Main Event Dead or Lie

[Yun Lee]

The Riders sped on, clearly determined to catch up to the group and get their revenge. "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!" Medb screamed, her head sticking outside the window. She growled, ducking back in, and the convertible started swerving, with some yelling coming from inside. It righted itself, and the hood went down, revealing Medb had taken the wheel, Slipknot now standing on the passeger's seat. Rope turned into a lasso, he flung it towards the group, aiming to grab a person, a car, anything!

@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan​

 

[Jeremi]

Will Nines

Will couldn't tell if it was Matt's blood in particular, but he could tell it was human. He wasn't sure that was good or bad. Usually he could get more specifics. Maybe his hardware was more damaged then he knew. " It's more of a precaution. Many of the humans who my previous selves worked with weren't happy when the other androids licked blood. It's definitely human blood," he said to her.

@Jeremi

"I figured..." Nadine replied as they got out of the shop and to the upper walkway, the blood trail continuing on. "W-We must hurry, it's clear that he's in danger." The tone of her voice sounded frantic, but Will couldn't say if it was because of some unknown feelings Matt and her shared or if it was something else.

@Lucky

The Riders sped on, clearly determined to catch up to the group and get their revenge. "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!" Medb screamed, her head sticking outside the window. She growled, ducking back in, and the convertible started swerving, with some yelling coming from inside. It righted itself, and the hood went down, revealing Medb had taken the wheel, Slipknot now standing on the passeger's seat. Rope turned into a lasso, he flung it towards the group, aiming to grab a person, a car, anything!

@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan

Dhaos saw Slipknot readying himself. "Rope!" He shouted causing Ashley to swerve at the last second and made Slipknot only hit thin air. As this was going Rattlor as well was getting close with his trike driving up close to the pick up truck and extended his neck headbutting the back panel as a result.

"Could someone do something about that?!" Ashley shouted from the front. Dhaos looked around for something to use and found a crowbar lying in the back. As Rattlor readied himself for another strike Dhaos swung hard rattling the snake man hard enough that he almost lost control of his bike and fell back. "Shit shit shiiiiit!" The Tower team leader wasn't having a good time as the mad cap race through the streets continued on, until... "The buildings!" In front of them the two two building came into view as Ashley tried to one more time to rev up to get some more speed in the pick up. The Riders were once again catching up when those watching their destination come closer saw smoke and explosions erupting in front of them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" It seemed that Bossk had in fact reached the destination and had set off the explosions. Now there were two falling buildings in front of them and a pack of killers behind them. Ashley chose the buildings. Shouting to Megatron to keep up she'd dare the falling buildings and pressed on. The Riders behind them seemed to also continue after them despite the danger. Debris was falling the suspensions of the buildings were failing as they came through. Swerving left and right Ashley tried her best to avoid the ever growing chunks as the buildings toppled. It seemed like they had miscalculated. "Fuuuuuu-!"

*BOOM*

As the two buildings crashed down dust erupted into the air blocking any visibility in the area. As the dust settled however both the pick up and Megatron seemed to have survived the treacherous pass. Between his coughing fit and with visibility still quite low Dhaos tried to see if everyone had made it by shouting out. "Is everyone alright?"


@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan

 

[Takumi]

Pyke
@Ver @Jeremi @Crow @will30358 @Ottonomous Ghost @Takumi @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @MainPlan​

After the attack, Pyke's breathing was audible, evidently exerting himself a bit too much with no water nearby. The air felt very stale. Nevertheless, he smiled at the prince beneath his mask. "You pulled your weight," he responded. "Crews share the effort." After the brief moment of conversation, the harpooner's eyes snapped back to his previous enemy, who was about to ambush him. When the car smashed into Rattlor just before he could do that, it was as though Nagakabouros, the god worshiped by the city of Bilgewater, had granted Pyke her blessing. He blinked a couple times as he processed what just happened, and then promptly got into the back of the truck, but not before going over to Dagran to help him up again. Patting the mercenary on the back, Pyke said, "Good work. Now we gotta go."

