Re: Megaman Z(x) RWBY

Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:49 am

The interior of the tower had grown almost unbearably bright, and while the staff was preoccupied with getting a handle on things, security staff began a hastily whipped together evacuation of the tower. It was far from orderly, but that suited the trio in the distraction group just fine. Deliberately letting themselves get separated, Ruby, Grey and Penny made their way out of the tower, acting for all they were worth the part of confused and mildly terrified students. In his mind, Grey hoped that Ashe and the others managed to get out safely, but it wouldn't do to just dawdle about.

Making it back to the dorms was fairly easy. Plenty of students were out and about, and given the general nature of the crowds in the immediate moment, it didn't take much effort to blend in. Sighing with relief and exhaustion, Grey stepped into the dorm room that he and Ashe had been given, only to nearly jump out of his skin at the sight of the other three already being there.

"Sup, slow poke!" Ashe exclaimed cheerfully, hanging by her legs upside down from the bunk bed.

Clutching at his chest, Grey shot his friend a look, before turning to Yang and Weiss. "Either of you dudes see Ruby or Penny on the way back?"

Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:09 am

"Nope." Yang bluntly answered. "I'm sure they're fine, though. Probably just stopped for a bite to eat before coming back."

"That sounds like Ruby." Weiss rolled her eyes just a little, then gave her teammate a weird look. "So, you've sent out your SOS; how long do you think it'll take to get an answer? And, well, what constitutes an 'answer'? Will we even know if we see it?"

"If they're anything like these tw- uh, three, then it'll be sudden, loud, and very explosive."

Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:23 am

Grey took a moment to look over at Ashe, who gave her best upside-down shrug. "Beats me. Maybe those Guardian fellas will come after us. Or heck, maybe even an airship from Legion! Makes sense, given the fact that they still owe us for, y'know, saving the world and all."

"I just hope it gets home soon," Grey said, looking out the window with his hands in the pocket-sleeve of his hoodie. "Vent and Aile are probably worried sick, if they've heard of this by now..."

Meanwhile, back on Earth in Area F...

Prairie had been correct in her assessment of how the topography had altered in Area F. Much of the surface and mid-level frost had melted, leaving a veritable scrapyard of machinery and junk. The new terrain had led to no small complications in the Mega Twins' search for any data left behind, what with all familiarity being dashed by the changes. There was the small boon of a one-way transerver beacon system being up and running throughout the area, but constantly warping back to the Grand Nuage to utilize the beacons had proven to be rather tedious. So, the twins had opted to warp in using the deepest one they could locate and continue in on foot.

The further down they proceeded, however, the more frozen things became. The heat of the Mavericks above didn't extend down this far, and permafrost could still be found coating every surface. Vent had observed that it was almost like Area F had simply migrated further down for the summer, which had earned him an odd look from his sister, as well as generally awkward silence from all parties.

"Fine, leave me to be the only one with a sense of humor," he grumbled as they proceeded further into the dark, frozen caverns.

Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:48 pm

Aile could only sigh in response to her brother's disappointment. "Look... I'm glad you're trying to lighten the mood and all, but I think I've seen at least three Mavericks literally encased in the ice so far. Sorry if everyone's a little on-edge."

The chill had only gotten worse as they descended, and while the Guardians that had come with them were pretty well-insulated, their gear wasn't quite as effective as the Biometal. After some length of time, several of them stopped to set up a new beacon, but at their urging, the group had gone on ahead. They never caught up, and in all likelihood, they'd gotten out of there once the device was in place.

Almost more worrying was the lack of enemies. No Slither Inc. remnants, no Mavericks that wandered down, nothing. Nothing that still moved, anyway. A few frozen husks that looked a few centuries out-of-date, but that was the extent of it.

"...Is the password really going to be this far down?" Aile quietly asked Vent. "I feel like this is way deeper than the research lab was."

Model X was the one to answer this. Hold on. Do you see something strange up ahead?

Striding forward, Aile took out the ZX Saber, igniting it and holding it out before a thick, dark wall. The weapon gave off a faint light, but it was enough to see past the surface of the ice. There was something pink, yellow, and familiar-looking within. This appears to be scrap metal now, but doesn't that look like the Guardian insignia?

