PM [Orpheus Weapons Testing Quarry/ Open] Week: 176 It's Not My Time

Kehengto · Feb 11, 2011

Aragon felt a weight double on his body as the release of several dense pressures blasted against his body. It was awe inspiring the sheer amount of destructive forces this new acquisition of his was withstanding. Focusing back on his target, it was becoming annoyingly apparent that he was of no consequence to the damage machine. Be it his ego or the perceived limited mental capacities of the pilot who controlled power beyond comprehension given the demonic creature fighting on the other side of the pit which seemed to be acting like this was a joyride, Aragon was becoming increasingly pissed. How could someone like this be permitted in battle? The general hated the Order for various reasons, but this was a new low to allow incompetence to have huge responsibilities.

Fueled by this volatile cocktail of emotions, Aragon reverted back to brawn. Grabbing El Toro with blade extended in his left and an Ace of Spades playing card in his right, the Orpheus leader dove at the legs of the machine, attacking with ferocity and bloodlust unmatched elsewhere in the quarry.

~*~

The draconic croc of a demon roared as it felt the pinpricks of ammo rain on it hardened exterior. The demon’s jade eyes raced to try to follow the arc of attacks only to have the mental casing on its tail rupture from the explosion. Now freed the end of the long whip-like appendage morphed into a monster of a skeletal morning star. Iron plates surfaced along the ridge of it spine as its transformation was being fueled once again by hunger and rage. Spires of metal erupted from the iron plates along its back. Moving with speed unbecoming of its size the hollow snapped at the Major having rapidly regenerated its teeth.

The blood templar’s attack collided solidly into the core of the hollow’s reinforced rib cage. The fusion had been complete with the machine, a dastardly side effect that occurred whenever the hollow cell broke inside the machine. It was something that no researcher had lived long enough to report on when it occurred. The beam chewed through the demon’s thick hide and into some of the bone revealing just how complete the biomechanical fusion of the spiritual monstrosity was before exiting out the other side.

Pain raged through the nervous system of the gargantuan masked creature, and effect that ultimately saved the Orpheus Major from a second attempt of being made into a snack. Turning back on the eleventh Captain, the dark maw of the beast flashed forward to close around the queen of destruction. Meanwhile the mace tail swished hazardously about the war zone impaling all that were too slow to dodge. Those that became fixtures upon the spikes were soon absorbed in.

[460 / 2,956]

Igasho Read This

Divine Truth · Feb 11, 2011

Though the change in BLACK HORSE’S objective was sudden, Makoto was wary of both the infernal constructs and was thus prepared to react to the twin blades that charged hungrily towards him. But it came as somewhat of a shock when the so called ‘horse’ lurched to a sudden halt, its bladed arms snapping off at the elbows by some unseen force.

Momentarily the nobleman froze, morbidly intrigued by the peculiar sight. It was that moment of hesitation that left the healer prone.

“We really have to stop meeting like this,” Makoto said in a dry tone to the Templar Queen as the clashing energies of cero and bankai diminished. “On second thought, I’m glad we met like this.”

As Tsubaki turned the turned the tables on whatever WHITE HORSE had become with a tide of abyssal flame, Makoto hung back slightly, ready to follow up the Eleventh Division Captain’s attack as soon as a moment presented itself. The black flames from the depths of the woman’s soul ravaged the hide of the machine-hollow amalgam, sending the beast into a towering rage. Instincts drove the crocodilian monster diving blindly towards its tormentor.

Blindly...

It was then that a thought occurred to Makoto. As the razor lined maw of the hollow continued to race towards Tsubaki, Makoto lifted his right arm and took aim with a single clawed finger. “Hadou number four, Byakurai!” With those words a bolt of white lightning lanced out, streaking for the right eyehole of the hollow’s mask.

[251/2161]

Dear Tsubaki

IshinOnigami · Feb 12, 2011

Ishin watched as the whip like tendrils of the Black Horse attacked first another of its own comrades, then the other came for him. The tendril would be unlike the Cero, more unpredictable, its course possible to be changed.

It would also be more tangible.

As the whip grew closer, Ishin ever so slightly altered the gravity around his body with his gravity armor ability. While it wasn't strong enough to make the monster miss him altogether, he didn't take more damage than a scratch on his arm. A soon as it passed, it traveled for less than a meter before it started to retract again. Ishin, however, calmly lifted his hand and grabbed the tubing.

"You know what the best part about being me is? Being able to do this!"

In a flurry of motion almost too quick to be seen, Ishin launched his assault. First, he changed the gravity on the black horse so that it would literally fall towards him. Then, he used the flat of his giant axe in an uppercut swing to send the mech flying higher, again altering the gravity so that the punch landed as it was being pulled downward then again to help it go flying.

