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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 7:34 pm
The statues seemed to be glaring back with their hollow eyes, and threatening to jump on him with their sharp feathers. Prickly little devils. Not to mention the nasty stone spikes, about two feet long, lined the path way. One could still wonder what these Ancients had in mind when they built all their temples.
From what she had seen so far, Nick had no doubt he -had- had worse falls before. His aura just screamed it.
Out of habit with Kagi, Nick ran her sharp right hand fingers gently over Moe's forehead. The MRZ would receive feint visions of a strange creature with four arms, but nothing more. Despite the eeriness of the visions they were actually calming to the mechanical mind. This was why Kagi preferred to be pet with the right hand rather than the left. He could hear its voice and see things within Nick's memory.
However, because Moe was not an Organoid nor an ancient he would not be able to see into any memory or hear that strange voice.
This would also explain Zutnic's obedience with her in the last temple. Though other circumstances were involved to further his obedience...
"I see." Nick said in short response as she turned around and started down the narrow path leading into another dark room. It was her own silent response to his silent question.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:41 pm
The petting wasn't unpleasant. It was sort of soothing for the little MRZ, but at the same time, poor Moe didn't know what to do. He shifted on the woman's shoulders and nuzzled into her mechanical hand, cooing softly.
Talon was half paying attention to what Moe was doing. Moe seemed fine. Moe seemed safe. The statues on the other hand had his full attention. If only he had some paper and a good light source he could get it down on paper to study later. Sadly, that would not happen.
He didn't like this place. It felt off. The Chi flow was off. Or something like that.
Talon sighed softly and followed after Nick, taking a small amount of time to cast light on the floor to follow her. Battery life and he didn't want to alert any light seeking predators that may or may not be lurking here.
And this new room? He stuck close to Nick, but back far enough in case she decided to move quickly forwards or backwards.
Moe? Too content to really care right now. The nice lady would make sure he was safe.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:36 am
The closer to the room the group got the more they could hear the sound of running water. Or at least something that sounded like water. It must have been quite a few rooms off.
Nick paused before entering the room to check for traps. Most noted was the strange lines in the ceiling again. Two feet thick, two sections, and no trigger in sight.
Other than that the room was filled with more bird statues and makings on the wall. That same four multi-colored armed creature, only this time it was surrounded by many many bird looking runes. They were in groups of three and hovering above what looked to be cowering humans.
The sight only confirmed her suspicion. At least they weren't attacking the people runes... Not like that helped the suspicion that they were aggressive.
No spikes and there were three other doors to exit from. A maze perhaps. Above each door was a different rune marking. A bird, a spiky serpent thing, and something that was too worn to tell what it was. It looked to be surround and spewing fire, that much was noticeable despite the ware.
"Stay close, try to get to the center of the room as quick as you can, understood?" Nick would wait for his confirmation before moving.
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:32 am
The light didn't illuminate enough, so Talon had to make due with what little he could see. And from what he could see, he didn't like much better. Sometimes he wished his curiosity had an off button.
That and he wished he had worked with Moe to be a seeing eye MRZ for situations like this. No doubt there was some night vision in that little Zoid, albeit probably not as awesome as the larger Zoids or even organoids ( or 'Leyenda' for that matter), but Moe probably had something in there. Then again, maybe not. The hooting and squawking could alert predators and that Talon was highly allergic to. And speaking of Moe, Moe was still lazily draped over Nick's shoulder, peering around inquisitively at the odd symbols.
He frowned as Nick stopped, the sense of doom increasing to capital letter 'D'. The walls would surely cave in on this one, or at least he thought. Falling walkways, enclosing walls, mazes that ended in pits of fiery, molten magma pits and the run of the mill boulder down a slippery and steep slope, usually leading to a massive hole in the wall in a cliff miles up... and that was a good case scenario! Yeah, Talon had done his research on the old Zodian temples.
