Our Finest Hour (L4 Defense)

GEAR

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#41
Part I:

Decima watched Elhirut leave over her shoulder, mindful of his retreating shot, her thoughts... Uncertain, but that stare was anything but benevolent. The Meyven seemed blissfully unaware - or, perhaps he was simply uncertain how to respond to such malice, and had blocked it out to focus on more important matters.

"Fight little humans, fight." She said under her breath, seemingly to herself.

Feeling movement, she glanced down at her wrist. Something snaked down, out of her garbs - a pair of probing, cable-tipped tendrils, as a single, golden eye on a stalk peered out at her from its hiding place. Decima had to hand it to Mama - she almost preferred Nona like this, miserable failure that she was... At least now, she thought, you can be useful. Closing her hand, the probing limbs retreated, and she stepped back, making her way into the interior of the ship. With all this confusion, and all the attention being directed outside, after all...

There was no better time to act. A thin smile spread across her face, as she stepped into a disused hallway, the din of the hangar beginning to fall behind her.

"Soon, you'll understand full well just how mortal you really are."



Meanwhile, outside the Vessel, an errant monstrosity burst into flames with the arrival of the Zeydram, steam pouring from its barrel as it whipped its head left and right, trying to take in everything at once. The situation around the vessel had devolved into a complete fracas, with turret fire and Liege Geios units hacking away at the beasts as they crashed into the hull of the ship, claws sinking into its armor plates, seeking to tear it piece from piece.

Still, they were making progress at least. Now, it fell to him and Elhirut to ensure none of the creatures fell upon their sleeping comrades - the entire future of their race, of the Circle... Was on their shoulders. How mindful the Meyven was of this was uncertain, but his zeal at least was palatable as the Zeydram cannonballed forward into the throng of gnawing maws and grasping claws with a roar, battering the monstrosities back and forth, eviscerating everything that came within his grasp.

Only a little more...

Just a little bit further...!
 

GEAR

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#42
Part II

Valsione & Garmraid


Gkkkrrr!

The Fang Knuckle bit deep into its target, sinking into the chest of the Kana type as it was carried forward by the force of his strike - and the resulting tackle of the Garmraid caused the creature to struggle briefly with its attacker, writhing as it tried to force him back. It was clearly in a league of its own compared to its more numerous cousins, but against the burning might of the Terminus Engine, not even Abramelin's monsters could hold for long. Crimson flame erupted across the creature's body as it burst into a violent explosion with an unearthly screech of agony. Yet, Joe was not yet entirely in the clear - one more of Cana types had followed his exit, and from its side burst a variety of gleaming, whip-like tentacles which lashed forward, attempting to pierce the TE Absorber's back, not so much interested in the machine, but the pilot within...

The abrupt exit of the Garmraid left the Valsione the center of attention. The dazzling Cross Smasher punched out - and into the face of the closest Cana Type. Like Joe's target, it too seemed to struggle momentarily against the force of the beam instead of bursting like a sack of garbage - but this too was in vain against the power of the Ultimate Robo. The twin-tailed beam erupted from the back of the creature's body, incinerating a cluster of Lamalice that had gathered in its vicinity, letting loose a cascade of explosions around the two before it disintegrated entirely.

Hurriedly, however, the remaining creatures were mounting a counterattack as their dismay at the sudden change of appearance began to fade. Black beams from the surrounding Lamalice began to pour in, seeking to perforate the Valsione's now-armorless chassis - and now, it was augmented by the foul Cana, two of which added to the barrage by opening valve-like sockets on their bodies, and expelling a kind of... dark, black sludge in her direction, which burst into shotgun-like clouds of putrescence. Whatever the effects could be of getting even brushed by such a thing... They hardly seemed desirable.

Lamalice Tendril 1:
18/100
3x Lamalice Cana Type





Nick & Sayuri

As gunfire rained down about the Zenadye from the new arrivals, its eyes glowed from below its horned brow, growing bright with fury. How dare these soulless machines intrude upon his holy space? His sanguineous sanctuary? The ritual was almost complete, and soon he would deepen his understanding to newer, darker depths... No interruption would be permitted!