Next he altered his own personal gravity then kicked off the ground with a single foot, then went flying upwards. He past by the black horse like a rocket, and stopped twenty meters above it, bringing the axe down again in another flat sided hammer blow. This blow, combining Ishin's strength, The terminal velocity that the still gravitationally altered Black horse gad attained and the terminal velocity of the normal gravity on the axe, made for a blow that would have shaken the very earth had it not been in the middle of the sky. The hit sent the black horse flying downwards, smashing into the ground just in time to be hit by Aragon's attack.

Beaks · Feb 12, 2011

"Yeah, you're going to owe me a dinner for this pretty soon dear." The Templar Queen smiled wryly at the noble, finding herself almost amused by how relaxed the situation was becoming. Katsuji was quite literally treating the Black Horse as a cat would treat a dangling toy, and as for the one that had been so impudent to attack her?

Well, the only thing more foolish than engaging Tsubaki at all was to try and attack her at close range.

"Makoto, I have to admit that since I just killed a red one of these bastards, I'm not quite up to full yet." The Captain shrugged mildly before slamming the jagged face of her hammer into the top of the charging creature's nose. The hammer rose above her head in a flawless downward crescent, violently closing the open maw that sought to devour her before launching the abomination firmly back.

"That being said, if I can buy a couple minutes with this thing...I can make damn sure it joins the red one in Dead Ugly Fuck Heaven." Keeping herself in a readied stance, the Captain looked back at the sun-haired noble with a smile. "Think we can do that?"

[200/498]

Attack Used

Maaaaath

Dippy

Ish

I FUCKING LOVE

Seamus · Feb 12, 2011

"Yes," said Adena finally coming out of her stupor on the sidelines, "of course we can." Deciding it best to pretend as though she were talking to other Quincy rather than godforsaken shinigami, Adena stared at the blond captain. After a tense, awkward moment Adena shrugged and called her bow to life and fired one, ferociously powerful arrow in the wake of Tsubaki's attack.

A muffled whump came from wherever the arrow had landed, she hadn't paid much attention to her aim, just she knew that it would connect somewhere on the horse. She turned back to her companions.

"What's the plan, pretty boy?"

NOTE: lol sorry about the late and lame entrance.

Kehengto · Feb 13, 2011

The beam from the male captain was true to the mark as the bolt of kidou energy obliterated any remnants that an eye had once existed there. The survivors of the Order’s army had had a spark of enlightenment and those that were able began to flee the scene. Those that were not as quick became part of the disappearing number that collected on the mace tail of the hollow that had been thrown backwards. Its snout and mask partially crushed bits of the human face shown through revealing the initial identity of the tormented soul. To a quick eye and a faster mind, the observer would have seen that it was the very soul of the publicly assassinated leader of Sweden not a few months dead. The mask did not remain broken for long as it reformed this time minus the right eye. The open injury to the rib was still slowly reconstructing, given the size and lack of fresh food it was taking much longer.

Bellowing a roar as it clambered back to its full height on the hind legs, the beast opened its mouth wide while the arrows thumped into its spine. A virulent red began to twist and form at the back of the jagged maw. This however was not the worst. The monster of a demon uncommon to most attacks of this nature instead charged forward. Shaking the earth with each crushing stomp, until it had recovered the ground it had been thrown back. It was at this moment that the hellish man-made amalgam leaped into the air and unleashed its cero downward upon the collection of souls it waged war against.

[277 / 3,233]

Divine Truth · Feb 13, 2011

The shirtless healer captain stared in turn at the new addition to their fighting force, answering her awkward glare with an eyebrow raised one of his own. What the hell was that for? the nobleman wondered to himself. The godforsaken gravel pit already boasted a cast of hollow-machine amalgams, shinigami captains, scores of advent humans, a vizard, and now to top it all off, a quincy woman with a staring problem? Heh, why not, Makoto mused with a shrug.

"The plan,” the nobleman began brightly, completely taking the ‘pretty boy’ comment in stride. No need to take offense to a compliment after all. "Is, for the moment, to avoid being killed by the coming counterattack.” As the healer finished his statement he nonchalantly pointed up to the soaring crocodilian hollow. Having said that, Makoto flash stepped out of the line of fire, assuming that the quincy woman’s mind was as sharp as her tongue, he didn’t bother insulting her by expressly telling her to do the same.

The captain exited his shunpo wide of the cero’s blast area and to the blind side of the ailing White Horse. "Afterwards, the plan is to keep it off balance until he provides us with a wide open opportunity to end this for good.” Another warm rush of energy surged through the martial artist’s form as he flexed his muscles in preparation. Though instead of enacting the taxing Shunko school of techniques, Makoto brought to life the benefits of Taikaku Kakougan. With the momentary protection of a ‘Granite Constitution’, Makoto launched himself towards the base of the flailing tail, stopping the less dangerous end of the maneuverable mace cold before taking a vicious slash at it with one of the golden ethereal claws of Shinka Kainyuu.