Wed Feb 10, 2021 12:08 am

Walking up alongside his sister, Vent peered into the ice. His eyebrows furrowed as he strained to look through the distortion, but soon they went up with recognition of the symbol. "It is. I think we're on the right track." Gesturing for the remaining Guardians to keep up, Vent proceeded further down the path. As they walked, he clicked on his short-range communicator, attempting to hail the Grand Nuage.

"Prairie, this is Vent. We're approaching the half-mile marker down in Area F, likely going to drop out of short-range comms distance soon. Aile and Model X discovered what looks like an ancient piece of Guardian equipment, probably from your sister's expedition unit. I'd recommend getting a separate team down to secure it; we're going further in."

As they descended, the group found themselves having to carefully carve a path through ice-overgrown sections of the tunnel. Emphasis on carefully, as a cave-in would prove lethal to all involved. This didn't sit right with Model F, but even he agreed with the logic behind it. Doesn't mean I have ta like it, ya know...

Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:41 pm

"Slow and steady wins the race. And this might be a race that takes us years to reach the finish line." Aile shrugged as she carted away another mound of ice fragments, her shoulders sagging. "...I hope those three are okay. If they got stranded in a place where they can't get food and water, it could be really bad. Grey doesn't need food if he can recharge, but if there's nowhere to draw power from, then he's in the same boat."

The work was tedious, but tense. They had to stop every so often to use Model L to create supports, some of them out of an abundance of caution, and in a few places because of unstable formations.

"...Oh, what am I saying?" She laughed. It sounded strained. "They're Hunters! They can forage if they need to! I bet they're relaxing on an island paradise or something, lounging around and getting a tan, munching on fruit and building a working radio out of coconuts somehow."

Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:15 am

The Guardian team shared concerned looks with one another, a few of them looking to Vent, who happened to hold their same worry. True, he could understand why she was thinking the way she was - after all, they shared this burden together - but if this was her current mental state, perhaps a quick breather was in order. Then again, considering the rather hostile conditions they were enduring right now, it wasn't the best spot to spread out the picnic blanket, so to speak.

Putting a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder, he offered her a wan smile. "We'll find 'em Aile. Have some faith in them." Sometimes, the best one could offer was some simple, sibling support. There was no way Vent could promise that those three were alright, but... "If they're out there, we are gonna find them. I promise."

"Commanders!" one of the Guardians called out, returning from the group which had pushed further on ahead. "We- we found something in the ice! Cédre thinks its big, she wants you guys down there ASAP!"

Vent's smile went from forced to genuine, and he grinned all the wider at his sister. "C'mon Aile, last one there's a busted Pseudoroid!"

Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:34 am

"I'm so getting her an E-Tank when we get topside again!" Aile half-shouted, dashing forward. She patted the messenger on the shoulder as she ran, looking back at Vent. "Don't fall behind, Leganchor!"

Her stride became more certain as she zoomed through the frozen halls, relieved to have anything resembling a lead. Being alone with her thoughts hadn't been doing her any good for the past hour or so. Her brother's encouragement did help a little; she was glad he was here.

Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:52 am

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Protectros!" Giving the Guardian a quick nod of thanks, Vent dashed off to catch up with his sister, the two of them reaching the bottom of the tunnel in record time. As they came to a stop, they found themselves in what seemed to be a makeshift dig site that the team had prepared. Two Guardians were in the final stages of preparing a temporary secure warp beacon, another was preparing a long-range communicator, and Cédre was waving the Mega Men over.

"Hey, you two! Hurry it up and get over here!"

The redheaded Reploid set aside her massive buster cannon - a brand that would make Ashe green with envy - and pulled out a high intensity flashlight. She aimed it at a particularly clear section of ice, the outer layers having been blasted away, to reveal a most unusual sight. "You can't tell me that's not a person in there! They might have that data you and Commander Prairie were after!"

Vent's face blanched. True, Cédre had a point. But he couldn't shake the feeling that they were looking a century-old corpse of some unfortunate Guardian member. "Yeah that... that's great, Cédre, I... gimme a minute." Before she or Aile could ask what was wrong, Vent briskly walked off, holding a hand over his mouth in an attempt to fight back the sudden, overwhelming nausea he was feeling.