"Wretched TOYS!"

The claw-like scythe tensed in its grip - and then lashed out, blindingly quick, tearing at the space surrounding it. Even the Lamalice were not spared from its fury as it ripped into the Opus units, gouging great rivers across their fragile frames. The reconnaissance craft passed briefly overhead... before splitting apart, sliced into ribbons, sending green shards in all directions. Yet, from the lead unit, a faint light flickered from its cone, moments before it blossomed into an azure explosion, as a message was relayed:


[Transmitting Data...]
Intervention approved by Censor
Retrieval Process Initiated
Stand by for Transfer...

Meanwhile, Nick Mallor's Valsion fought off the Lamalice as they surged at him from all angles - the Divine Blade cleaved apart rows of the monsters at a time, yet for every one he cut down, two more emerged to take its place - and the Divine Robo, Nightmare of Terra Sigma, would soon find itself beginning to be overwhelmed. The creatures were swarming over him now, working their way into his blind spots, starting to clamp onto the back of his legs, the gravity array on the machine's back, his shoulders - grasping claws starting to sink into his armor, hungry for what lay beneath.

For Sayuri, however...

As she rained fire upon the swarm, scampering away to seek cover under the Valsion, she would find herself right at the epicenter of the Lamalice's fury as they fought to latch on to the massive Super Robot, avoiding the broad swings of its blade. A cluster of the monstrosities hurled themselves at her, mouthing wordlessly, staring hungrily, reaching desperately for that life-force which they desired so deeply-

"Lumen Circulus."​

A flash of light.

In a moment, the Lamalice surging toward her were gone, their forms torn through by what appeared to be a ring of white energy, not unlike the Chakrams of old. It surfed gently back through the void, to land neatly between the twin prongs of a dagger-like weapon, which was in turn held by...

Well.

If there was a machine that could have been described as the opposite of the Vangray' s cluttered, blocky shabbiness, this would have been it. The overall impression of its form was that it was as thin as could be, all pointed and keen, as if it had been carefully beaten upon an anvil a hundred thousand times to reinforce the perception of sharpness, like looking upon an assassin's knife. Heeled, pointed feet tapered up into sleek, narrow legs with a matching torso, all decorated with long, elegant fins, atop which rested a triangular, almost elven head with two swept back "ears", and a bright yellow visor.

"Spatial Transfer complete."

The Arms Arcus Finis raised a hand... and gave a friendly looking salute to the Vangrey.

"Censor Irkalla." Said a voice - a woman's, it sounded like. The tone was... familiar, somehow. Polite, formal, and pleasant to the ear, yet possessed of a kind of tinny rigidness, as thought it were not entirely natural.

"Apologies for the delay." She continued unhurriedly, as though the teeming swarms of Lamalice were little more than mere background noise, "Observational Unit, please identify yourself."

Lamalice Tendril 3:
57/100
Zenadye


Allied Reinforcements:
Arms Arcus F.S "Venatrix"
 

GEAR

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#43
Luna & Elizabeth

It was working. Luna's persistent fire upon the Lamalice continued to thin the horde, and it was looking increasingly like there would be no need for whatever "backup" Cicero had been displaying to her earlier. Indeed, the energy of the creatures themselves seemed to be flagging, their motions becoming slower and more telegraphed by the moment as the amount of negative energy thinned. Perhaps his extreme caution was for nothing?

Unbeknownst to her, however, the Lunarian was hurrying back towards the battlefield, a bad feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach, alongside an alien visitor. The only response to her query... would have been garbled static.

As she boredly drew a bead on one of the bloated creatures, however... It suddenly vanished from sight.

One second it was there, the other, it was not. Something moving too swiftly, perhaps, for the DM Buster's cameras to capture?