[293/2454]

Technique Used

FogOverLondon · Feb 13, 2011

"Huh??" he called out, the roar of the fading cero drowning out his query to the others.

A Quincy? the older man thought, Oh well variety is the spice of life, I guess. A better question is,

"How to deal with this damn lizard!" He yelled as he came again, leaping onto the back of the monster.

The Shinigami and the newly joined Quincy were plotting, their plans were removed from him since he had allowed the Hollow to sprout unexpectedly from the womb of the containment cell in the space between him and his temporary allies. For him, there was only forward, only attacking, only his fist raised, gathering dark, primordial strength from his own inner Hollow and his own, blood-red flame of reiatsu.

"DOUBLE DECKER COFFIN!!" he screamed as he drove his fist again and again into the steel-scaled reptilian creature.

It arched, flailing its tail to knock him off; fortunately in the direction of Tsubaki, Masato and the others. As he bounced several times, the thrashing tail and impossibly powerful forelegs crumbled the quarry walls nearby, sending a combination of car-sized debris and slashing claws in the direction of each member of the motley offensive. Meanwhile, Makoto's charge fell between the simultaneous chaos of its writhing animalistic counter attack.

212/913

Seamus · Feb 14, 2011

The "wide open opportunity" that the pretty-boy captain had mentioned seemed to have pretty clearly presented itself; at least, to Adena. She moved, too fast for the eye to see, appearing high in the air and streaking red ribbons of burning reishi through the darkened sky.

"Hapless idiots," she muttered to herself as she surveyed the scene below--bouncing shiningami only adding to her distaste. "Where is the finesse?"

Not caring that there were currently two shinigami tangling with the thing at close quarters, Adena called to her body and soul every ounce of power that she could pull from the world around her. The sky turned a brilliant scarlet as she focused in on her target, her bow blinding in its brilliance. To the arrow she had drawn she added her own power; her wildly waving hair began to strain toward the arrow as she made the ethereal creation have physical presence--as she increased its density to a point well beyond its normal state. Locking on to the creature's head, she wasted no time letting loose her arrow.

The arrow flying straight and true, she waited for the shock wave of the explosion to hit her.

Tech

Arrow:

Note: There is going to be a MASSIVE, hellish is explosion and a VERY large crater created

Beaks · Feb 15, 2011

Debris and means of assault glanced off the Captain's ironclad skin, each attack as meaningless as the last. Without so much as a second thought Tsubaki walked past both Adena and Makoto, heading directly towards the monster with a steady but far from calamitous stroll.

"Just because I need to store up some power doesn't mean I can't smack it around until then." Grinning, Tsubaki let her emblazoned red irises bore back at the monstrosity with the utmost of contempt and blood lust. "That's right you ugly bastard..." The hammer that had rested passively on her shoulder came to bear upon her right, locked firmly within the bone talons that now made up her sword arm. "...throw everything you have at me...it won't matter. I'm still going to eat you alive."

"Kanzaki...from one monster to another..." The red-wrapped katana that remained at her side flew to the Captain's grip with a solid flourish. The crushing might of a Captain-class Shinigami in each hand, Tsubaki's smile widened all the more. "...this one's for you."

[173/671]

What this means for Apocalypse Pony

Math

Cad · Feb 15, 2011

Certainly, if the mechanical beast could have possibly experienced a sentient conception, it would have thought, Damn.

The cable flopped to the ground, shoved down by the captain’s abilities, and failed to grab hold of the prey. Had BLACK HORSE only been able to squeeze the puny humanoid into its chamber, the power of his soul could have further strengthened the dark spirit inside…but to complete the objective none the less, the last human was wrenched into the bloody chamber. The lanky shinigami, although puny in comparison the HORSE’s build, suddenly wielded the mech like a toy. The reaper pummeled the armored body, tossing it into the air and slammed into again, only to sent it plummeting into the quarry basin. The central processing unit of BLACK HORSE was able to quickly turn its torso and place its leg-like limbs beneath to land safely. Just as the machine’s feet hit the ground though, a raging blast tore into the legs supporting the war machine’s frame. As the lofty construct tried to ready another attack, its body was suddenly dropped to the ground.

The reinforced structure, though nowhere near as durable as bloodstone, was still somehow partly in tact. Surely the Death Gods watching could never have guessed that anything human-made would be able to withstand such intense, spiritually laden attacks. Several plates of the black armor had been crushed, torn asunder by the combination of furious of strikes. BLACK HORSE’s gear-bound body twisted in the debris, its legs and arms now shred into useless scraps of wretched metal. The monstrosity rolled itself over, exposing its backside, and revealed something not seen before that had been hidden by the armor. A large cavity, filled with murky fluid and a human-like structure rested inside the heart of BLACK HORSE’s shell. The chamber next to it was bloody and emptied of the human victims it had consumed. The eruption of blasts had surely muted the human’s screams as it was destroyed, fertilizing the next attack.