So when he was told to stick close and move quickly to the center, he raised an eyebrow. Seriously? That went without being said. He couldn't see more than a couple of feet in front of him. Talon had hardly a choice in that matter, it was common sense to stick with the one that could see! He sighed, grunted an affirmative and nodded, following after Nick trying to keep in her footsteps in case the awesome ceiling decided to fall.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:03 pm
Nick glanced back to Talon when he grunted. Second thought, with his luck, she might end up with a pancake for a temple buddy. She didn't have a spatula with her either.
Perhaps it would be easier for them both if she pulled him through. Even if he tripped on anything she could pull him across. Not very pleasant, but it was better than being crushed dead.
Nick turned quickly and prepared to lunge for Talon, a usual method, but caught herself before she got to far. Man had quick reflexes... one wrong hop and either of them could be on a bed of spikes.
Slowly she held her right hand out toward him. Had to be careful with this one.
"I can guide you across the room. There are two trap doors that will fall as soon as we cross that door." Nick figured this one responded better when he knew what was going on. She could only wonder how the officers dealt with him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:44 pm
... Whoot! Pancakes! Well, not really what was going through Talon's mind. But it was close. Bug smear was a better term for it. Though, if Nick really wanted a spatula, there was one back on the Rev Raptor somewhere~ . . .
Her sudden movement made Talon pause. In fact, he halted in his place and pretty much braced himself for if she was going to go and maul him. Prepare for the worst and hold no expectations; always made him surprised he got out of situations with an outlook like that. But when that impact didn't come, he realised that instead of being held under her arm the woman's hand was extended.
Now, if this had been some lady he knew, like that Ice fella, he'd have made some snide comment about holding hands in the dark. However, he kept his tongue in check by simply reminding it that it could be squished by over one hundred tons of carved, carted, and gravity driven rocks... Or just impaled by spikes from a far distance below or above. Either or. They both ended up with Talon dead.
He blinked at the shape of a hand and frowned in thought. Her reasoning was good. In fact, he couldn't argue with that. And it was a nice touch to actually explain her action. He was curious to ask more about these traps, but figured actually experiencing them was far easier than trying to anticipate. "Understood. "
Talon took the right hand with his own hand, though lightly so that she could pull away if needed. He was considerate and all of that. No use of a firm grip in situations like this.
And his officers knew to just throw the darn file at him and tell him to go. The job got done, didn't matter how. They thought him to be much of a klutz and a goof ball; truth was, he was just practical. He would make a great mercenary, if only he didn't like the health benefits and constant paycheck the Empire had to offer. ( That and he did love his country even if he thought the Emperor was a dodo collecting watermellons. )
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:54 pm
Nick tightened the grip on the hand. It was still quite odd giving orders and having them obeyed. It had been a long while since she was in the military last.
"three, two, one-" Nick gave him a three second warning before she bolted forward as fast as she could with him in tow.
*SLAM**SLAM**CRASH!*
The first two traps fell shortly after the two had cleared them, than a third trap came from both sides of the wall, coming together with a loud Crash. Nick had missed that last one when she surveyed the area, but the two were fortunate enough they had gone that extra foot.
Once safe in the center of the room Nick released Talon's hand. A small amount of steam rolled from the vents in her right arm, it had grown slightly warmer when the two ran.
Adrenaline was one of the triggers for the heating mechanism. Emotion being the second and will being the third. Talon was lucky she was able to control the temperature better than when she first got the new prosthetic. At certain heats, as seen before by some, it was made to melt through ZOID armor.
It was the Judge's handy work... even so, Nick was thankful for its convenience. Never have to use a lighter again. She had gotten used to it and could not see it any other way, having a regular arm that is.
Further in the room the louder the sound of rushing water was, though it was still feint. It was louder the closer they got to the door with the bird symbol over it.
The door with the snake-like creature was silent, while the other fiery symbol was slightly warmer in temperature than the others.