It was only then that the alarms in the machine's cockpit would have suddenly roared to life, drawing her attention to... a figure, something that had alighted on a piece of debris nearby, causing it to rattle and shake from the force of the impact.

Slowly, something fluttered across her vision.

A feather?

It was strange how such a form, even enlarged to such an extreme degree, retained the regal composure and dignity of its smaller relatives, yet without sacrificing any of their ferocity. It easily was over forty meters in length, with blood-red, black-striped "fur", and a pair of long, razor-like azure wings that sprouted from its back.

How long had it been here, watching silently, waiting for an opportunity to strike? What business could possibly have brought it out here, to the dark reaches of space?

The creature rounded upon Luna, a pair of sapient, fierce, demonic eyes from a monstrous, catlike face staring directly into her soul. Clasped in its teeth was the struggling Lamalice. With only the slightest of motions, its body expanded - and then burst, sending cascades of black liquid fountaining out into the void as the Chokijin settled its gaze on its target.

069A2300-8A23-4882-99A4-79FE716EED9F.jpeg

"Ggggkkrrr..."

Lamalice Swarm 4: 21/100

Neutral:
KyuKiOh
 
Dec 18, 2018
10
0
1
#44
Elizabeth looked rather stunned, but was quick to make a retreat.

"Dumb question, but what's with the giant space kitty?"

Her tone was shaky, and an utter betrayal of just how out of her element she truly was... Yet she wasn't panicking. From the looks of it, it was clear that it wasn't out of any clarity- Instead, she had managed to be shaken beyond panic. She was so scared that she knew panic would do nothing but end her. All she could do for the time being was drift. Drift and observe what was going on around her. At best, movements had been made to avoid the Lamalice around her- She was getting a grip on the controls, even if it wasn't perfect. She was almost speechless beyond the occasional requests for clarity... And in some way, it was blindingly clear that it would be meaningless until the terror was over. Yes, she could clearly see the beast in front of her, but there was something blindingly obviously alien about this thing- Even more alien than the Lamalice. As if the universe could have imagined something like the Lamalice in some dark nightmare, yet the beast was an... Intruder. Something of some power as to intrude on the mind of another. This wasn't anything ordinary- It was a king. A god.

This was something far beyond the ken of mortal men.
 
Aug 4, 2018
77
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6
Srilanka
#45
"..." Luna stared at the beast with a nervous smile across her face... A cold sweat flowing down her cheek "Uhh.." CRUNCH! beast bit down on the lamalice before Luna could mutter a single word. She could only look at the black liquid flowing down the thing's mouth...

Luna looked higher and saw that the beat was looking at her dead in the eye now... Yep that thing..Was definitely an over-sized cat.. "Heheheh.." Luna chuckled nervously and slowly moved her hand to the thruster controls and...

"IYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" LUNA SCREAMED PUSHING TO MAX THRUST AND TURNED THE BRASTA IN THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE DIRECTION! A lamalice was behind her when she turned around but he slapped the thing with the bunker shield instinctively more concerned about the giant cat behind her. Luna..she could handle Dragons, Space monsters, Death gods whatever super-natural being in existence but anything that has to do with CATS were always a big "NO"!!

Luna boosted all the way to an asteroid and took cover behind it. "Why CATS?!" she squealed bitting her lower lip as she made the Brasta peep out the asteroid to confirm what she saw was real...She instantly regretted it and pulled her machine back. The giant cat thing was real alright...
 
Aug 4, 2018
334
0
16
Somewhere in the UK
#46
"This situation has been classified as High-risk. I am obligated to recommend you withdraw to a vantage point."

"Oh, piss off. We're fine! Joe might not be, though."

The Valsione flipped upwards, its outer armour being marred and burnt by the black beams of the lamalice swarm. After her rapid readjustment the machine was virtually upside down, but silly things like orientation wouldn't even slow down a true colonial. Kath had already gotten her body back under control - palms outstretched with a second Cross Smasher already charging.

"Oy, bowling-ball! Get your hands off that jerk, I've got something more fruity for you to chew on!"