The green panel atop BLACK HORSE’s shoulder had finally reached its full luminosity. The emerald glow could be seen through the dusty air as a charging, high pitched whir began to grow louder. The mechanical beast had finally stopped moving, its gears silenced and the only sound, the ring from the shoulder piece, growing louder. Finally, the ear piercing ringing had reached its audible climax and the cloudy, fluid filled tube began to shake inside the horse’s chest. The figure inside twisted in the dark nether and let out a horrendous roar.

Three beeps echoed from the machine and the quarry was instantly consumed by the ensuing firestorm.

zomg sorry

MUSHROOM CLOUD OF DOOOOOOOM

[440/1667]

Edit: for everyone wishing to respond to this attack, the detonation was a sort of self destruct. The limbless remains of BLACK HORSE were lying on the ground before exploding. BH's hollow will be freed from the machine and have a turn or two left, after the effects (Smoke, debris etc) have resolved.

Kehengto · Feb 16, 2011

The assault on the backbone of the croc had been brutally effective in permanently grounding the beast. Crashing into the ground such that there was a six feet of rock well above the highest point of the demon’s crimped iron spike back row. The force had even forced the tail end deep into the quartz granite rock which ultimate became severed on a steel sub-structure of the quarry. Being a fabricated hollow crafted for one purpose alone, it lack basic skills of natural hollows, one of those included trans-dimensional travel. Rising up with a new level of rage not yet seen, it shook the rubble off as a dog would shake off water. In a flash it had its scale claw of a hand around the female captain; a move that someone of higher intelligence would recognize as a death wish. Not satisfied with just handing its life over that way, the creature shoved the woman deep into its gullet and literally biting off the hand that fed it. The solitaire jade eye glowed brightly as it began to reach for the next victim.

~*~

Aragon literally had seconds between when he delivered his attack and when he appeared arms length behind Ishin. His only clue something bad was going to happen was the ear splitting screech that erupted from the mechanical monstrosity. Grabbing Ishin by the back collar of his clothing, Aragon pulled him behind a wall of cards to shield from the eruption of the beast. With El Toro in the other hand, the barrel stayed level with beast waiting for an opening while Aragon moved his absolute last round from Le Maestro to El Toro.

“Jack I’m down to one shot…Let’s finish this with it.

[288 / 3,521]

Beaks

Beaks · Feb 16, 2011

I just got eaten...didn't I.

Burning ruby eyes opened to find only blackness to greet them. Disgusting, oozing, writhing darkness. While the energies outside the beast were still present albeit faint, Tsubaki could not help but notice just how utterly wrong the creature felt on the inside. Conflicting senses of joy and agony, malice and purpose wrapped up in a hopelessly muddled prison of flesh.

....great. Guess I can cross 'get slimed by gross fuck' off my to-do list for the day...this better wash out...

It was somewhat of a betraying thought, but then again who exactly did she need to appear ironclad for in this scenario? Everyone who would have expected as much of the Templar Queen currently enjoyed the sublime luxury of not residing inside a monster's innards. Thankfully though...Tsubaki possessed more than enough strength to make the stay all too temporary.

"To the last, I will grapple with thee..."

The jagged maw of Gravios's final form split open with a thundering pulse of energy, the likes of which would have been more than apparent even outside the prison of flesh and steel. An abyssal lance burst from the open cage of the hammer's teeth, burning with malevolence and the unbridled rage that could only have come from the weapon of the Queen of the Blood Templar.

"From Hell's heart..."

I really hope you lot know enough to get the hell away from this...

The unholy flames gave light to the darkness, illuminating a world not made for living eyes. In the last waning moment's of the creatures life, even a battered soul like Tsubaki's could not help but feel empathy towards the mangled and misshapen fiend. A churning conflagration of ebony cinders danced like fireflies within the innards of the beast, a final send-off before the pyre was forged.

From within the creature a deafening boom shook the battlefield and all who still dared to dwell upon it. The sudden and terrified scream of the reptilian abomination was one of unbridled fear, the horrifying and all too poignant realization that death had come. In the wake of the blood-freezing wail, a series of much louder and infinitely more furious shudders of flame and destruction tore at the doomed creature from the inside out. Plates of shimmering metal armor bent and buckled like paper, the rivets that held them to their task dismissed like gunshots. Ichoric flesh warped and twisted, ballooning outwards like a pungent cyst that carried too much burden to bear.

