighting up blue. She reached down and pulled out her scythe, twisting the small box. It turned into a long staff like in the fight with Kad, the blade quickly striking out of the top, curving threateningly around her head once again. She looked between the two cores she was now facing, thinking hard at which one she should go after.
Hey! Blondie, attack the Guard! You and Midas have a huge advantage against him! Trust me, I got my a** handed to me by one of Midas's kind before I was captured! Princess, go after the bug, he's slower than you despite being a little scuttling insect. Tell Chinese boy to help you with the E-Trooper, get rid of the lower guys first so you all can focus on that human. The Guard said quickly, not wasting any time for any snappy comments.
Sarah glanced at Acel, hoping he heard the Guard then looked at Kawaguchi. “Kawaguchi! Let's get rid of these before we go after the human! Go after the E-Trooper, I've got the bug like core!” She called out before launching herself at the Quazzar. Her words were smooth and without falter. She was focused on the fight and her nerves were calmer than they ever were. This was where she could stay calm, because it was almost like a stage. People depended on her to do the right thing, and the right thing at the moment was to attack and hit her opponents. She trained and taught herself to do just that, just like she trained and taught herself to play her instruments. She practiced and practiced both, finding a small calm in them. She gripped her scythe, swinging to the left, aiming to bury the blade into it's body. She didn't stop there. She swung the scythe to the right before swing it up in the air and tried to slam it straight down on top of it's head. Twirling the scythe to where the bottom was pointed it out, she jabbed the staff's bottom twice, each one aiming for one of it's eyes before swinging her leg up and tried to kick the core bug's head.
۩…………………………………………………………………۩
Outfit:Outfit Headphones: Attached: Can Hear Line Count: 960 OOC: Translation: It's not going to do anything to you, it's just a rat.
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 89 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 712
Skill: 68 [78] Strength: 50 Defence: 60 [70]
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Tactical Advantages
Tank - Level 1 - You gain 10 extra Defense. However, you also receive a -5% to your defensive chances.
Acel had no idea why this worker wanted his head. He was sure that the damn passageway that he had found was not that important. But, then again, why the hell would a man be working with machines? Why would he be aiding the A.I. Cores in their activities? None of it really made any sense. But, there they were, flooding into the same area as he was, and getting ready for a real fight. Sarah and Akio both managed to make their way back to the same area that he was in--thank god--and he was glad that they had heard his shouts, because he knew that he was not able to fight so many of these beasts all at once. But, now that they were all together--it was time that Acel had a fight where he wasn't totally destroyed by his opponent. He didn't land a single hit on Dal'Mori during his tournament, and he had only landed one hit on the enemies that had torn out his throat. He wasn't going to be stepped all over any more. Not a chance. He remembered what Aki had made him do in the training room--being told to use his left hand as much as he could. Well, this was the perfect time to start doing that. He needed to use his left hand? Well, fine. He dropped his right arm and tucked it behind his back as he pulled out the sword on his right hip using his left hand, the cross jingling as he moved the blade. The sword sang as it rang off of the scabbard, and he smiled as he looked at the stunning blade. The woman who had made it was right, these swords were pristine, even after the two vicious battles he had been through. He smiled to himself as he levelled his gaze down at his opponents, reading them thoroughly and completely as he analysed them. They were as strong as the clasper had been, maybe, but most were not as strong as the Framework Cat he had fought...though there was something...odd about that man. He was strong--definitely.
Acel had heard what Sarah's core had said to him, before, and he felt guilty about it. He was only trying to apologize to her, and say that he wasn't going to talk about it anymore, as she was capable of handling it herself...why would he tell her to not talk about it anymore, when he had already told the girl that he wasn't going to talk about it? Had he miscommunicated? Had he missed something? Maybe he hadn't said it right...or something..he did that sometimes, after all. But it was the second piece of information that really stood out in his head. The second time the Guard had spoken, he gave Acel a hint--that he and Midas had an advantage over the large, hulking beast. "Hey, now! I could have told him that we had an advantage over that big a** medieval fool, myself, Mr. Guard! Who died and made you king of the battlefield?" Midas snorted, obviously taking offence to the other core ordering him and his master around. "Though, I have to admit, the Guard's advice is sound. We definitely do have the advantage, my ability to memorize the battlefield and let you more efficiently use it to your advantage will let you move around his slow, lumbering form, and open up weaknesses easier. Let's do this." Midas said, confidence oozing out of the core's voice as it readied itself. It was time to shut these bastards down. They were ******** with the wrong city.
Acel looked from enemy to enemy as they all gathered, and he took a deep breath as he prepared himself for their onslaught, but he had no time to ready himself against the massive metal giant that crashed forward towards him. Midas had made it sound like the Royal Guard was nothing but a lumbering fool, slow and stupid, but this was not the case. The metal giant moved quicker than most small cores would, and the punch was thrown at such a blinding speed, that Acel had almost no way to avoid the damn thing. He brought his sword around, spinning to the side and simultaneously swinging the blade with it, using his left hand. The blade smacked against the arm, barely moving it, but in combination with his spin, he was able to offset it enough that it only grazed his overcoat as he was moving away from the thing. How exhilarating this was. Though, his arm rattled with the weight of the strike that he had attempted against the Royal Guard. He wouldn't have even scratched the damn thing with that...how could that be? Its armour was going to be a problem if Acel didn't pick up the pace. He didn't even need to watch, his core giving him an instant 360 degree view of the battlefield as he planned his movements carefully. The Quazzar was leaping off the ceiling, spitting a glob of something at Sarah, and then the worker moved--the human man blasted forward with incredible speed--the framework on his body giving him a boost that Acel did not expect. He tried to bash Akio with a couple of attacks, and then the E-Trooper made his move as well, shooting toward Sarah for some attacks of his own.
