[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/VopBxRg.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/dVUV0ve.png[/img][h1]"Necroid 99"[/h1][/center][right][b]Interactions:[/b][/right][right][b][code]World Fighting Carnival - Reception Room.[/code][/b][/right][hr] The stranger, calling itself "Necroid 99," intentionally threw its fight with Subject Yoko Hatanaka, then returned to the Reception Room. Where it ominously stood there, by its estimations, a majority of the fighters had been eliminated, and the number of people in the stadium was acceptable. A bump appeared out of its back and went down its leg, and out through a pants leg was a [url=https://i.imgur.com/iqSrJ7G.jpg]diminutive spider automaton...[/url] before it turned invisible to the naked eye. The invisible spider zipped out of the room at lightning speeds and jetted off into the halls of the World Fighting Carnival's stadium. It was seemingly traveling to the very upper floors of the building, where all the office buildings were... Eventually, it reached the primary office; two armed guards flanked each side of the door. Two darts flew out of the spider's body, cut through the air, and embedded into their throats. They convulsed and fell to the ground then the spider robot hopped onto the door and turned the knob using its legs and then fell to the ground. The door loudly creaked as it proceeded in... On the other side of the door was the tournament organization, [URL=https://i.imgur.com/2rB4K7w.png]Sílvio Santana Pinto,[/url] a man who insisted on always wearing a checkered suit. He was sitting in his fancy office with his feet on the desk and counted all the [i]money[/i] he made from the tournament, chuckling to himself. He came to an abrupt stop when he heard his door open... but nobody was there. "Huh? Who's there?" Silvio tilted his head as he placed his money on the desk on the table. He looked to the left, then the right... "Ehhhh, must be noth-" That was when the Spider-Drone lunged at him. He could only scream as it landed on his face - Silvio fell backward, grabbing onto the drone attached to his face - however, it quickly wormed its way onto his back, and he heard a drilling sound as he felt [i]something[/i] drilling itself onto the nape of his neck. The Spider-Drone hopped off, leaping onto Silvio's desk as the man got up and stared at the thing in shock. [color=crimson]"If you wish to continue your existence; you will follow my instructions to the letter,"[/color] The Spider-Drone said. "W-wha-" [color=crimson]"There is a bomb surgically implanted in your spine; if you disobey my instructions in any manner, it will detonate and kill you."[/color] "I... what do you want?!" Silvio asked as he reached for his nape and felt a metal device and then he tried pulling at it. [color=crimson]"The Power Stone,"[/color] The Spider said. [color=crimson]"You are going to open the vault and give it to me."[/color] "I can't just [i]walk[/i] in there! You know-" [color=crimson][i]"Comply."[/i][/color] The Spider-Drone flatly said. [color=crimson]"Or else I will be the last being you will ever see."[/color] "Fine," Silvio stood straight up - however, the Spider-Drone quickly lept on him and climbed under his shirt until it ended up on his back. With haste, Silvio marched his way through the halls of his stadium - at the mercy of the Spider-Drone - giving his employees awkward hellos as he tried to keep his composure. He reached the basement stairs and walked down into the grimy, bricked halls, which mainly comprised of utility rooms and other storage rooms. However, the deeper into the halls he went, the more cameras, sentry guns, and other security measures were found... ... And as he walked through, he saw them instantly depower and go limp. Eventually, he reached a giant room with a vault entrance and a terminal on the side... "... Alright, you've come far enough!" [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ce5Jk0t.jpg]A massive man in a green armor with an Axe[/url] fell from the sky and landed before Silvio. "Turn back now or... boss?" The man tilted his head. "Maaaaaaan, I practiced that entrance for [i]hours[/i]," The bull-armored man said as another person, [url=https://i.imgur.com/WHo2HkN.jpg]a woman wearing dim armor with two batons[/url] walked up. Silvio recognized her as Sarah Cineheart, the head of the Wasps, the mercenary team that oversees the security detail for the Power Stone. "Silvio?" Sarah asked, "What are you doing down here?" "I need to get the Power Stone," Silvio said. "But, we're not even [i]close[/i] to finishing the tournament," Sarah answered, raising an eyebrow. "Just trust me," He replied as he walked to the terminal and typed away at it. Then he heard a loud thud behind him, paused briefly, and glanced over his shoulder to see the rest of Wasp assembled behind him. There was Iron Bull, the green fellow in the armor with the axe, to his right was [url=https://i.imgur.com/firwQ7b.jpg]Testament[/url] a robot with a sniper rifle, to [i]his[/i] right was [url=https://i.imgur.com/GIYdSZH.jp]Killer Bee[/url], and last but not least was [url=https://i.imgur.com/q3rI4ed.jpg]Siren[/url] who was adjusting her mask. Sarah stood in front of them and aimed her baton at Silvio. "Something's not right here; step away from the terminal." "Please, I'm[i] begging[/i] you..." "Step. Away. From. The.