The only vehicle he's ever been in was a ship, so this would be an experience. In fact, throughout this whole mission, the Bloodharbor Ripper had never felt more human ever since he drowned in the sea all those years ago. The act of working with a crew again must've reminded him of the times when he was alive. The satisfaction would not last forever, however. There were far too many captains to deal with who happen to not be on his mind at the moment.​

"Thanks Pyke." Dagran spoke as he was helped up, a soft grunt of surprise escaping when the older man suddenly pat him on the back, before Ashley showed up and yelled at them to get a move on.

"I figured..." Nadine replied as they got out of the shop and to the upper walkway, the blood trail continuing on. "W-We must hurry, it's clear that he's in danger." The tone of her voice sounded frantic, but Will couldn't say if it was because of some unknown feelings Matt and her shared or if it was something else.

@Lucky



Dhaos saw Slipknot readying himself. "Rope!" He shouted causing Ashley to swerve at the last second and made Slipknot only hit thin air. As this was going Rattlor as well was getting close with his trike driving up close to the pick up truck and extended his neck headbutting the back panel as a result.

"Could someone do something about that?!" Ashley shouted from the front. Dhaos looked around for something to use and found a crowbar lying in the back. As Rattlor readied himself for another strike Dhaos swung hard rattling the snake man hard enough that he almost lost control of his bike and fell back. "Shit shit shiiiiit!" The Tower team leader wasn't having a good time as the mad cap race through the streets continued on, until... "The buildings!" In front of them the two two building came into view as Ashley tried to one more time to rev up to get some more speed in the pick up. The Riders were once again catching up when those watching their destination come closer saw smoke and explosions erupting in front of them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" It seemed that Bossk had in fact reached the destination and had set off the explosions. Now there were two falling buildings in front of them and a pack of killers behind them. Ashley chose the buildings. Shouting to Megatron to keep up she'd dare the falling buildings and pressed on. The Riders behind them seemed to also continue after them despite the danger. Debris was falling the suspensions of the buildings were failing as they came through. Swerving left and right Ashley tried her best to avoid the ever growing chunks as the buildings toppled. It seemed like they had miscalculated. "Fuuuuuu-!"

*BOOM*

As the two buildings crashed down dust erupted into the air blocking any visibility in the area. As the dust settled however both the pick up and Megatron seemed to have survived the treacherous pass. Between his coughing fit and with visibility still quite low Dhaos tried to see if everyone had made it by shouting out. "Is everyone alright?"


@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan

Well, at least the plan seemed to have worked, right?

Coughing from the dust in the air, Dagran was relieved to still be alive squinting, he tried to check those closest to him, having been near Pyke moments ago at least "Pyke? You alright?" He questioned.

@Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Crow

 

[Crow]

The Riders sped on, clearly determined to catch up to the group and get their revenge. "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!" Medb screamed, her head sticking outside the window. She growled, ducking back in, and the convertible started swerving, with some yelling coming from inside. It righted itself, and the hood went down, revealing Medb had taken the wheel, Slipknot now standing on the passeger's seat. Rope turned into a lasso, he flung it towards the group, aiming to grab a person, a car, anything!

@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan​

"I figured..." Nadine replied as they got out of the shop and to the upper walkway, the blood trail continuing on. "W-We must hurry, it's clear that he's in danger." The tone of her voice sounded frantic, but Will couldn't say if it was because of some unknown feelings Matt and her shared or if it was something else.

@Lucky



Dhaos saw Slipknot readying himself. "Rope!" He shouted causing Ashley to swerve at the last second and made Slipknot only hit thin air. As this was going Rattlor as well was getting close with his trike driving up close to the pick up truck and extended his neck headbutting the back panel as a result.

"Could someone do something about that?!" Ashley shouted from the front. Dhaos looked around for something to use and found a crowbar lying in the back. As Rattlor readied himself for another strike Dhaos swung hard rattling the snake man hard enough that he almost lost control of his bike and fell back. "Shit shit shiiiiit!" The Tower team leader wasn't having a good time as the mad cap race through the streets continued on, until... "The buildings!" In front of them the two two building came into view as Ashley tried to one more time to rev up to get some more speed in the pick up. The Riders were once again catching up when those watching their destination come closer saw smoke and explosions erupting in front of them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" It seemed that Bossk had in fact reached the destination and had set off the explosions. Now there were two falling buildings in front of them and a pack of killers behind them. Ashley chose the buildings. Shouting to Megatron to keep up she'd dare the falling buildings and pressed on. The Riders behind them seemed to also continue after them despite the danger. Debris was falling the suspensions of the buildings were failing as they came through. Swerving left and right Ashley tried her best to avoid the ever growing chunks as the buildings toppled. It seemed like they had miscalculated. "Fuuuuuu-!"

