”You pretty much saw what I’ve got. I’m all about speed - fast gear, fast feet, fast hands. And I’ve been trained on a number of things. That’s pretty much it. I have a club, but wandering around the camp, I didn’t think I would need my other gear…”
At the same time, Karen yells, "Stop that car. Get those f$#+ers!"
Deeper inside the stable, a ring of red lights turn on, illuminating a machine that looks like the military made a giant ladybug and stuck guns on it.
A robotic voice says, "... wake up Gygax; stop that car. Get those f!!%ers. Mission directive recognized."
The first Devil's Bridge Brigade member to lose his cool dooms the rest of them. There's a burst of submachine gun fire followed by four precise shots from Gygax's railguns.
Then the giant military ladybug stands up on spider-like legs and bursts through the roof of the stable saying, "Locating vehicle!"
As Nissa and Henri drive away, they hear submachine gun fire followed by four precise shots. Gygax bursts through the roof of the stable. He looks like a black and silver ladybug on stilts.
"Uh-oh. They woke up Gygax. We need to make sure the family is safe."
"Uh-oh. They woke up Gygax. We need to make sure the family is safe."
A burst from the railguns peppers the road behind you. Gygax's robotic voice states, "Vehicle located."
The three Gaians scatter out of view.
Nissa hears the four shots, and can guess what that means for the four men in the barn.
What she doesn’t guess is—vehicle located???
☀️☀️
She shakes her fist out the window, flaring eyes glaring at the kill-bot. ”Don’t listen to that Karen! NEVER listen to that Kar—!”
She shuts up and drives.
“Well, it certainly won’t listen to me!” she says over the not-roar of the electric engine.
She turns to shoot the kill-bot through the rear window!
“Henri. There’s another blaster on my belt. Can ya shoot?”
"I can shoot. I think a better plan might be to let the kill-bot eat the car and evacuate with all haste. I know you can and I have haste for days."
While saying that, however, he pulls the second gun from her belt.
"I can shoot. I think a better plan might be to let the kill-bot eat the car and evacuate with all haste. I know you can and I have haste for days."
While saying that, however, he pulls the second gun from her belt.
”It should stand down when there’s nothing left to fight. Either we disappear so it doesn’t recognize us as a threat or it blazes a trail right through us. We might be able to immobilize it, but I have no idea where we would find the gear. Up ahead, see that curve to the left? Slow down a little as you go through and I will roll out and get out of sight. You make yourself scarce and let him have the car. We can double back to the farm.”
Henri shrugs, ”I like to think I’m fairly smart, but that’s the best I’ve got. I don’t know how you went from my pocket into the car, but I’m guessing you could get out the same way.”
The three Gaians decide to get the heck out of the area. Nissa, when you left the driveway, did you head South or North. The sign on the road says "Chapel of the Holy Cross South." 'Of the Holy Cross' is crossed out with black spray paint.
Presuming that Nissa tells me she has a plan (and not necessarily what it is), Henri prepares himself to leave the vehicle at her signal.
“Your plan sounds good to me!”
Nissa drives on—
☀️☀️☀️
—and tells how her powers can maybe help a bit.
“The adrenaline’s pumpin’—when I’m hot-and-bothered enough, I can split an atom. It’ll create a blast between you and the kill-bot so it won’t see ya bail. I’ll keep driving to make sure Gygax is still after me, not you.
“At subatomic size, the car and kill-bot will move without me, but you won’t be able to find me. So I’ll fire a shot straight up so you’ll know where to find me when I’m pocket-sized again.”
Worried that Gygax will simply chase Henri on foot, she asks, “Worst case, can you outrun Gygax?”
"The TROOP models were designed to be able to go directly over most any terrain. Whether it will do it quickly... Well, I can outrun most anything short of a bullet. I'll be better off if he doesn't see me at all."