Another red and blue beam soon lit up the sky, aimed for the heart of the Cana drilling into the Garmraid - and indirecly for anything stupid enough to be sitting on either side of it.

"Energy banks are running low. We may have to rely solely on generator output soon."

"Yeah, whatever. Just tell me when I run dry and I'll stab things for a bit instead. But we should have em all done by then!"

"You would not be having energy issues if you had not wasted the entire Hyper mega cannon in the earlier skirmish."

"Well then you should have said something THEN!"
 
Jun 28, 2018
100
0
6
#47
Sayuri sat blinking at the brilliance of the sudden light - though it was more in confusion than from the glare from the radiant ring's reflection off her hull. Her fist was still poised over a large and shiny red panel labeled simply "FIRE EVERYTHING". The VanGray was similarly poised, staring upward with one fist raised, sitting in an open onion blossom composed of most all its attachment panels. The rimed-over cannons sat discarded on support arms, and all her missile pods had their maws agape in rows of shiny rocket teeth, ready to, um, spit teeth at everything, yeah!

And so the Arms Arcus introduced itself. And it waved. And it was even halfway through apologizing for the delay when the pilot might have registered that something was missing with this sight before her. Almost as if large comical arrows had flashed pointing where the VanGray should be, alternating with a dotted outline of the empty space it was no longer occupying. Eyes turned upward to follow the vapor trail would find the freshly lightened bot cresting over the end of the shuttle's length.

"Yeahsurethankslady - HANG IN THERE NICK!!!"

-- Martial Arts Language (and rocking soundtrack) Begins! --

The rapid pops of firecrackers accompanied the unloading of the entirety of the missile pods Utsuromaru was carrying, engine wakes and winding smoke trails rapidly filling the immediate space. Amid the fireworks the VanGray plummeted onto the Valsion's shoulders, landing with a resounding THUD that, let's be honest, was way more impressive to its ownself than to the far bigger colossus. Sayuri winced as her heels squished a couple of grapes underneath, but followed up with rapid sweeps of her Shishiohs to clear herself a path. Just as quickly, she vaulted off again before more purple terrors could try to take advantage, an accompanying pair of pops on the Utsuromaru sending docking cables her way.

A flash of thrusters and the VanGray spun like a top, whirling death on its outstretched blades. It kicked itself to a halt again in time for the cables to latch onto its knees. Thus tethered it rode the inertia down, both arms swashbuckling in a blinding flurry as it swung on the tethers, carving up the mass of purple dogpiling the Valsion. Here and there its thrusters flared, knocking it wildly from side to side, the better to sway with its work. As another surge of LaMalice came up beneath, it dove head under heels at them, pivoting off the bite of the blades and into a handspring just long enough for the main engine to fire, sending it sailing back up like a rocket.

~... ha! Still ready for more?!~

One could practically hear a fresh swell of heroic fanfare as she came about, heels landing atop the Valsion's backpack. Its fist clutched a Shishioh upright near its head as it oh so stylishly lifted its face, slowly, surely. In the briefest of moments, one might well have thought they glimpsed Sayur's smirking mug in the gleam of the blade, oh so choicely positioned over the left half of the VanGray's visage.

~My hissatsu oughta give you your fill...~

Yet the next moment, the machine had sprung off again, both swords crackling with building electrical charge. And all at once, as it swung, a great arc of lightning swept down at the remaining throng. The VanGray holding its Shishiohs tight, it rode the arc of the tether cables, radiating like a thunderclap the entire way down.

~Shishi-ō! STRIIIIIIIIIKE!~
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#48
The Ritual was almost complete. Abramelin chuckled to himself - this time, he would not be thwarted by Mallor's heroics. No, this time, the creation of a second Black Sun would go off exactly as he had planned. With his newfound mastery of the dark arts, and his transformation, there was no way they could possibly-

His thoughts were interrupted, briefly. There was a certain vibration pulsing through space, the roaring of an errant spirit. The sound... of a soul carried on ethereal winds, audible only to his enhanced senses. He strained to hear it as he paused, curious as to its nature, still not one-hundred percent used to his new form... but always, always eager to learn...