*BOOM*

As the two buildings crashed down dust erupted into the air blocking any visibility in the area. As the dust settled however both the pick up and Megatron seemed to have survived the treacherous pass. Between his coughing fit and with visibility still quite low Dhaos tried to see if everyone had made it by shouting out. "Is everyone alright?"


@Jeremi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan

"Thanks Pyke." Dagran spoke as he was helped up, a soft grunt of surprise escaping when the older man suddenly pat him on the back, before Ashley showed up and yelled at them to get a move on.



Well, at least the plan seemed to have worked, right?

Coughing from the dust in the air, Dagran was relieved to still be alive squinting, he tried to check those closest to him, having been near Pyke moments ago at least "Pyke? You alright?" He questioned.

@Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Crow

Megatron transforms back into his robot mode and places Candi on the floor.

"It seems that that is over, for the time being," he speaks as he looks around, accounting for everyone in the crew. "I have doubt that they will be permanently stopped. If a break is intended, it will have to be swift."

@Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Crow @Takumi
​

 

[Jeremi]

Megatron transforms back into his robot mode and places Candi on the floor.

"It seems that that is over, for the time being," he speaks as he looks around, accounting for everyone in the crew. "I have doubt that they will be permanently stopped. If a break is intended, it will have to be swift."

@Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Crow @Takumi
​

With the dust having settled the group found that they were all mostly unscathed, but the Riders that had been following them seemed to have been engulfed in the debris of the buildings behind them. Even if they by some sort of miracle survived there was still tons upon tons of rubble on top of them. This was no doubt a victory for the group.

Ashley stepped out of the car and looked at the devastation. "Not so stuck up now are you bitch?" A smug smirk crept up on her face as Bossk came into view, exiting a nearby building. "What the fuck was that?" Ashley shouted to him. "You were almost about to crush us too!"

He seemed nonplussed about the shouting. "I took a calculated risk, and it seemed to have worked," He hissed.

"Be that as it may," Dhaos spoke up before Ashley could start arguing. "We succeeded in our mission, what is our next step?" His question was mainly pointed at Ashley, being the de facto leader and all.

She looked around and gave a casual shrug. "Well we killed these bastards, let's rendezvous with the mall people and see if they found some supplies? I'm itching for a celebration party after this. With the cars we'll get there in no time."

@Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Crow @Takumi

 

[Crimson Spartan]

"Criminally insane." Moira said, still staring at the body. "The Others come by their name honestly-they're a mix of different species, cultures, even time periods...but all of them have in common a cutthroat and bloodthirsty nature. The ones that don't I doubt lasted long."

After a silent moment, she added, "As I said, we had limited interaction with them, save for the brief amount of time they needed to decimate our numbers. I do recall a robotic entity not unlike the one on your team, and a barbarian who looked to be from centuries ago. Judging by the stab wound on that girl, I would guess that was his doing."

@Crimson Spartan

"I-I see... Sounds terrifying..." Ashe initially spoke after Moira finished speaking seeming a bit nervous most likely thinking about how an encounter with them would go.

"Well in other news I found this pistol on that girl there. It's got five bullets so that's a start I guess.." Ashe spoke to Moira revealing the pistol he found carefully holding it so it wasn't pointing at either of them.

"Honestly i've always been more comfortable with knives but i'm at least competent with a pistol..." He speaks for a moment deciding to reveal his preferred weapon of choice in case they came around any knives.

@Yun Lee @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @FactoryPeeps​

 

[Yun Lee]

"You'll quickly find that the necessity of survival helps you adapt to new things rather quickly," Moira said. Glancing around once more, she said, "It seems that nothing more of value is in this area. Let's meet with the others; no doubt they've found something of use within the hallway."

Sure enough, they would find the little room full of weapons. "Ah, Moira and Ashe!" Akande greeted them, voice still low. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Just the remains of a Rider," Moira replied, peeking within. "Apparently, the real area of interest is this room. I take it no one has gone in yet?"