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:59 pm
Eh... Talon wasn't really obeying her because of his military training, he was obeying because she seemed to know what was going on. Then again, he hadn't a clue she had been in the military. And he probably would have actually -gasp- cared.
As he felt her hand tighten, he frowned softly and took a breath. This was going to try his calm. He could just tell. Those were the shortest three seconds he'd ever counted, but he did keep up.
It was rather easy to ignore the walls closing in, or crashing down...or slamming together when he was focused on keeping up with the woman. It wasn't too hard, but he kinda didn't want to lag, hence why he encroached on that space as best he can, skidding to a stop when they were in the center.
It was then that he allowed himself a small bit of panic to set in in the form of a couple heavy breaths to calm himself. Her hand had grown a little warm. Come to think of it, it wasn't human. He frowned softly at the woman, now suddenly more curious about her.
Sure that nothing else would pop up out of the woodworks, Talon pulled out that LED light and flashed it quickly over the room. They lingered on the runes as he frowned in thought. Water, nothing, and heat... That spelled some doom for him. Or at least some trauma. He was mumbling under his breath, "Underground aqueduct, mass space of doom, and molten lava... Clever... " He the set to looking at the other pictographs, curious to what they told. They hardly told him much of anything other than this temple was build to worship the air, what with all the birdlike razor's bird statues about.
Now Talon was getting curious about what the woman was looking for. But he didn't make any move to move from where he was. He was getting the inkling that Leyenda knew where she was going, and knew the way out no problem. Less questions, the faster he could get out. ... and the faster he would get to the nearest bar to at least drink some sense into this event.
Moe was giggling, having enjoyed the whole running thing. This was fun! Really fun. Its little stump of a tail was waggin wildly, thus making its back end move.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:36 am
Nick was aware that this one had no idea of her background and was glad that he had not caught on to her subtle change in tone when giving orders. Not like the last one. It still made it odd none the less.
Three doors, two lead to certain slow death. Probably entombment. It would take her a long time to break through the thick layers of rock, and even than they were not entirely guaranteed a whole lot of air.
She looked over the doors again. The puzzle was simple, the artifact's name would be the best clue to getting through this temple... How funny the ancients were.
The quick bursts of LED Lights were starting to get irritating though. From the doors she glanced around the floor to see if there might be anything to keep a fire going for the soldier. Bits of her whip would act as a nice fuel for the fire... it could burn more than a few hours. Ah, another Judge contraption.
She pet Moe again as she moved to one of the statues. No sticks, but perhaps something else could be used.
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:19 am
Smartly, Talon stayed put. He was getting tired of using such a bright light since it washed out all the colors of the wall paintings. ( Petty, but it was a good reason in his mind.) He put it away for the time being and walked cautiously in a circle, looking around and squinting into the darkness. It wasn't so bad... only made the statues seem to fade away into harmless rock outcrops. At least it did in his mind.
If he thought it had been safe, Talon would have sat on the floor to rest and mentally brace himself for what would surely come. It wasn't safe enough, and who knows what was crawling on the floor!
Moe seemed to purr at the petting. The sensation may be odd, but the woman didn't mean any harm by those strange visions of that strange ZOID. Having hardly seen any other MRZ's or even once an Organoid, Moe didn't see the significance the those visions.
He spoke up, curiosity finally taking hold, "What are you looking for, Leyenda? " Some sort of treasure, he mentally answered himself figuring he'd hardly get anything in reply. She seemed up to something as she moved towards one of them statues. That made Talon quite uncomfortable as he had this mental vision of the statue coming to life. Pictures held a lot of truths in these places. Flying stone guardians suddenly didn't seem impossible anymore.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:14 pm
Nick inspected the statue closely before reaching up with her right hand and ripping the sharp stone beak from the sharp stone bird. This would do nicely. It didn't seem too heavy, and a foot and a half in length would give Talon plenty of room to hold without burning himself.