Without warning, the prison of flesh and metal had finally broken. Putrid oil mixed with the befouling flood of blood and bile washed over the quarry like a revolting flood, showering friend and foe alike in the gore. The will to scream fully exhausted from whatever soul the creature may have possessed finally faded, leaving the towering marriage of monster and machine to collapse under its wounds.

A lone silver fang jutted from the back of the slain foe, only to disappear a split second later. Twice it appeared once again, each time emerging from the corpse in a different location. At long last a portal had been carved out of the beast's carapace, exhuming what had effectively been its last meal. Awash in a shower of putrid oil and fluids best not thought of too carefully Tsubaki emerged, exhausted...but nevertheless alive.

"...I stab at thee."

[561/1,232]

Math if anyone wants/needs it.

Several Zombies · Feb 17, 2011

The ethereal shell of energy that floated around Masato glowed and hissed as it was pelted by the devastating after-effects of the new arrival's attacks -- its surface awash with rubble and gore. Still, he did not tear his gaze away from the scene unfolding in front of him. As the raging Shinigami captain emerged from what had once been the White Horse, the young Agent's eyes widened in shock. How could a single being cause so much devastation? This creature, this horrible amalgam that they'd tried so hard to fell, this Grim obliterated in the blink of an eye. It was relieving in a way -- and of course, Masato should have been happy that this battle was over -- but he was somehow discontented. It all seemed so anti-climactic; so disappointing. He couldn't hold a candle to this strange Shinigami, and his own ineptitude in their battle had only proven it.

"Fuck..." he breathed in frustration, turning his attention towards the last remaining Order combatant -- The BLACK HORSE. It's final attack had succeed in clearing the quarry of it's allies -- essentially it's food source -- so the Major had to wonder what was coming next. Why intentionally put itself at a handicap against already-insurmountable odds? Something was up, for sure.

Flaring his reiatsu, the armored agent's bladed apended shot forward to it's maximum reach. Swinging the heinously oversized weapon around in an arc, the Advent readied himself for whatever was coming next.

FINAL 2613

-v- Lambo's turn! -v-

Silas rolled backward, an understated acrobatic move to push himself to his feet.

His eyes had been fixed on Tsubaki, the woman had so deftly disposed of the White Horse incarnation, giving him a chance to retreat back to the main line of defense. In his current frame of mind, he had endured enough trials, working with Shinigami, tolerating the sudden appearance of the Quincy. But he knew that had it been only himself and the two humans, they wouldn't have had a chance to defeat the caliber enemy that they had fought tonight. He would thank them in his own way.

"A life for a life." he muttered.

It was only the electric surge sent up his spine that forced his attention away from the Templar Mistress.

Even I know that reiatsu...Ishin.

Silas caught his thoughts as he almost whispered the word "Taichou"

Even I won't stoop so low, even if they did save us.

157/1070 Final

Booo

IshinOnigami · Feb 17, 2011

Ishin was bathed in the warmth of fire twice, once from the Black Horse and once from Tsubaki's attack. It felt nice. Warmth flooded through him. An almost euphoric high spread over him. A smile spread across his face as he looked over his shoulder at his fellow Captain.

"Hmmm. Not too shabby Tsubaki. Still don't hold a candle to Shiroi, but you are getting there. I guess i should follow in kind."

He turned back to the Black Horse, his gaze not reflecting the smile upon his face.

"You know it's not nice, in fact it's downright dangerous, what i am about to do. When two of the strongest in all of our army fully realize our combat potential within this close of a proximity the effects can be rather intense. However, i hold no sympathy or remorse for you. Perhaps if you hadn't killed your own men to feed your own power, i would hold back a little. As it stands, though, you are ending here and now."

Ishin paused a brief moment to chuckle to himself at the irony of his statement. He had killed a number of his own men in the attack on Hueco Mundo, simply because they had tried to escape their bonds of imprisonment. Putting that aside, however, he began to exude power.

"Ban Kai."

Suddenly he entire quarry was enshrouded in a darkness that wasn't complete but was still all encompassing. In the center of the darkness blazed an inferno of Reiatsu that wreathed Ishin in its turbulent embrace. It wrapped around him, then coalesced onto him. It seemed to harden, to shape and form. When the tempest stopped, he stood in the very same set of armor he had worn when he had been alive. It was Jet Black, threaded with what seemed to be silver cord. Upon closer inspection, however, one would notice that it wasn't reflecting light, but creating it. The rope glowed like a star. His helmet was Black as well, the half moon crest on the top reflecting a sudden burst of light.

A light that was from the moon now hovering a mere few hundred yards above them.

In his hands, his axe split apart and formed into a pair of halberds that each looked like half of his weapon. and around him, swirling with motion, were a thousand fragments of meteors, each a deadly missile, ready to be directed to the intended target.