"Not yet, no. As tempting as it is, it's a rather obvious trap, isn't it? My guess is that there's a landmine under that tarp, or possibly ropes that will trap you like a net once you step onto it."

"That'd be a little too obvious, don't you think?"

"!!!" A voice spoke up from inside the room, but there was little time to register much else, as another new development was far more pressing: from high above, a net descended on the group, trapping everyone within!

From the room, a low chuckle sounded, and the man within moved away from the wall he'd been hiding behind, coming forward to meet the group. Though not as tall as Akande, he more than matched him in width, his immense frame draped in pelts that looked to be from sometime in the BC era. Bright yellow eyes stared smugly at those in the net, and he grinned.

"Well, well, well...looks like we have some new arrivals. And here I thought the queen and her tribe were the ones trying to raid us!"

"You." Moira's tone dripped with disgust. "I didn't think traps were your area of expertise."

"Oh, they're definitely not. My approach is a bit more...direct." He nodded towards the main room of the factory. "As I'm sure you already saw. But once you activated the trip wire we had set up out in the forest, I wanted to be the one to greet whoever decided to wander over here."

"Well, we don't have time for this. If you're going to kill us, get it over with."

"Oh please. Killing a caged rabbit is no fun. I much prefer a hunt. But the boss would just love to see that the fourth group is awake. And besides...the beast hasn't eaten in a while."

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @Factory​

 

[Ottonomous Ghost]

Pyke
@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @MainPlan

The Riders sped on, clearly determined to catch up to the group and get their revenge. "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!!" Medb screamed, her head sticking outside the window. She growled, ducking back in, and the convertible started swerving, with some yelling coming from inside. It righted itself, and the hood went down, revealing Medb had taken the wheel, Slipknot now standing on the passeger's seat. Rope turned into a lasso, he flung it towards the group, aiming to grab a person, a car, anything!

Before Pyke could admire the speed at which he could travel on the vehicle, he was stuck staring at Medb in contempt. She was like a captain barking orders at her foolishly loyal crewmates. Nevertheless, Slipknot also caught his attention, since he was winding up yet another rope. If Pyke had his harpoon with him, he'd have impaled him before that could happen, but for now, he was stuck as a vulnerable target.

Dhaos saw Slipknot readying himself. "Rope!" He shouted causing Ashley to swerve at the last second and made Slipknot only hit thin air. As this was going Rattlor as well was getting close with his trike driving up close to the pick up truck and extended his neck headbutting the back panel as a result.

"Could someone do something about that?!" Ashley shouted from the front. Dhaos looked around for something to use and found a crowbar lying in the back. As Rattlor readied himself for another strike Dhaos swung hard rattling the snake man hard enough that he almost lost control of his bike and fell back. "Shit shit shiiiiit!" The Tower team leader wasn't having a good time as the mad cap race through the streets continued on, until... "The buildings!" In front of them the two two building came into view as Ashley tried to one more time to rev up to get some more speed in the pick up. The Riders were once again catching up when those watching their destination come closer saw smoke and explosions erupting in front of them.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" It seemed that Bossk had in fact reached the destination and had set off the explosions. Now there were two falling buildings in front of them and a pack of killers behind them. Ashley chose the buildings. Shouting to Megatron to keep up she'd dare the falling buildings and pressed on. The Riders behind them seemed to also continue after them despite the danger. Debris was falling the suspensions of the buildings were failing as they came through. Swerving left and right Ashley tried her best to avoid the ever growing chunks as the buildings toppled. It seemed like they had miscalculated. "Fuuuuuu-!"

*BOOM*

As the two buildings crashed down dust erupted into the air blocking any visibility in the area. As the dust settled however both the pick up and Megatron seemed to have survived the treacherous pass. Between his coughing fit and with visibility still quite low Dhaos tried to see if everyone had made it by shouting out. "Is everyone alright?"

Pyke had never seen anything this spectacular before as they drove through the crashing futuristic buildings. It was breathtaking chaos. Not even Bilgewater, with bombs going off randomly, or ships crashing near the harbor, could compare to this. The buildings were falling a bit faster than he had envisioned, though, and began thinking that he may become gravely injured. Luckily, instead of it being his fate, the buildings did indeed fall on the Riders, a sight that he wasn't quite able to see well because of the dust, but that was good enough for him. "Haha! Dropped 'em like an anchor!" he exclaimed happily.