The car approaches curve to the left that Henri mentioned to Nissa. Gygax is pounding along the road behind. It's keeping up with the car, but barely. Gygax's twin turreted guns fire again at the car, destroying most of what would be a back seat. Thanks to Nissa's skillful driving the car stays on the road as it hits the curve. It's a good thing you're blowing this car up, because it wasn't going to make it very far. The car takes the corner and, for a moment, is hidden behind a sign indicating that the Town of Sedona is up ahead. The sign looks old and has been vandalized repeatedly.
☀️☀️☀️☀️
”Altered plan!” She bails says,?“The sign!”
Apparently she must have willed her armor to stop glowing because she is very well hidden! She watches the car coast, sputtering forward a bit. Once it’s 40 feet away (or when the kill-bot shoots it—whichever first!), she’ll Supernova the car!
Gygax, seeing the car erupt in a fireball pauses.
"Car stopped. Mission successful?," says Gygax. "Checking mission parameters."
As it talks to itself, the robot swivels back and forth looking in both directions. It focuses on the highway to the South where the Gaians just zoomed off in a vehicle almost identical to the one Nissa and Henri were driving.
"Vehicle located. Mission directive 'stop that car'," says Gygax. The robot, despite its monotone delivery, seems happy the mission isn't over. It runs almost joyfully down the highway towards Chapel and ARIZ-29.
Henri peers up from a yucca-filled ditch that was the only cover he had on his side of the road. ”I think Gygax is headed to the camp…”
Nissa becomes pocket-sized. She jumps into Henri’s pocket (or hand, if offered).
”Wanna save Karen and her boys? It’d be easier to let Gygax blow ‘em up… and their bodies are likely just vessels for evil little monsters that deserve to die. And John’s family won’t be in trouble if the Gaians don’t live to report him.
“But still, if you wanna catch up and tell Karen to get outta the car, well…?” The grin on Nissa’s face cannot be perceived as her fairy form glows too brightly. But her tone suggest she’s interested in learning Henri’s powers. “How fast are ya?”
"It's not the Gaians I'm worried about. It's the people in the camp. Gygax has a short-circuit - what if he thinks those innocents are enemies? Let's get back to the farm."
With that, he engages the zoomgear and hustles down the road.
Henri sees the electric jeep racing 40 mph away from him, the giant robot striding after them.
Back in the shed, Theo seems momentarily stunned by the craziness of, well, everything.
Charles has carved an exit.
Do you take it or wait until one of them thinks of pumping gas into the place?
"Should we take one of these Gaians alive? Question him? It?" asks Von Junzt as he fires at a Gaian, misses, and hides behind a vertical garden.
Henri finds himself running faster than he ever has before. "OK, Firefly, I don't know what's going on, but my gear is... I'm going faster... you're the superhero - what do we do? I might actually be able to keep up with the car and Gygax. My 'gear is running great and I feel like there's more if I just, well, ask for it. Should we go to your friends? Genius and her folks are probably as safe as we could hope for."
Nissa says, “Yeah! Let’s help Zellgato, Charles and Theo. Oh, but can ya pull alongside Karen? I think we can save the Gaians from the kill-bot.” She watches the joyful metal legs bound along the road, creating more potholes than a Massachusetts February. “We should at least try.”
Nissa checks the Karenmobile for any open windows.
"Well, let's find out."
Charles makes his answer clear with his by-now familiar snarl as he pounces on one of the Gaians.
Round 4
Theo mind goes blank for a moment, then comes back to his sense and attack the Gaians.
Charles takes down one Gaian; Theo, appears distracted by something, but when he returns to reality he slices through two of the Gaians with one swing.
The last Gaian in the room begins to run.
Just as he does, the lights go out in the indoor farm. By the shouting and hooting outside, the power has gone down throughout the camp.
You hear a crash as the Gaian runs into one of the vertical farms.
Henri pulls up beside the electric jeep.