Thankfully, Sarah was able to avoid the strike from the E-trooper as well as the spit from the Quazzar, and that left it to him as he knew it was time to attack this thing. He launched himself forward, but not toward the Royal Guard, but away from it, and as the Royal Guard turned to face him, running in the opposite direction, Acel jumped into the air, using the pipes on the wall to get a foothold and spring off of it, shooting himself directly toward the Royal Guard and he swung the left handed sword once again, keeping his right hand behind his back as he unleashed the attack in an attempt to cut into the neck joint of the Guard. As soon as he landed from that maneuver, his hand would land on a loose cable, laying on the ground, something he would have not noticed if he were not to have Midas' great vision on his side. With the cable, he pulled as hard as he could, trying to yank it so that the Guard would stumble over it--and when the Guard did, he would push forward, diving at the enemy and attempting to ram the sword into the b*****d's chest. If he landed it successfully, he would then attempt to tear the blade sideways to open up a large gash in the thing's armour, but if he missed the stab attack he would jump back and then dive forward, rolling across the ground and when he hit the end of the roll he would spin his body, bringing the sword in another stabbing motion toward the back of the Guard's knee, Acel still positioned on the ground, kneeling low as he did it. He could only pray at least one of the attacks would land to debilitate the massive foe.
Line Count: 1086
OOC:
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 96 Health: 840/840 Control Limit: 768
Skill: 60 [63] Strength: 74 [77] Defence: 58 [61]
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Tactical Advantages
Battleground Proficiency - Level 4 - You gain +8% to all defense chances, and your opponents receive -8% to their defensive chances against you.
90 - 63 = 27 = 73% Chance Acel seemed to be so amased by his schooling, which was something he never thought of too much as an oddity. Almost everyone seemed to go to school where he came from, so it was actually a little odd that Acel hadn’t seen even a day in higher education. Maybe Akio could help him with that, one day. Engineering was what he did best… It would be nice if he had a rubber duck to talk to while working on something. Akio hummed, a smirk forming on his face. Well, it looked like a smirk, but really, it was him actually smiling. “If you want, you could watch me mess around with the holo-trainer, and I could tell you about how these things work. Or the same with Kiki.” Akio shrugged, being rather nonchalant about the invitation. Rubber ducks. They were perhaps the most useful thing any engineer could have.
The lower levels were still disgusting. Acel went off on his own, in search of his the breach on his own, leaving him and Sarah alone with the damned rat. With all his disgusted noises, and his flamboyant cursing in Chinese, he didn’t expect Sarah to be able to respond to him in kind. The woman spoke one of his languages? That was a huge first. Chinese was one of the hardest languages to learn, aside from English. Even if she spoke it in a rather broken way, he chalked that up to her constant nervousness. Actually, he was mildly impressed with her! But, then he realised that he took a moment to respond out of sheer surprise. “Nǐ shuō zhōngguó huà?” He asked. it was also the first time she actually spoke to him without her being prompted to do so. And it was over a damned rat. Akio stood up straighter, making a face at her. “Qiàqià. Zhè shì yī zhǐ lǎoshǔ. Lǎoshǔ shì xié'è de shēngwù, zhǐyǒu shēnghuó zài èliè dì dìfāng. Wǒ nìngyuàn shénme dōu méiyǒu yòng tā zuò.” He hated rats, always really have. From their gross noses, all the way down to their worm-like tails. The vile creatures….
But then, within moments of his response, Acel could be heard down the way, screaming for their assistance. Sarah responded first, but Akio quickly followed suit. Of course this wouldn’t be a cakewalk… And when Akio caught up to where Acel was, he saw more than just a little bit of company. There seemed to be a small troop of AI’s following the lead of…. a human. Akio stopped in his tracks when he saw the worker there. Why in the hell was a worker among the ranks? Was he really helping these AI into the city? If so, that was bad. And the worker wasted no time in attacking him, throwing a punch towards Akio’s jaw with little to no hesitation. He managed to move out of the way, then raised his arms up just as fast to block the incoming kick, placing his forearms together to take the blow with ease. ********, the man was strong. This situation wasn’t going to be easy, but they could probably turn out on top… he hoped.
Sarah called out an order, telling him to take on the E-Trooper. It was a reasonable response, as Akio could probably take that thing on much easier than the Worker, but he had to let out a chuckle in response to her. “That an order, your highness?” he asked, drawing his katana slowly, shooting a smirk at the E-Trooper. At least he was fighting the most damn ugly thing there. He could settle with the humanoid creature with the hands that could shoot lightning. Which was, granted, pretty awesome. The thing had attacked Sarah first, obviously wanting to take her on first. He’d have to draw it away from her before their fight could really begin. And with that, he would make his attack. Akio smirked and dashed forward, twisting his sword in his left hand so the blade faced up, then slashed to draw attention to him. The slash would land across the things chest if it landed, then with the same momentum, Akio turned his body into a punch that would land in the same place on the things chest using his right fist. Before it could retaliate, Akio jumped back and smiled, excited to be in a much more even battle. “Let’s dance.” He said, taunting the thing to come forward. Then, Akio dashed forward again, his light footwork carrying him behind the E-Trooper where he was able to make another slash attack across the things back. All he could hope for was the Worker not trying to get his hand in the mix while the other fights went on.
Lines: 1180 Ooc: Translation: "You speak Chinese?" and "Precisely. It's a rat. Rats are vile creatures, that only live in vile places. I'd rather have nothing to do with it."
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B.A.I.T.R Standing: 94 Health: 660/660 Control Limit: 752