"Thanks Pyke." Dagran spoke as he was helped up, a soft grunt of surprise escaping when the older man suddenly pat him on the back, before Ashley showed up and yelled at them to get a move on.

Well, at least the plan seemed to have worked, right?

Coughing from the dust in the air, Dagran was relieved to still be alive squinting, he tried to check those closest to him, having been near Pyke moments ago at least "Pyke? You alright?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the sailor responded, despite noticing a few small pieces of shrapnel embedded in his left arm. "I'll walk it off," he continued, shrugging.

With the dust having settled the group found that they were all mostly unscathed, but the Riders that had been following them seemed to have been engulfed in the debris of the buildings behind them. Even if they by some sort of miracle survived there was still tons upon tons of rubble on top of them. This was no doubt a victory for the group.

Ashley stepped out of the car and looked at the devastation. "Not so stuck up now are you bitch?" A smug smirk crept up on her face as Bossk came into view, exiting a nearby building. "What the fuck was that?" Ashley shouted to him. "You were almost about to crush us too!"

He seemed nonplussed about the shouting. "I took a calculated risk, and it seemed to have worked," He hissed.

"Be that as it may," Dhaos spoke up before Ashley could start arguing. "We succeeded in our mission, what is our next step?" His question was mainly pointed at Ashley, being the de facto leader and all.

She looked around and gave a casual shrug. "Well we killed these bastards, let's rendezvous with the mall people and see if they found some supplies? I'm itching for a celebration party after this. With the cars we'll get there in no time."

"I agree," Pyke added, "Hopefully they got some real weapons I can use for once..."
​

 

[Ver]

"Idiots like you people are the same no matter where I go, I swear," Larxene grunted after surviving the carnage behind her, thinking back to the other members of the organization. She was none too pleased that Bossk dared to categorize her as a worthwhile sacrifice in the name of the ends justifying the means, but as Dhaos said, at least it worked out.

Lucky for her, but moreso, lucky for Bossk.

Crossing her arms and letting out a soft pout, Larxene sighed. "Fine, fine. Let's get a move on. Whatever gets this all settled faster," she said, on board with making a rendezvous with the others.

@Yun Lee @Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost @Crow @CrunchyCHEEZIT @will30358 @Takumi​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

❝ Damn... ❞ For a moment, Nishiki breathed out a curse. He had that gut feeling that this would be some trap. Though, he didn't curse because he knew that this was coming, but for the time's being...

❝ In that case, mind humoring us with whatever you plan on doing. Being caught like this and all, speaking and listening are my only options here. ❞ The yakuza narrowed his glaring eyes at the person responsible for the trap in the first place.

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @York @Yun Lee @Factory​

 

[Jeremi]

Ashley ignored the whining and just turned to Bossk. "You're driving, we better get to that mall." Realizing that there original path was no blocked however, they needed to formulate a new route. "We should get there pretty quick, all things considered."

With that they were off towards the mall. As the drove on they could properly see the desolation of the city, whatever had struck had caused a catastrophic impact. After some driving they seemed to have found themselves at the mall. Stepping out Ashley looked towards the entrance. "Keep your eye open for Nadine, Matt and the robot," She replied making her way towards the entrance. "Maybe they'll have something good for us."

Stepping inside the dimly lit mall the group couldn't see anything before. "Ashley!" From one story above them the group could see Nadine and Will waving down at them. "Matt's gone missing, and there's a lot of blood!"

Ashley groaned in annoyance. "Fuck, of course Matt's missing," She grumbled to herself for a moment before shouting up to Nadine. "Get your ass down here, we better find his ass before he gets into trouble!"

Coming down the escalator Nadine and Will were soon with the larger group where Nadine filled in the group on what had happened. "So Matt's disappeared and you basically found dick, that's great."

"There's a blood trail," Nadine replied. "We've been following it and it looks like it's leading us somewhere on the first floor."

Bossk sniffed the air. "There's a faint scent, I believe I can still track him."

"Seems like we have a plan then."