...

Was that... J-Pop?

The Sorcerer barely had time to process his surprise before the screeching, electrified form of the Vangrey collided with him. Sayuri's blades sang true, cutting through the Zenadye's shocked features with a spray of inky ichor, leaving it a twitching, spasming mess as it writhed in utter agony, like a massive insect choking on a particularly lethal dose of poison.

"Guh-! GuuuaAAAAAAAGHHH!"

The twin halves of the Zenadye crumpled, as if they were little more than paper-mache... and then detonated in a plume of dark fire that sent shockwaves shattering across the battlefield, arcing bolts of black lightning that pierced every one of the horrid creatures.

And then with that, the Sorceror was gone, his remains dragged violently into what could only be described as a gaping hole in reality itself - as though Sayuri's strike had been with enough fury to rend the very makeup of space. The forked lightning faded... and all at once, the remaining Lamalice stopped in their tracks, as if their souls had been ripped out.

The one closest to Nick Mallor bloated up like a swollen thumb... and then popped. Another followed. Then, another. And another, and another. All across L4, the swarm began to self-destruct, each bursting like an overripe fruit, giving the onlookers a curious, multi-hued fireworks display as the latent energy in their bodies cooked off, sending colorful streams bursting in all directions.




"T-the Lamalice are dispersing!"
"Contacts are fading fast!"
"Forty... Thirty... We've done it! We've won!"

Aboard the deck of the Hiryu and Tantra alike, the crew rose with raucous cheer. Captain Harris was swept up in a crowd of her subordinates, lifting her up onto their shoulders as she cried and flailed about in a most unprofessional fashion. Aboard the alien vessel, hands (or at least a variety of appendages) were shaken and urgent congratulations murmered in languages never before heard in this corner of the galaxy.

Outside the Tantra, Madin blasted apart a neaby Lamalice with his twin-barreled plasma cannon, sending its flaming, unresisting carcass hurtling into the starry void like a rocket. A nearby Liege Geios floated close to his Zeidram, putting a hand on its shoulder as the Circle soldier asked:

"...Are you disappointed you didn't get to save the day, sir?"

"Au contraire, my friend." Said the Meyven, admiring the sound of the Earthling expression in his mouth as his machine turned to its legion of silver sentinels, placing its hands on its hips.

"Do not doubt for a moment that it was our intervention that caused this outcome! ...And of course, my heroic leadership."

A glance was shared among the remaining Liege Geios, but they knew better than to interrupt. Heavens forbid that he should launch into a speech.

"Now, the true battle begins." He said, quietly as he looked across to their opposite number, the crimson ship of the humans.

"The battle... of diplomacy."

Hardly any noticed as KyuKiOh departed as swiftly as it came, bolting after the fleeing Brasta with supernatural speed... and killing intent on its mind.



For its part, the Arms Arcus Venatrix had watched the Vangrey's spectacular assault in near silence. The opportunity to gather data, after all, was just too good - and it showed... everything she had been hoping for. Everything that they had expected. Within the cockpit, the pilot lowered her hand from the holographic display. They danced through a portion of the interface, weaving the data together... and then paused, hovering over a certain section.

This whole situation, she knew... felt familiar. It wasn't the first time she had picked up a "stray" after all, but after the last one... Supposedly, they had "conditioned" that aspect out of her core persona. So, then...

Why... did her heart ache so?

Finally, her fingertips dragged the section of light down and away, causing a message to flash across her control panel.

CANCELLING UPLOAD / RECALL TRANSFER INTERRUPTED

It "felt" like treason... and yet also, "freedom". Electrifying, exhilarating freedom. Beneath the dark visor, a slow, thin smile spread across her lips.

"I can't wait to get to know you..." She whispered;

"...Sayuri Shimizu."