...I would advise giving him some space, Model X said after a moment. His stomach seems to be taking this... poorly.

Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:49 pm

Aile gave her brother a strange look before she caught on. Oh. Ohhhh... "Think they wrote the password down somewhere?" Don't. Just... stop talking.

She thought about just leaving it to the others to examine the frozen cadaver, but shook her head. If that's what it took, she'd do it herself. Peering through the ice, however, she cocked her head. This jacket isn't worn by Guardians. The design is similar, but it's definitely different. It kind of looks like Prairie's uniform, actually. And I could swear I've seen it somewhere else. Where...?

As she looked at the frozen figure in puzzlement, her apprehension slowly melted. The person inside the ice looked fairly normal, for having been frozen solid. Their skin seemed pale, but not shriveled and dead, or black with frostbite, or like the cells had ruptured. The frozen researcher looked like they were just sleeping.

"Hey, good news; they're not a mummy, at least. Might even still be alive in there!"

Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:01 am

At the mention of the individual still being alive, Cédre looked up from her weapon, which she had been reconfiguring to act more as a massive plasma cutting torch. "Alive? C'mon Aile, really? How could anyone have lived that long and this far down?"

Another Guardian, Carrelet, walked up alongside the female Mega Man, taking a look of his own. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, he rummaged around in his backpack. "Hold on, she might be onto something here..." Procuring a gun-shaped scanner, he pressed the barrel of the device to the ice. It bore the tiniest of holes through the semi-transparent wall and began taking measurements of the individual inside. Carrelet's eyebrows furrowed as he watched the readout, before going up in surprise. "...Aile's right! There isn't much, but I am picking up minimal human life signs. Whoever this is, they're in some form of stasis - that explains how they survived!"

Tue Feb 16, 2021 5:08 pm

"...You're kidding." Aile said flatly, absolutely dumbfounded.

Bar - a third Guardian, standing further back - was the one to respond. "But you're the one who suggested it, Aile."

"I was kidding!" She held the sides of her head, as if it couldn't even contain the notion. How and why?! There's no way somebody was just coincidentally frozen in such a way that they'd survive. That's not something that happens naturally!

Suddenly, she and Vent felt a faint sensation that was hard to place. A numbing, but weightless feeling and rolls over them like a wave. It took her a moment to recognize it as the feeling of being in Cyberspace. It was weak, much weaker than when they dove head-first into it, but there was no doubt about it; this space was interwoven with that nightmare world, too. But a minute ago, it hadn't been like that. The sudden, unexplained onset was not a good omen, that much Aile was sure of.

"Hey, how far are we from Area N?" She asked, getting a better look at the researcher in the ice. It looked like a woman, and a small one at that. Hands clasped and curled up, she looked like she had been praying, but fell asleep. It was all very dramatic.

Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:40 am

The sudden wave of uneasiness that washed over the Mega Twins was enough to send Vent, who was already queasy enough, onto the floor on his bottom. Shaking his head to clear it, he staggered upright, forcing his mind to quit focusing on his discomfort, instead switching his attention to one of alertness. There was no immediate sign of impending danger, but... something was off. It was that feeling he and Aile had developed over the years together. A sixth sense, if you would, that one gained when working in such a dangerous field. Wait, is this even work? Vent momentarily thought to himself, prepping his ZX Saber with a flourish. Small wonder Legion just lets us do our own thing - the hazard pay alone would be a fortune.

"Not too terribly far off," said the fourth and final present Guardian member, Chêne. "I would say about a day's walk from here, if we went above ground. As for directly-" She was cut off by the faintest of tremors. It seemed to be coming from below them, and it was increasing in intensity every second. Quickly, Vent jumped into action. "Something's coming! Team, fall back and let Aile and I take care of this!"

Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:16 pm

Switching from the saber to the buster, Aile dropped into a lower stance. "Whatever it is, we can't fight it here! Let's try and get it into a more open space!" She took off with a sprint, back through the tunnel they'd come from; there had been a cavern a ways back that would work. But she never quite got there. A wall appeared in the air, bouncing the Mega Man back face-first, vanishing the instant she was no longer close to it. "Gah- what?!"