@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Lucky @MainPlan

 

[York]

Spoiler: Replies

Dagran's block would land, as would the punch of his own. Christopher grunted as he was sent to the ground, but then got up and rushed at Dagran, ropes at the ready. It was clear he intended to restrain Dagran and prevent him from doing anything else.

@Takumi @Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Ottonomous Ghost

---

Medb cried out, more in indignation than pain, as Candi slapped her. As she whirled around to do it again, though, Medb grabbed the magical hair, aiming the machine gun right at Candi's abdomen. "How dare you assault me so cheekily?! Normally I'd torture you, but you leave me no choice! Any last words, you brat?"

@will30358 @Crow

---

The girl didn't respond to Ashe at all; in fact, she didn't even seem to move even a fraction of an inch. It was about this time that Ashe would smell something putrid, akin to how that soldier smelled back in their first puzzle...

@Crimson Spartan

---

Akande peeked his head into the room, as if sizing it up for himself. "If we all rushed in at once, perhaps we could each get an armful of weapons...and possibly equip Ashe and Moira, since they may not find anything, in the event that we are pursued afterwards. That also means that if someone is waiting in there, they won't be able to take us all on at once." He shrugged. "But that's just my idea."

@Gummi Bunnies @York​

"I-I see... Sounds terrifying..." Ashe initially spoke after Moira finished speaking seeming a bit nervous most likely thinking about how an encounter with them would go.

"Well in other news I found this pistol on that girl there. It's got five bullets so that's a start I guess.." Ashe spoke to Moira revealing the pistol he found carefully holding it so it wasn't pointing at either of them.

"Honestly i've always been more comfortable with knives but i'm at least competent with a pistol..." He speaks for a moment deciding to reveal his preferred weapon of choice in case they came around any knives.

@Yun Lee @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @FactoryPeeps​

"You'll quickly find that the necessity of survival helps you adapt to new things rather quickly," Moira said. Glancing around once more, she said, "It seems that nothing more of value is in this area. Let's meet with the others; no doubt they've found something of use within the hallway."

Sure enough, they would find the little room full of weapons. "Ah, Moira and Ashe!" Akande greeted them, voice still low. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Just the remains of a Rider," Moira replied, peeking within. "Apparently, the real area of interest is this room. I take it no one has gone in yet?"

"Not yet, no. As tempting as it is, it's a rather obvious trap, isn't it? My guess is that there's a landmine under that tarp, or possibly ropes that will trap you like a net once you step onto it."

"That'd be a little too obvious, don't you think?"

"!!!" A voice spoke up from inside the room, but there was little time to register much else, as another new development was far more pressing: from high above, a net descended on the group, trapping everyone within!

From the room, a low chuckle sounded, and the man within moved away from the wall he'd been hiding behind, coming forward to meet the group. Though not as tall as Akande, he more than matched him in width, his immense frame draped in pelts that looked to be from sometime in the BC era. Bright yellow eyes stared smugly at those in the net, and he grinned.

"Well, well, well...looks like we have some new arrivals. And here I thought the queen and her tribe were the ones trying to raid us!"

"You." Moira's tone dripped with disgust. "I didn't think traps were your area of expertise."

"Oh, they're definitely not. My approach is a bit more...direct." He nodded towards the main room of the factory. "As I'm sure you already saw. But once you activated the trip wire we had set up out in the forest, I wanted to be the one to greet whoever decided to wander over here."

"Well, we don't have time for this. If you're going to kill us, get it over with."

"Oh please. Killing a caged rabbit is no fun. I much prefer a hunt. But the boss would just love to see that the fourth group is awake. And besides...the beast hasn't eaten in a while."

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @Factory​

❝ Damn... ❞ For a moment, Nishiki breathed out a curse. He had that gut feeling that this would be some trap. Though, he didn't curse because he knew that this was coming, but for the time's being...

❝ In that case, mind humoring us with whatever you plan on doing. Being caught like this and all, speaking and listening are my only options here. ❞ The yakuza narrowed his glaring eyes at the person responsible for the trap in the first place.

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @York @Yun Lee @Factory​

Cinder Fall
@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @Yun Lee
@Factory

Cinder narrowed her eyes at that stockpile upon Akande's suggestion to just rush in, about to say something.