By simply lifting his hands, the black horse shot up into the sky. It kept rising until it was about two hundred feet up. Then it began to shake violently.

"Gravity is something that most people take for granted. You assume that it is something constant because you have no control over it. But for those of us that don't have that restriction, it becomes a mere plaything. As do you."

Another motion of his hands, and the black horse was ripped apart at the torso. What remained of the legs and arms separated and were instantly crushed by Ishin's gravity bomb, the dust from them being pulverized falling to the ground like some gruesome form of metallic snow. With the arms and legs gone, oil and other liquids poured out of it. Above the groan of metal, one could almost hear the pilot screaming.

Ishin half turned and scanned his surroundings with ice blue eyes. His search stopped when they alighted on one of the spires near the edge of the quarry, blissfully and surprisingly intact after the intense fighting going on around it. Another motion of his arm.

At first, nothing happened. Then all hell seemed to come loose. Or at least the spire did. It split from it's foundations, with a groaning and screeching noise that made everyone else cover their ears. Pieces fell off and tried to fall to the ground, only to be caught in his grip and brought towards him with the rest of the sharply tipped building. When they hovered a mere foot above his hand, making him seem like an action figure next to a play set, he smiled.

Then he pulled back his arm, stepped forward, and launched the giant metallic spear at the Black Horse. It careened through the air, it's path never wavering. It struck, and the force of the throw created a shock wave that emanated from it. Ishin increased the gravity with a smirk and watched as the Black Horse rocketed towards the ground like a shooting star.

When it hit, the impact shook the surroundings so bad that a bit if the quarry started to cave in and what was left of some of the buildings collapsed. Then, from within the Black Horse a glow started to emanate. Green light bathed the shards of broken glass of the pod that had contained the entrapped hollow. It began to writhe and twist, to deform and reshape. As the transformation reached the head, eyes appeared. Eyes that glowed with a malevolence that spoke volumes of how evil it was.

Eyes that saw nothing but the moon falling towards them before they were closed forever.

The impact was such that the spire sticking out of the horse collapsed in on itself. The force crushed in into the rapidly evolving mechanical creature. When the moon hit, it crushed all semblance of the being into dust. In the span of seconds, a being that had taken the WHO years of worth of research, date, planning, time and not to mention money, was crushed beyond all recognition. It was pulverized so completely that there was barely a piece bigger than a hood ornament for a car. The debris that was kicked up pooled into a mushroom cloud as it floated skyward.

When everything cleared, Ishin stood on top of the mound of dirt that marked the machine's final resting place, his sword stabbed into the ground and his haori fluttering in the wind.

"OK, so what next?"