Picking herself up, she took aim with her ZX-Buster and fired three shots; the wall appeared again, all three of her blasts impacting on it and dispersing before the wall vanished again. Glaring at the space she knew the barrier was, she thought back to Area N, in the chambers leading to the Maverick that had held Model O.

Glancing around, she grimaced; it really wasn't a big space to be fighting in. Bar and Cédre attempted to take the frozen researcher with them, but found the same shield blocking them from reaching her. They'd have to evacuate without their important find for now. As they frantically tried to get everyone out of the area, the walls began to tremble.

After a few agonizing seconds of waiting, something gigantic burst through the floor, tunneling into the ceiling, scattering chunks of ice everywhere. It looked like a Mechanilloid made of large, linked segments. Its chassis was black, with red and orange accents, from what they could see in the mere seconds it was visible.

Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:37 am

The Mechaniloid was even more adept at moving through the ice than Flammole had been in his environment, and thanks to the solid nature of the terrain, it was quite difficult to pin where it would emerge from. All the two Mega Men had to go off of was a vague notion of when it was about to do so, thanks to the increased seismic activity. Vent barely caught a good look at the thing before it vanished into the icy ceiling above them - its movement had caused a veritable storm of powdered ice to fill the immediate area, obscuring his vision - but the movement pattern was unmistakable. Igniting his ZX-Saber with a flourish, he moved into a run, so as to present a more difficult target. "Aspis! It's a model I've never seen though - watch yourself, Aile!"

With the sound of shattering ice to his left, the Aspis burst through a nearby wall, nearly catching the ZX Mega Man across the side of the head. As he skidded to a halt, Vent attempted to bring his Saber down on the thing's midsection, when it let out a hissing roar. All of a sudden, the Mega Man found both of his hands frozen in place, but not in the icy-cold way he had half expected. Rather, the Mechaniloid had hit him with some form of stasis, preventing his forearms - and the rest of his body, by consequence - from moving whatsoever. "Model X! What is going on?! Why can't I break free?!"

It's some form of temporal stasis field, the Biometal observed. Whatever tech this Maverick used to generate it is foreign to me - I can't disable the effect!

Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:22 pm

A charged shot blazed through the air, slamming into the end of its tail, keeping it from side-swiping Vent as it passed. "So it can just stop us cold whenever it feels like it!? We can't get close like this!"

If it goes after Vent again while he's stuck, he's a goner; guess there's only one thing to do. I'll have to draw its attention and figure out how it's doing that! Dashing further away from Vent and the other Guardians, Aile transformed into Model FX, slamming one of its heavy cannons into the ground and firing several shots, rocking the cavern. Hopefully it would be enough of a ruckus to make the Aspis target her instead; she switched to Model PX and listened for motion in the ceiling, arm already poised to throw. Is it just me, or did that thing look an awful lot like Model W?

We'll have to stop its movements to get a clear look at it. Model P said brusquely. Concentrate.

...

From the right!

As Aile leapt back, blue light swirled around her hand and formed a four-pointed star, before she hurled it at the form that barreled through the space she'd just been. Grinning as she saw it slash through a part of the Aspis' chassis, her face fell when she didn't feel her feet meet the ground. Her body remained frozen in the air, just inches from the icy floor, arms still wide from her throw. The serpent wheeled around, plowing through the wall and bursting through the ice behind her. Thankfully, the shuriken she'd thrown spun through the air and returned, striking it in the head, sending it off-course. Its body still battered her and sent her flying as it went past, but it wasn't a direct hit.

Groaning from where she now lay on the ice, still unable to move. She looked at her twin. "Please tell me you're not still stuck..."

Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:47 pm

The stasis field is weakening, Model X said. I sensed its power drop when the Mechaniloid switched targets. Perhaps it requires a line of sight to its intended victim to maintain the field?