Unfortunately, she didn't even get a chance to, as Moira reinforced her suspicion that this was all too easy, but before they could figure out a good approach, it seemed that the Riders had found them. However, it soon became obvious why that was; Nishiki. Him tripping over that wire earlier was the reason they were even in this mess in the whole place.

She silently glowered at him, as if contemplating something before turning back to the man who now had them cornered so to speak, intrigued at his proposition.

"So. Are you the type to arm your prey?" She asked, tilting her head a little.

Of course, on a cursory glance, it wasn't immediately obvious Cinder was missing an arm, as it was somewhat obscured by the angle at which she was standing. However, it was difficult to tell if she was referring to the fact that she had lost an arm, or that she didn't have any means to defend herself.

After all, it wasn't unreasonable to assume this man wanted something more than just a boring slaughter of who he perceived was prey, right?​

 

[Crimson Spartan]

"You'll quickly find that the necessity of survival helps you adapt to new things rather quickly," Moira said. Glancing around once more, she said, "It seems that nothing more of value is in this area. Let's meet with the others; no doubt they've found something of use within the hallway."

Sure enough, they would find the little room full of weapons. "Ah, Moira and Ashe!" Akande greeted them, voice still low. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Just the remains of a Rider," Moira replied, peeking within. "Apparently, the real area of interest is this room. I take it no one has gone in yet?"

"Not yet, no. As tempting as it is, it's a rather obvious trap, isn't it? My guess is that there's a landmine under that tarp, or possibly ropes that will trap you like a net once you step onto it."

"That'd be a little too obvious, don't you think?"

"!!!" A voice spoke up from inside the room, but there was little time to register much else, as another new development was far more pressing: from high above, a net descended on the group, trapping everyone within!

From the room, a low chuckle sounded, and the man within moved away from the wall he'd been hiding behind, coming forward to meet the group. Though not as tall as Akande, he more than matched him in width, his immense frame draped in pelts that looked to be from sometime in the BC era. Bright yellow eyes stared smugly at those in the net, and he grinned.

"Well, well, well...looks like we have some new arrivals. And here I thought the queen and her tribe were the ones trying to raid us!"

"You." Moira's tone dripped with disgust. "I didn't think traps were your area of expertise."

"Oh, they're definitely not. My approach is a bit more...direct." He nodded towards the main room of the factory. "As I'm sure you already saw. But once you activated the trip wire we had set up out in the forest, I wanted to be the one to greet whoever decided to wander over here."

"Well, we don't have time for this. If you're going to kill us, get it over with."

"Oh please. Killing a caged rabbit is no fun. I much prefer a hunt. But the boss would just love to see that the fourth group is awake. And besides...the beast hasn't eaten in a while."

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @Factory

"...So I suppose that girl back there was your handiwork wasn't it..?" Ashe speaks oddly calm despite the situation he and those he came here with found themselves in. Deciding to keep the pistol he had found hidden for the time being Ashe would say this with no emotion in his voice.

@Yun Lee @Gummi Bunnies @York @Donder172 @FactoryPeeps​

 

[Ver]

"So we have a missing twerp on our hands, huh? Wonderful. I didn't want a simple and done plan anyway," Larxene clicked her tongue as she caught wind of Matt's disappearance from Nadine and that weird robot guy, now that they made their rendezvous at the mall. As the others went on with their banter, Larxene conjured a small spark of electricity between her fingers, an eased smirk on her features.

"Well, let's not waste any time then. With any luck, maybe that guy was whisked away by a friend, and we ought to greet him if that's the case, no?" The woman said, stating the likely possibility that Matt was apprehended by someone from the enemy team.

And that interested her greatly.

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall​

 

[Yun Lee]

"No," the barbarian replied, not seeming to catch Cinder's little pun. "Trapping and arming are two very different things. Whether or not you can fight back means nothing to me...except give me a bit of a challenge."

To Ashe and Nishiki, he frowned, slightly irked. "If listening really is your only option, you're bad at it. In a few minutes we're going to be headed to my boss, once my associate gets here to help escort you all. And as for that waif out there...yes, that was me. Those machines of theirs make for a fun chase every now and then."

"So you're a fan of cat and mouse, I take it," Akande noted.

The barbarian grinned. "Something like that. Unfortunately my boss prefers you alive, so I can't really enjoy myself too much...unless one of you decides to make my day and attempt escape, of course."