FINAL WORD COUNT 2795

~~~~~

*shows GM badge* I'm commandeering this post, lol - Dippy 2/19/11 2:18 PM

The razor sharp claws of Makoto’s initial release cut determinedly through the combination of flesh and metal at the base of the monster’s tail, separating it from the main body with a healthy burst of gore. Somewhere in the distance the spiked, mace-like end of the thrashing tail crashed to the ground like a meteor from the sky. Surely the loss of yet another body part caused the former White Horse much pain, but the monstrosity had not the luxury of being able to wallow in singular agony with so many attacks coming in from seemingly every direction.

In the course of what felt like a handful of seconds, all hell broke loose within the quarry. A flurry of game breaking attacks rained down upon both the White and Black Horse. In its frustrated anger, the White Horse snatched Tsubaki up and swallowed her whole. If it was anyone else, Makoto might have found himself stricken, aghast that his companion had been eaten by a monster. However, the only words that came to mind as the healer shook his head in a pitying manner were:

“Poor dumb bastard…”

And thus the end of the White Horse was spelled.

As the smoke and haze of falling gore that came as a result of the blast began to thin, Tsubaki was revealed still standing proud and defiant, walking over the manufactured hollow’s remains as if they were no different than the gravel that blanketed the quarry floor. “Showoff,” Makoto called out to the Templar Queen. A second concussion emanating from the other side of the pit indicated Ishin had no intentions on being out done by Tsubaki. “Both of you.”

[278/2732]

K3 · Feb 17, 2011

A high pitched whine of machinery began to echo across the grounds yet again, accompanied both by the soft padding and whirring of something heavy striking the ground, and a hellish squealing that would’ve put a stuck pig to shame. The unmistakeable sound of a spinning barrel came to notice amongst the elite of both Earth and Seireitei, accompanied by another sound only describable as a fan winding up.

Its gaze swept silently over the eclectic group for but a moment, before its entirety was brought to bear. Missile pods, fully automatic weapons, mine launchers, grenade launchers. Its arsenal was all but endless, leaving only the deafening silence that the tall one’s attack had left in its wake. Its robotic arms twitched once, twice, thrice as a crimson glow began to alight its chassis.

An instant later, its primary programming had activated and the entirety of its arsenal rained lead and explosives upon the group as such an unholy contraption could. As machine gun fire racketed throughout the quarry and the constant din of explosions echoed into the far distance, the squalid screech was unrelenting and undeterred by the instant carnage it had so easily began to wreak.

The Pale Horse had arrived.

FINAL [203/203]

And then things got worse...

Kehengto · Feb 18, 2011

NOTICE: I shall be Locking this thread on Saturday 2/19/11 in the evening around 9pm forum time. For those wishing to get you final jabs in before then, that will be your Deadline so as this thread can be graded for this week.

swaswj · Feb 19, 2011

Thunder rumbled.

Barely audible over the roar of hell unleashed on the gathered defenders, thunder rumbled from the clear blue sky. A spark appeared, high overhead. The spark rapidly grew in size and intensity. Burning with searing electrical power, the immense beam of blue-green light seared through the air, cutting through the thick black smoke that surrounded the battlefield to drop like an ion cannon to the planet's surface.

As the beam engulfed the ignominious Pale Horse, swallowing it completely, its name followed after it: "Hiryuugekizokushintenraihou!"

The powerful hadou detonated, unleashing the charge of deadly electricity, throwing up a shockwave that scattered all the existing debris and throwing up new clouds of sundered stone and metal.

As thick black clouds of smoke and rose up from the center of the blast, arcs of electricity still crackling between the superheated dust. The heady scent of ozone filled the air.

There, dropping down in front of those who remained on their feet, stood the source of the apocalyptic blast: wearing a single-sleeved haori with the numeral ten emblazoned on its back; his bare left arm covered with a dark teal tattoo, spiraling from shoulder to wrist and anchored by the mitsudomoe on his bicep; long dark grey hair hanging straight down below his shoulders.

Sayis Inuzuri, Captain of the Arcane Specialists.

In his right hand, he gripped a thick, heavy broadsword, the weapon free of any decoration or ornamentation. In his left hand he gripped a similarly featureless kamayari; eight feet long, he held the silver-colored spear point-downward, with its haft resting across his back. The muted reiatsu that he exuded didn't seem like it could have possibly harbored an attack of such magnitude.

"It seems that you needed my help less than I thought," the arcanist remarked as he surveyed the remnants of the Black Horse and the White Horse, a hint of pride in his voice. "Tsubaki, Ishin... I wish I could say, 'good job' and then take on the rest from here. Unfortunately, the situation allows for no such luxuries.

"Ishin, you are needed back in Seireitei. Senesati will need your help to bring the prison back in order. The way is open: remind your charges just why it is that you're the captain there!" Sayis managed a slight grin, which quickly faded. His calm grey eyes slid over toward their other haori-clad ally. His words came rapidly, with a calm but commanding tone. "Makoto, do what you can to restore Tsubaki's reiatsu. If we're going to finish this, I need her back in fighting condition.

"For your part, Tsubaki... stay back, until you've regained more of your strength. Don't doubt that we'll need it."

The cloud was beginning to disperse, and the haunting sounds of the Pale Horse lifted into the air, digging into their brains.

Sayis lifted his voice and turned toward the two Orpheus members. "Humans... I assume one of you is the leader of Orpheus, Aragon Tenbanto. If you intend to stay, then mark this moment. Carve it into your memory." A confident grin spread on his face as he turned back toward the thick smoke, hands tightening on their respective weapons. "Engrave the feeling of power into your soul.

"For as long as you intend to protect and to fight, to unite your fellows against evil and lead them to victory... these are the kind of battles you will face.

"This is the power that you must strive for."