[i] Terminal.[/i]" [hr] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“I’m sorry, Xolys,”[/color] Olivia apologized as she entered the reception room. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“I know how important getting the Power Stone was…”[/color] [color=DodgerBlue][u]“It is quite all right, Olivia,”[/u][/color] Xolys reassured her from where he poked out of her backpack. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“There will be other opportunities in the future. For now, I believe we have more pressing matters to focus on.”[/u][/color] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh gosh! You’re right!”[/color] Olivia exclaimed. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Necroid 99 said to meet him here after our match!”[/color] [color=DodgerBlue][u]“Indeed,”[/u][/color] Xolys affirmed. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“But remember, Olivia, we must be cautious,”[/u][/color] he advised. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“This situation may not be entirely as it appears.”[/u][/color] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Right!”[/color] Olivia acknowledged with a determined nod. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh, look! There he is!”[/color] the bluenette exclaimed as she hurried over to where the skeletal robot was standing. However, “Necroid 99” remained standing in the Reception Room while the Spider Drone did its work. They were waiting for the return of Subject: Olivia and Xolys… who had lost their battle with Subject: Justin Haggar. Unfortunately for them, but fortunate for Necroid 99 because they could dedicate their entire attention to his plan. Speak of the devil, the two had approached them. “It is unfortunate that you lost your bout with Subject: Justin Haggar,” “Necroid 99” started, “However, I have word that Tsubotica’s forces are forcing the organizer of this event, ” [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Oh gosh! Forcing them to do what?!”[/color] Olivia asked. “To open the vault to retrieve the Power Stone for them,” Necroid 99 answered. “We must make haste.” Without further ado, Necroid 99 led Olivia through the halls of the Stadium until they made it to the basement. They marched through the halls, eventually reaching all the security measures that were disabled - except the cameras mysteriously came back to life as they walked through. Finally, reaching the vault where Sarah had drawn a baton on Silvio, Necroid 99 pointed at the scene and turned its head towards Olivia. “Observe. Tsubotica’s minions. We must stop them.” [color=DeepSkyBlue]“But, um, they don’t look like characters from the game…”[/color] Olivia whispered. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Did Tsubotica use her corrupted Gearless Arcanetech Code to take over [i]other[/i] Nomads, too?!”[/color] “Correct,” Necroid 99 answered. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“O-Okay…”[/color] Olivia exhaled as she removed Xolys from her backpack and set him on the floor. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“Then we’ll just have to incapacitate them,”[/color] she added, pressing the sequence of buttons that activated Xolys’s combat mode. No sooner had the transformation completed then a swarm of technomantic tendrils shot out with lightning swiftness to coil around each of the Nomads and the event organizer… and they all recoiled in pain. Necroid 99 lunged forward and grabbed onto Olivia’s shoulder as he said, [i]“Not. The. Organizer.”[/i] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“O-Oh!”[/color] Olivia gasped when she felt the skeletal robot grab her. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“B-But, didn’t you say he was being controlled by Tsubotica too?”[/color] she asked, her nasally voice filled with confusion. Necroid 99’s hand transformed into a long, super-rifle-like cannon, which he aimed directly at Olivia’s head. “That was not a request, Olivia Bell. Comply, or I [i]will[/i] be the last being you will ever see.” [color=DeepSkyBlue]“W-W-Wha…?”