There was a sudden flash of energy around Vent's wrists, and feeling returned to his now-numbed up limbs. Groaning at the sudden pins and needles sensation, he quickly ensured that his half asleep hands were still gripping the ZX-Saber's hilt. Thankfully, the weapon still hummed in his hands, seemingly unaffected by the stasis. "If that's the case, we just need to keep its focus off of either of us!" There was yet another rumbling, this time from above the Mega Man's sister. It seemed that the Aspis was attempting to take advantage of her incapacitated state. Quickly kicking into action, Vent dashed forward and scooped Aile up, just as the massive snake-machine crashed through the ceiling, its jaws wide open. Holding onto his sis with one arm, Vent whipped his other one around, the ZX-Saber configuration shifting to its Buster form.

A single charged shot ripped into the Aspis' head, causing it to fall to the floor with a metallic screech. Its club like tail-end smashed into the ice in front of where Vent was moving, causing him to slam into it and lose his grip on Aile, sending her flying over the thing's tail. On the bright side, the attack to its optical sensor array seemed to have disabled the stasis field holding her back from moving!

Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:07 am

"Hrrrgh..." Aile growled, struggling to get to her feet. She still couldn't feel anything, so it was hard to balance enough to push herself up. After a few seconds, though, she managed to pull it together, at least having a faint sense of touch and balance, and got up. "Guess that's what I get for trying to be cool..."

She pulled her arm back again, a set of kunai forming between her fingers as she looked for the snake. It hadn't gone back into the ice yet, but decided instead to rear up, its lengthy form towering over them. Now that it wasn't moving around so much, they had a clearer view of it; with a black-and-white body lined with orange gems, it looked eerily similar to the enemies the twins had fought in the past who'd used Model W; Serpent's armor came to mind.

The problem was, they could see the Mechanilloid clearly, and it could see them. Eyes widening, Aile dashed to the side as fast as she could; if the two of them stayed together, they'd both be caught, and that would spell the end. But if they could just take out its eyes... other models didn't have as much use for optical data, as they all had a variety of other sensors, making the tactic of blinding an Aspis a futile one. But this one seemed like it was mostly dangerous for the environment it was fighting them in, and for its stasis ability. If they could just take out the eyes, it'd be a cinch to clean up. With this in mind, Aile threw her knives into its face as she moved, unsure how wide her throw might be at this distance.

Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:35 am

While she hadn't said what was on her mind, Aile could rest assured that Vent was thinking the same thing. The maker of this Aspis, whomever that was, had either taken inspiration from Model W, or... Keeping a firm grip on his ZX-Saber, Vent dash-jumped up and towards the Mechaniloid's head. It seemed preoccupied with trying to ward off the kunai that Aile had flung in its direction. With five sparks of blue-white energy, it attempted to freeze the projectiles in stasis. Three of them vanished the instant the field encapsulated them, while the other two clattered harmlessly off it's carapace. By this time, Vent managed to close the distance between himself and his target's head. Landing atop its Ceratanium skull, he held on as best he could as it reared back, roaring in a way no Aspis had before. He attempted to bring his saber down into its eye, but the thing was thrashing far too wildly. There was simply no way for him to get an attack off without relinquishing his grip.

Before the Aspis could throw off its would-be assailant, a bright helix-shaped beam of red energy lanced from across the room, detonating with a cataclysmic explosion of plasma. A solid - if small - chunk of the Mechaniloid's face had been blown clean off, and it reeled back from the impact. At the beam's origin point stood Cedré, her Buster Cannon venting out an excessive amount of steam. The red haired Reploid had a determined look on her face, but there was a dangerously excited glint in her eyes. "I'm not sitting this one out! Prairie can kiss my behind if she thinks standing orders apply here!"

Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:57 am

Circling around the beast of a machine, Aile leapt onto the wall behind it, transforming as she hit the ice; replacing the slim armor of Model PX was the bulky, bright armor of FX. Charging up the twin cannons, she kicked off, aiming to slam them both into the back of its neck, to drive it into the ground and give her brother a chance to finish the job.

Now, this would've been all well and good, had she been in top form. But she was still lagging a bit from being frozen before, and slid down the wall a couple of feet before she could make the jump. Instead of catching it right in the back of the skull, or the base of the neck, she dropped almost a quarter of the snake's length, crashing her heavy weapons into one of its sections, jostling it and making the head sway wildly. It had to have done a number on this thing, between Vent, the blast from Cédre, and her tackle, but it was far from giving up the ghost.