In one blink, all of the veils had been stripped away: Sayis' full and undiluted power filled the battlefield and then amplified itself with the release of Karil's shikai. The sword blade took on its unique mirror and glass form.

The tattoo on his left arm began to gleam with teal reiatsu, and that reiatsu also began to illuminate the spear in his hand.

As the roiling clouds were crushed under the weight of his reiatsu, the Pale Horse was revealed, sitting completely unharmed in the middle of a charred crater.

[666] Final

Kehengto · Feb 19, 2011

The pressure on his body exploded to an exponential level that though his body felt familiar too, his mind was blank of such memory. Barely able to stand much less feel capable of using his power, the leader felt the all too bitter taste of weakness at the back of his throat. For as hard as it was for him to find an equal, he paled horridly in comparison to the powers that stood before him. Jack, the Queen of Doom, and now the King of Thunder dwarfed him in comparisons. He could feel it. The feeling feed the constant burning desire to stand on level ground as an equal. Not for the sake of going to battle with them, but more for the sake of knowing he could hold his own.

The vast power that had cleared the area both amplified and fried various abilities of his ear comm. The sounds of war now poured into Aragon’s cranium since the device was incapable of selective listening. Markus and Ayako seemed to have their hands full from the sounds of it, and knowing that this fight had suddenly jumped out of his league now was as good a time as any.

Shooting a knowing glance and a nod to Masato, the message was quite clear, time to leave. Passing a cursory look to Jack then to the others, Aragon made a quick bow and jumped onto his magic carpet.

“Jack, knock some heads for me.”

Passing a quick salute to the captain of thunder, Aragon pulled Masato onto the carpet and headed out of the quarry. As he did the comment slipped his lips.

“Give him Hell.”

[277 / 3,798] FINAL

Beaks · Feb 19, 2011

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding."

Tsubaki had scarcely enough time to drop back into the disgusting protection offered by the corpse of the White Horse before the bullets fell like rain. As the steel rain ricocheted off the slain beast's hide the Captain found herself privy to a rare moment of mortality.

As the jagged fang of Gravios's sealed form was jammed into the innards of the shelter Tsubaki quickly fished out the tiny cellular phone, opening it without hesitation and dialing the number in question without so much as a second of pause.

"You may begin recording after the beep. When finished, press zero to send." The cool and almost sultry recorded voice on the other end of the line seemed worlds away, a reminder of the chaos Tsubaki had managed to immerse herself in once again.

"This is Tsubaki, Captain of the Eleventh Division. I am pinned down by enemy forces and down to the last of my strength. If this message is not canceled within the next hour by myauthorization..." She paused, pushing back the lump in her throat. "...Reijuu Kyuketsu is to be promoted to Captain of the Blood Templar. My final orders to him are these: Get our people home Reijuu, do not abandon them to try and save me."

"Admitting failure before you so much as try." Across from her the long absent but no less familiar voice pierced the darkness with more violence than the steel rain that fell outside.

Little by little the phone lowered, resting in the Captain's bloodstained lap. "I had thought you and I were done with these meetings, Masato."

"As had I. Apparently though you wear my Haori you're still content to hide behind me whenever you get in over your head." The Templar Queen paused, chuckling to herself at the level of arrogance the facsimile carried. "This amuses you?" While the words took the shape of a question the true intent remained hidden, given sanctuary by the shield of Yuzuki's unchanging features.

"Ask me again, Masato."

"Mm?"

"Ask me why I deserve to be a Captain." The rumbling of familiar Reiatsu outside the makeshift shelter gave her a moment of solace, mustering the necessary resolve to do something that should have been left finished long before.

"Mmm. It seems you've found a stronger body to hide behin-"

"I deserve to be because I never wanted to be." Her words cut across the spirit's without pause or mercy, echoing through the cavernous innards of the White Horse in perpetuity. "You thrust this upon me, just as the Soutaichou thrust it upon you. You had just as much of a say in my wearing this garment as the Forty-Six did. If you didn't think I should wear it you would have killed me that last time. You wouldn't have trained me since day one to eventually take your place."

"To send this message, please press zer-"

The device snapped shut in her lap, tucked back into the robes without a second thought. "I never stopped serving justice, Yuzuki. I stopped knowing what justice was. I thought in my arrogance and self-serving ways that I could define my own justice, and shape my actions accordingly.

I do not wield justice. Justice wields me."

A smile slowly crept over the features of the Templar Queen, followed by her left thumb pressing itself firmly into a would suffered on her shoulder. "If I am unjust, it acts. I am brought back to the path I am meant to walk, just as you were. Which is why you are gone."

The crimson stained thumb pressed itself against the bridge of her nose, smearing a long line of blood across the left side of her features. "I am a Captain, and I always was...Haori or no. You saw that, just as I see it now." Pulling the jagged blade from its resting place, Tsubaki paid one last glance to the ghost of the Acting Captain.

"Goodbye, Yuzuki Masato. I love you. I miss you." Her softened features suddenly hardened, assuming the ironclad exterior that now came all the easier in the face of what was to come. "However, I will not see you again."

As the muted but no less empowering words of Sayis Inuzuri came to her ears, Tsubaki stepped out onto the battlefield once again, locking eyes with the Pale Horse.

" It's about damn time."

[735/1,967 Final]

Ready to join Post Terminus?

PM [Orpheus Weapons Testing Quarry/ Open] Week: 176 It's Not My Time

New Member

Word. Adjective. Pronoun.

New Member

Wacky Woohoo Pizza Sadness Man

Voodoo Gnomes

New Member

Word. Adjective. Pronoun.

Active Member

Voodoo Gnomes

Wacky Woohoo Pizza Sadness Man

New Member

New Member

Wacky Woohoo Pizza Sadness Man

Zombie Overlord

New Member

The Angry One

New Member

Administrator

New Member

Wacky Woohoo Pizza Sadness Man

Current Date in Araevis