"Man, is this an overkill contest I accidentally joined in?" Ao wheezes.
While I can still see the tentacle monster I try some magic: 22 5c ulez
"Seems like we have a few party crashers, don't think whatshisface will be too happy"[COMP: 4] Spell
Fizzle.
Your chair continues sailing and reverse-defenestrates you into an apartment. A quiet hiss informs you that foam is now being pumped into the remaining thrusters, can't have volatile tubes of propellants left as such after all. It's a messy single bedroom unit with a kitchenette, sparsely furnished and ultimately quite drab and boring, the kind that people buy for the sole sake of renting out to university students or having a convenient place to cheat on their spouse.
"Alright then... I don't think I'm going to loot or zombify this thing any time soon, so... adventure!"
James investigates the slightly less lethal thing. How does he move to it without legs? He flies by flapping his arms very quickly. That's a thing he can do because 22 MDEF and aerogel transformation.
Like a moderately, extremely stupid looking bird you flap, stumble, and curse your way outside. Honestly less like a bird more like a dying confused fish, which really isn't helped by the fact that however little you weigh, you still have weapons, knick-knacks, and that helmet weighing you down, but screw the rules you're a magical aerogel man.
You make your way out and around the corner to be greeted by a sight that sends chills down your theoretically existent spine. Deadhand, and not just ordinary soldiers or drones, Witch Knights.
Supposedly the most deadly combat insertion force ever created by man, they are all heavily armored in plate carved with runes that glow with unearthly light. One wields a long golden stave which ends in a candelabra of crystal, above it a shimmering blue sphere that crackles with energy while in their offhand they have a sword bound with snaking trails of runes and script. Three have shields and bearded axes, while the final two have spears and shining blued metal nets.
They turn to face you as soon as you round the corner.
"Contact! SE Relative!"The voice comes out modulated, inhuman.
Well, their reputation may be fearsome, but they look like they aren't equipped to deal with you at any rate, they look better off trying to mug a dragon. One of the shield-bearers pulls out a combat knife, one that glistens with a hazy, almost indistinct aura.
[TRAN: 13/2] Resistance
"Identify yourself."Cold, commanding. A shame their posture doesn't match, not when you shrug off the effects. You feel like you ought to have felt fear then, they seem to as well, and for a moment, their masks slip. Most of them take a step back. A few of them tremble, ever so slightly, but you notice it of course. And all of the clutch their weapons just that little bit more tightly.
"Fire! I need fire! Light!"
Ryles fires a shot from his vacuum down the corridors while frantically going through his magics.
06 COMP 3, 0e COMP 3, 0f COMP 2.
[COMP: 3] Spell #1
[COMP: 0] Spell #2
[COMP: 3/3] Spell #3
You cast and then feel excruciating pain as part of your skin on your right arm transforms into a horrific red mist that effectively liquefies your hand into mince in seconds and begins work on the rest of your arm and, by extension, you. The next spell makes it awfully hard to breath, and your gasps come out all high-pitched and weird, you can't seem to get the suffocating gas out of your lungs, or perhaps, it's being generated your your lungs. Your third spell summon a glinting metallic lump that lands, relatively lightly on the ground. That's, one out of the three at least, and unfortunately, it isn't much reason to celebrate seeing as the rainbow you discharged ignites the gas, which, rather violently detonates your lungs. Your transformation reverts. With your lungs blown apart, and both arms lost, shock quickly sets in, perhaps rather mercifully, seeing as the last thing you remember is your body continuing to liquefy.
You awaken in a dark apartment, someone has been here very, very, recently. Someone's gone through through the scribbled papers on the desk, and rifled through the drawers. Also, there's the clearly evil sword on the ground next to a corpse that's been reduced to coal, that's a pretty dead giveaway.
This exit point is near enough to the objective. Your mission still stands.
Your comrade revived here and has been sent back into the fray.
Be careful, the Agents of the Crown were summoned by your erroneous hand, and seek to oppose you.
Well, try drawing on something with the crayon, I dunno, a circle on the pavement? Toss the crayon in the air?
DO SOME SCIENNNCE! : "0e"
Anyway, back to Grand Theft Auto, brought to you by an immortal magical jackass!
"Hey Decon, ready for some old-school mischief?"
Take a look around for a medium/fast car, not too damaged (or negligibly so) with a sturdy, well protected cockpit/cabin. Helps if the rest is sturdy too. Nothing fancy enough to have security mechanisms that'll lock me in or something tho.
If keys for cars still exist in this universe take a look in the usual places for the millennia denoted 2000, in/under seats, glovebox, sunvisor.
If no keys found, or keys don't exist, summon up my MULTITOOL and see about getting this thing started without setting off every alarm in a 3 block radius.