[/color] Olivia stammered, her body trembling as the powerful-looking hand cannon was aimed at her forehead. Her mind spun. What was going on? Did she have it all wrong? Was Necroid 99 the one working for Tsubotica? If he was, what could she do to stop him? If she tried anything, he would surely kill her, and yet… However, before the bewildered bluenette even realized what was happening, she found herself wrapped up in several of Xolys’s tendrils, while sounds of metal being violently rent apart filled her ears. Peering through a small gap in the technomantic tentacles, she could see the remnants of “Necroid 99” fall to the ground after having been sliced asunder by Xolys’s glowing Trans-Phasic Energy Scythes. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“Do not worry, Olivia,”[/u][/color] Xolys reassured her. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“I shall allow no harm to come to you.”[/u][/color] [color=DeepSkyBlue]“T-Thanks, Xolys,”[/color] Olivia replied once she’d caught her breath. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“I-I guess you were right about not trusting him,”[/color] she added. [color=DeepSkyBlue]“B-But did you have to kill him? I-I mean, if he was just being mind controlled…”[/color] [color=DodgerBlue][u]“My apologies, but I had no other choice,”[/u][/color] the technomantic terror explained. [color=DodgerBlue][u]“Furthermore, I do not believe that was actually Necroid 99…”[/u][/color] The Wasps were rolling around on the ground in pain, and the electric attack killed the organizer. Far behind Olivia and the remains of “Necroid 99”, the dust and debris began to shift as if there was a gentle breeze… a red stream of electricity appeared out of nowhere. The debris and dust began to turn more and more violently as if there was a violent wind storm—more bolts of red lightning appeared and violently clashed against whatever they hit. An orb of red energy appeared, as small as a golf ball that grew to be the size of a dump truck. Lightning raged and struck everything as it was almost like a tornado was in the room. Then, it faded away, all the trash hit the ground, and the electricity disappeared. All that remained was a silvery figure that knelt. [i][color=crimson]“...Online.”[/color][/i] [center][hr][hider=Allmind - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon][youtube]https://youtu.be/uUEu6y9hPgM?si=UNg8LbpcAWRAuEfm[/youtube][/hider][hr][/center] All the red lights activated on it, and it [url=https://i.imgur.com/NquvXLR.jpg]stood tall, its body shining, revealed to the world.[/url] It turned its head towards Olivia and the vault and calmly walked past it all towards the terminal. [color=crimson]"Thank you for your assistance, first name: Olivia. Last name: Bell... your cooperation is no longer required.”[/color] The machine raised his hand at the Wasps, who were still recovering from the electric barrage, and it began glowing with a red light, and with a single bright red beam, he vaporized all five of them. Their screams echoed throughout the halls of the vault before… nothing. The light faded as steam came out of the palm of its hands, as it turned its head to look over its shoulder at Olivia and then spoke in a deep, droning, robotic monotone. [color=crimson]"If you impede my mission…”[/color] The red lights on its body flashed brightly for a moment, [color=crimson]“...I will be forced to kill you.”[/color] Olivia was silent, her body frozen in fear. A part of her couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed, couldn’t accept that five people had just been vaporized in front of her eyes. A part of her desperately wanted to believe it was all just some elaborate illusion, but deep down, she knew it was all real, and that knowledge chilled her to the very core of her being. Thankfully, Xolys was not as easily shaken. An instant after the crimson-hued robot finished speaking, Xolys’s glowing, azure energy wings formed a halo above him and began rapidly spinning. Over the next few seconds, a whirlwind of eldritch energy was generated, which continued to grow in intensity as it spun around the technomantic titan and his bespectacled partner, the space surrounding the pair warping and shifting in a series of mind-bending geometric patterns. Soon enough, the Tesseractic Teleportation was fully charged. There was a blinding flash of light, and, when it faded, the pair had vanished without a trace. The machine simply kept marching towards the terminal and placed its hand on the interface… the blue light it gave off quickly turned red as it hacked into its systems. Behind the machine, three copies of the “Necroid 99” model teleported into the tunnels in the same manner that it did. Each of them had a glowing red light coming out of their hands. The plan is going well.