@Crimson Spartan @Donder172 @Gummi Bunnies @York @Factory​

 

[Jeremi]

"So we have a missing twerp on our hands, huh? Wonderful. I didn't want a simple and done plan anyway," Larxene clicked her tongue as she caught wind of Matt's disappearance from Nadine and that weird robot guy, now that they made their rendezvous at the mall. As the others went on with their banter, Larxene conjured a small spark of electricity between her fingers, an eased smirk on her features.

"Well, let's not waste any time then. With any luck, maybe that guy was whisked away by a friend, and we ought to greet him if that's the case, no?" The woman said, stating the likely possibility that Matt was apprehended by someone from the enemy team.

And that interested her greatly.

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall​

No one seemed to answer as the searched started with Bossk in the lead. It didn't take long for them to pick up the trail again, the smearing made it look like he was being on the floor considering the amount it was leaving behind. Finally the blood lead under a door that seemed to lead into a supply closet.

Inside they found the trail had seemingly vanished into thin air. The only thing that the group could see with a quick glance were the random assortment of mops, chemicals and dust that a supply closet would have inside it. "And so the trail runs cold..." Dhaos mused aloud.

"Please, like he just flew away?" Ashley scoffed. "Check inside, there has to be something we're missing."

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall

 

[Lucky]

Will Nines

It wasn't as if Will was actively waiting for more people than him and Nadine due to his "unique" circumstances and the fact he couldn't tell if Nadine was going to murder someone if she had her way. It was more so that it actually took him some time to find out where the trail was leading due to some system damage from that earlier bloody wound. Turns out it was a good thing he had patched up the wound that had been leaking blue blood because it had been messing with some of his circurity. He was a little sad nobody commented on his new hoodie, but then again, maybe that was a good thing.

Will inspected the closet to see if there were any signs of a hidden passageway or something out of place.

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall

 

[Jeremi]

Will Nines

It wasn't as if Will was actively waiting for more people than him and Nadine due to his "unique" circumstances and the fact he couldn't tell if Nadine was going to murder someone if she had her way. It was more so that it actually took him some time to find out where the trail was leading due to some system damage from that earlier bloody wound. Turns out it was a good thing he had patched up the wound that had been leaking blue blood because it had been messing with some of his circurity. He was a little sad nobody commented on his new hoodie, but then again, maybe that was a good thing.

Will inspected the closet to see if there were any signs of a hidden passageway or something out of place.

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall

As Will opened the closet the only thing he found inside was junk. An empty paint can and other sorted trash that had gathered over time. Will could notice however a bit away from the closet, the floor seemed to have a line of scuff marks that seemed to just disappear a bit further.

Dhaos was suddenly looming over him. "Did you find something?" He asked Will the others having seemingly no luck so far.


@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall

 

[Lucky]

Will Nines

Will noticed immediately that there was a ton of junk in the area including an empty paint can and trash that could only be built up in an abandoned mall. He paused and looked over to the side and noticed that there were scruff marks. That did indeed mean that something had to move.

Will felt a looming premise and there was Dhaos. " Nothing in the closet, but there seems to be scruff marks over on the floor there. Something definitely went through the wall or more likely, a secret passage."

@Jeremi

 

[Jeremi]

Will Nines

Will noticed immediately that there was a ton of junk in the area including an empty paint can and trash that could only be built up in an abandoned mall. He paused and looked over to the side and noticed that there were scruff marks. That did indeed mean that something had to move.

Will felt a looming premise and there was Dhaos. " Nothing in the closet, but there seems to be scruff marks over on the floor there. Something definitely went through the wall or more likely, a secret passage."

@Jeremi

Dhaos went over to where Will had pointed and felt the floor. "There is a hatch here." Inspecting a little closer Dhaos found a handle to grip unto and pull the hatch open revealing a ladder going down.

"Well shit," Ashley came up and looked down the hole. "That doesn't seem safe at all."

"Even so, a comrade is missing, most likely attacked, we can not leave this be with out an investigation." Not waiting for a response Dhaos started to descend down the ladder into the unknown.

@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lucky @Yun Lee @Crow @will30358 @Takumi @Ottonomous Ghost @Mall