Gygax is pounding along just behind. It could probably destroy the jeep but it seems to be glitching. It says "Target locked. ..." a red light flashes on next to its guns, but then the light goes dark and the cycle repeats. Every time Gygax locks its target, it disengages and repeats.
Karen sees Henri and glares.
As the lights go out, Zellgato just mutters About time Archeron. Clicking on the combat light he has attached to his rifle with the universal clamp system, he shines towards the last fleeing one and takes a shot.
P damage.
After taking the shot, calling out to his cohorts, "There's the signal, we have cover. Out Charles' door. We gotta get this done fast."
Nissa calls out to Gygax, “Good job, Gygax! Your mission is complete! Permission to enter Sleep Mode granted!”
"Target not destroyed," says the obviously senile robot. "Target destroyed. Mission complete."
This might not have worked had Gygax not been suffering from some sort of cascade failure, but he's not processing reality as well as he should.
The giant robot tucks its legs beneath itself and enters sleep mode in the middle of the highway.
The car continues to speed away. Does Henri maintain pace with it?
As the lights go out, Zellgato just mutters About time Archeron. Clicking on the combat light he has attached to his rifle with the universal clamp system, he shines towards the last fleeing one and takes a shot.
[dice=Shot with a flashlight, not sure how far they are]1d20+8
[dice=if hit.]1d8+2 P damage.After taking the shot, calling out to his cohorts, "There's the signal, we have cover. Out Charles' door. We gotta get this done fast."
In the darkness, Von Junzt calls out, "Good shot. That was non-lethal, right?"
"I had questions," says Von Junzt.
For the moment, the party is alone in the darkened vertical farm.
Henri stays with the car for the moment. "Well, that was effective, Firefly. Do we stay with the car?"
“Haha—that wasn’t even my plan! I didn’t really have one anyway. Yeah, let’s pull alongside Karen.”
When he does, Nissa works her way onto Henri’s right shoulder and calls out to the car—
“Hey Karen! We just saved your life! Aren’t you interested to know why?”
Karen attempts to swerve into Henri who is beside the car, or, at least, close enough for Nissa to shout to Karen.
Henri stutter-steps and comes up alongside the car on the other side.
In the darkness, Von Junzt calls out, "Good shot. That was non-lethal, right?"
"I had questions," says Von Junzt.
For the moment, the party is alone in the darkened vertical farm.
That shot? No. The earlier one? Some of it. Let's check if that one survived. We're on the clock. What questions?
In the darkness, Von Junzt calls out, "Good shot. That was non-lethal, right?"
"I had questions," says Von Junzt.
For the moment, the party is alone in the darkened vertical farm.
That shot? No. The earlier one? Some of it. Let's check if that one survived. We're on the clock. What questions?
"Well, I'm kind of hoping we can find one of the Gaians and interrogate them before I turn into one myself. I thought letting them do whatever they wanted with me would help us figure out what they're up to fastest, but, apparently, I die," explains Von Junzt. "You'd forever be my hero if you could prevent that from happening."
"Ah, Well, I mostly know the rough outlines of the plan. The only one who might know more would be Andrews or another advanced one. I assume he's advanced. They're giant lizard monsters. We don't need to talk to a biker." shuffling in the dark with VJ towards the hole Charles rended. "Preventing that is one of three reasons I gave up on not F88king with history. Also.. You die but I fail to kill the monster that comes after. So, I like this plan better."
"You have questions." "We have prey."
Charles cautiously makes their way through the dark to the hole they'd torn open in the wall and slips outside. They creep up to the corner of the building and look around to see what is going on now.
Charles, Zellgato, Theo, and Von Junzt hear noise from outside the compound. Campers are yelling. You catch a few of the things they shout into the compound, "What's going on?", "Why's the power out?", "Is it true you guys are lizards from another dimension?", and "Explain yourself!"[/b]
Charles ignores the calls from outside the compound and instead prowls towards the inner gate, looking for more targets--or especially, one of their leaders.