If I can get in/get it started, alarm or not, DRIVE THAT THING RIGHT AT WHERE MY OLD PAL VENTURED FORTH!!!
MAXIMUM EFFORT!
(Take it carefully until I cross the boundary, or if something starts to happen FULL SPEED. Park this thing right next to the hole and run up to the squire, or seeing as my comrade is... in trouble... perhaps a little further back )
You continue making your mother hypothetically proud by drawing a circle in the pavement in crayon. Good for you. Well, you've established that it's a decent crayon, not one of those cheap budget ones that require you to practically scrub with it, and that it seems to be pretty mundane in all except origin. You toss it upwards, an underarm throw.
[4] ? ? ?
You hear a sharp crackle, and feel the faintest rush of air against your face. The crayon, is gone. Or rather, it's smashed somewhere upon the ceiling of this floor, having been propelled hard enough to break the damn sound barrier.
[COMP: 8/2] Spell
The spell goes off, but you don't notice anything at first, that is, until you try to comment on it, quickly finding that your voice has become incredibly high pitched. The effect wears off quickly enough though.
You find a decently sturdy sedan and mash open the driver-side window. A shrill shriek announces that the alarm has gone off, that, was basically unavoidable, no-one on this street was foolish enough to leave their windows open or their doors unlocked unfortunately. This car's owner however, was indeed foolish enough to leave their keys in the sunvisor
It seems that you are too late. Your ally has perished, magical mishap I'm afraid.
What are the chances.
He's been resurrected in the same exit point as you, and is still assigned to this mission.
((Cutting you action off at here in case Blazing's death has changed it. If not, then just say so, we'll do a mini-update that continues it according to plan.))
"Shit. I fucking hate lightning spiders. Ladlemonger, you know any magic to fling some metal past them, maybe ground them to it? Or maybe to make a magnet that might disrupt them?"
See if I can find a loose, throwable piece of metal this isn't hiding a lightning spider and isn't in their jumping range. Basically, if it ain't close to me, I don't want to go get it and possibly get zapped/combust. If I do find such a piece of debris, toss it by one of the sparking fixtures the spiders hide in to see if it will make them jump to the metal piece and ground them there. Aim for a fixture away from me so the spiders can't jump to the metal in mid-flight and then to me. Wait until Ladlemonger tries the magnets first, though.
"I can do magnets."
'1f ixc' at any lighting spiders and any places where they're hiding.
[COMP: 10/6] Whitmore's Spell
A spray of silvery metal erupts forth from just in front of the Ladlemonger, it isn't exactly easy to aim, but enough of it heads in the right direction. Both of you almost immediately have to avert your eyes and cover your ears as with a continuous, deafening roar, the spiders erupt forth, spindly limbs of blinding light arcing towards the whole of you, the image almost burning into your retinas. Eventually, after far too long a time, it ceases. The light, the sound. Seems that they've given up. The metal continues to spark, even more angrily than before, but now, the arcs crackle backwards, back into the metal, apparently restrained, if not trapped.
The wall explodes and the two of you find yourselves staring off against three more of those ice rocs. It'd probably be more of an imposing sight if they had any more ranged attack or any means to actually dodge while inside the tower.
-snip-
((Here are your starting options, pick one. We'll give a more proper introduction in a mini-update.))
You pilot a LANDSKNECHT frame armed with a worn and rather dated machinegun. You're not sure where half the parts come from, and have a feeling you may not want to know either. You have an amazing but unreliable FCS, high-performance limbs, energy thrusters, impenetrable shielding, teleportation, and infinite energy to power all of that, but using them makes your frame try to fry your brain. You find yourself fighting unknown units on Floor 4.
You pilot a LANDSKNECHT frame kitted out for recon with an impressive array of sensors and an amazing but unreliable FCS. Magical reactive armor and LUPUS frame limbs make it fairly durable in combat as well. Its peculiar ECM system is capable of disrupting all electronics in the area, though only momentarily, which will hopefully be enough to steal a weapon because the frame's current one is abysmal. You're being sent out to help secure and transport technology from Floor 4.
You pilot a manned PUPPET frame modified for higher performance and sustained high-speed flight. It comes with a more advanced head unit with a far better sensor array than the norm, and plating augmentations designed specifically to minimize damage from charged particles and electrical attacks. It is armed with a sword that, if used right, deals more damage than normal. You're being sent into the Floor 3 Tempest to investigate the anomaly.
You'll be piloting a manned PUPPET frame equipped with a machine-gun, rather unremarkable in construction. It's waiting for you in the hanger. You have yet to take a mission, so what you do, and who you link up with, is up to you. You may be able to acquire additional weapons and modifications depending on what goal you choose, and with this newfound magic of yours, you might just be able to perform a few modifications of your own.