As she turned around she passed it to her left hand while the right begun to carve notches in the top side of the stone. The notches would provide a secure hold for the bit of whip Nick planned to wrap around and set fire. A decent source of light.
When Talon asked his question she debated giving a snarky remark of 'a torch for you so you can stop being so blind.' But she tossed that option out. This soldier was not as responsive to cruel remarks. At least that is what she had gathered.
"Ancient artifacts of my kin." She spoke flatly, a bit of the cold melted from her tone. But it still had that frosty bite to it. She was obviously not a people person, but was at very least trying not to be a complete monster. Unlike when they first meet.
Nick removed the last half of her whip with a sharp claw from her right finger. She had to be careful not to let it touch flesh as the embedded sharp material would cut flesh easily. Carefully she begun to wrap it around the end of the stone spike, making sure it was tight in the notches.
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:51 pm
Talon just watched her tear something from the statue and winced at the desecration of artifacts. Well, he couldn't see her do it, but he could hear it and mentally he was praying to the gods not to smite them for that. He could see her move around and mark something on the stone. Marks? Probably for something.
He raised an eyebrow at her words. Yeaah, it was clear that he didn't believe this Leyenda. But he didn't doubt that some of her words held truth. From what he could gather she knew of this place and its traps from someone else. No way someone stumbled in here by accident would know about the walls in this room. "If you say so."
Moe peered curiously at what the woman was doing. How facinating! ...Wait it looked like one of them light thingies. What were they called again? A lamp! Yes! A lamp. ...But where was that bulb? Moe wagged its little stump of a tail more, tilting its head to try to get a better look.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:49 pm
Once the whip was quite secure on the stone torch her right palm begun to glow red with a warm fire. She placed a finger on the tip of the whip and in an instant the whole whip went up in flame. The fire fed eagerly on whatever was coating the strange weapon, but it would take a long time to completely consume the whip. She also still had the other half to use when this one burned out.
Hopefully they would be out by than.
She held the whip torch out for Talon to take hold of. "Here..."
Steam hissed from her arm as the palm once again begun to cool. She had to resist petting moe until it was completely cooled down. Even though the heat wasn't enough to get through any armor...
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:45 pm
His eye twitched as she lit the makeshift torch on fire. Fire! Out of all the things! Lets not rip off something of her cloak and use that, but use a viable weapon that could potentially get them out of trouble for a silly torch for him. Talon did take the torch though...and he could see the rest of the room just fine by holding it up. "Thanks..." he muttered.
...And thankfully the light was soft enough to not really blind him should he have to peer into the shadows intently. Well, not really, but he had a hope.
Now that he could see the depictions better he walked cautiously towards them, making note of the doors and the walls and the ceiling. More importantly where the sentinels were staring at. It was quite interesting.
And he then turned his gaze back to Moe who quickly hopped off to Nick's shoulder after giving her a good nuzzle again and scrambled to lounge on Talon's. Moe hadn't been too fond of the sudden combustion of the whip. Talon scratched the little demon under the chin, getting a coo for a response.
He gestured with the torch to the door with the bird symbol over it, suggesting that that was the way. Yeaah... Let's go with the drop of doom, he thought to himself.
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Gestalt Effect Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:31 pm
The whip would be a bit of a loss, but it was the only thing that would keep fire for a long time. Her cloak would have burned too quickly for it to be of any use. That and if the whip got wet it would still burn.
Luckily for Talon it had been too dark for him to see the array of sharp objects beneath her cloak that would make up for the loss of the whip.
She watched as Moe switched shoulder companions. As soon as he was secure on Talon's shoulder, and he gestured toward the door, she moved toward the door. The sound of water, why the sound of water...
Nick stopped to glance at the dark hallway. The walls were lumpy and there were spikes in the ceiling toward the middle, and than there was a sharp turn.
The most important observation, the floor was normal. "It's safe." Nick looked back to Talon before proceeding through the door.
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