1. Home
  2. Shifter_Master

Shifter_Master Member

Atrast Nal Tunsha

Avatar of Shifter_Master

Status

User has no status, yet

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts

In March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay → 2 mos ago Forum: Advanced Roleplay

In the command center on the Bastion, most of the girls would at least glance up from their task as the new commers got settled in.

“That door wasn’t there before, was it?”

“Nah, the Queen’s doing her weird ship voodoo again.”
But other than some perfunctory greetings, none would introduce themselves, as the task of coordinating nearly fifty Pennybots across two different dimensions with only the four of them wasn’t an easy task. Though as Connie, Gaia, and the unseen Violet, got more situated it opened up more possibility of idle chatter.

“Ha! Queen found us a phantom seventh as well.”

“Think it’s her girlfriend again?”

“I stand by it! I was there when she asked Monica to cook up a lovely dinner for two.”

Two of the girls bickered at each other good naturedly, as they led their own contingent of Penny bots. They were focused enough, and serious, but still treating this more akin to a game. But they had skills to match Gaia at least.

“Your just upset because she moved the door to her room so you can’t go snooping anymore.”

“That just proves me right! It’s only ever gone when she’s trying to hide someone. I’m telling you!”

The other two girls that Connie and Gaia could see, were quiet and studiously focused on the task at hand. Both showing a level of control over the Pennybots rivaling Violet’s own. Though the reason’s that might be were not obvious.




.:⋮[Missed Connection]⋮:.



Nowhere At All

“Huh. Nanite cloud.” Penny would remark with open curiosity at Osiris’ solution to avoiding the car slam. “You a Blackbox construction, or quantum Bluebox?” She would ask casually as her Spider limbs wrapped around the Scorpions claws holding them.

[Phase Three Response Configuration: Celestial Prominence; Confirmed.]

A moment later Penny’s presence would grow heavy and unmissable. The bluish light of her holographic armor would begin to leak light trails, and thin film of her gravitic barrier would fade into view becoming opaque. Her hair floated behind her unmoored from the weight of the world.

Penny reverted the polarity on her thrusters, causing her to suddenly be grounded, the street cracking under her sudden weight, and locked to the earth. Her lower Spider limbs melted into lightning that raced up her arm before reforming as a tower shield, which Penny swiftly slammed into the ground in front of her. Pistons installed into the back of it punched deeper into the ground below, rooting it akin to a wall.

The vibration of metal being stuck deep below, had a smirk twitch onto Penny’s face for a moment.

Then Penny pulled. With her augmented strength, and with the flow of gravity. Drawing Osiris’s attack towards the center of the tower shield, and drawing her own limbs behind it for just a moment.

Yet Osiris’s S.C.O.R.P.I.O.N. would cleave into the shield like it was paper. Or it would have, if not for the shield exploding outward in a concussive wave the instant it was struck. A mix of shrapnel, razor wire bolas, and grey slime was ejected alongside the sudden detonation.

Afterwards the Tower shield and Penny’s grappled limbs would all melt into lightning once more. Before reforming into a massive maul that she had mid swing as she leapt forward to crush the techno scorpion before her.


With Everyone

Penny recognized her error only moments after she had jumped through her portal. The multi layered gravitational magics hit her within moments of each other. With Penny at ground zero of them both. It gave her enough warning to start drawing the dispersing gravitation energies into herself, just in time to reinforce her barrier as a wave of pissed off Spirits slammed into her.

That, mixed with her own gravitational manipulations, threw Penny free from Ani’s well. And well clear of Covington towers roof.

She cursed as she dropped sailed downward. Only having a moment to glance up at the portal behind her. But it was enough to see it snapping closed.


With the Twins

“This is what I get for relying on third rate materials I swear.” Penny grumbled next to Ronin and Miko. Her copies were limited mimicries, so some things her Prime body could perform were outside the viability of her large scale manufactured versions.

Such as maintain stationary orbit, while fending off a sudden and potent spiritual attack.

“Obviously I missed a memo about her, but that’s my bad. Didn’t think anyone else was so attuned to portals beyond Mariette.” She mimed letting out a breath she didn’t have, as she processed the change in plans.


Mid air

“Really wish I had gotten around to that jetpack idea about now…” She said to no one as she plumed towards the ground far below. She had lost a lot more altitude than she had been expecting, but the spiritual onslaught had shocked her system and stalled her response.

Now back at operation capacity Penny was quick to level her arm at Covington tower, and with a muted thump, her left arm launched away, trailing a length of chain. It was another couple of stories before the chain went taut and Penny was suddenly and violently swung into and through the side of the building.

Once she was done skidding across the now rather damaged floors. She would sit up and take stock of herself.

Physically the damage to this body was minimal, but the connection to the network was proving to be spotty still. She was broadcasting, but was suffering from lag and packet loss on receiving. Which would make this platform dead weight in a fight.

That said she was about a third of the way down the tower from the top.

“Well there are worse positions then to be a homing beacon.”


With the Twins

“Right.” Penny would say a moment later. “Good news is that Pennybot, didn’t get trashed, but magical damage is significant. She turned to look at the twins, “I can get another portal opened up at where that platform ended up. But it will take a few moments to lock in the new location.” She pointed back at the holodisplay of Penrose that was just behind them. A blinking indicator of where that Pennybot was lighting up two thirds of the way up Covington tower.

“Other option is mimicking Lily’s idea and driving off the Bastion down onto the Tower. I’ve got a few vehicles stashed away in the hanger that could manage the trip down.” The Bastion also flickered into view on the holodisplay, the massive Tank ship above the cloud cover, slowly moving into position above the tower. “Though it might be a rough landing.”

“Your call which route we take.”


Alone?

Above it all, and beyond it, Penny prodded at the damaged connection with one of her replicated frames. It nagged at her, this was what it should have felt like when she had been trapped by Nykannis.

But it wasn’t.

She shifted her attention back to her fight with Osiris. And then a step out from that, wondering if it was the fault of the massive ship that hung in the sky above the false Penrose.

She flicked that thought away. It didn’t fit right, this was something different, she knew that.

She just didn’t know how or why.

In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 2 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}The Calm{+

“I would rather be buried in Sleepy’s wreck then ever dare to abandon them. They have done so much for me, staying with them at the end of the line is the least I could do.” Aurora would answer Serah’s question absently as she watched the final dance between Horst and Argent. It was a beautiful display. And she couldn’t help but felt a jolt of envy and loss; she might have been able to dance like that, years ago. Though it might just be rose tinted youthful bragging.

But now, she’d never be able to keep pace. Her recovery was enough of a miracle as it was, but she would never gain back all she lost. And sadly, her sync rating with Frames that could move like that always left something to be desired.

But shortly after the mission was over. Apple had lost. By the thinnest of margins perhaps, but a loss it was. Yet it was clear that the Professor was engrossed in his data. She narrowed her eyes at the man. Wondering again, just what it was he was hiding from them.

Regardless of her internal musings Elora had broken away from her gathering of well-wishers. And while her question hadn’t been aimed at Aurora, she still spoke up in response. “It was informative. And strange. I’ve never had much luck with VR before now, it usually feels like I’m dreaming, but this time was different. Still unsure if that is a good thing or not.” She would state turning partially to look at the smoking station that had housed Elora herself not long ago. Clearly curious about it.

Something about the sim they had gone through was different. But Aurora had no idea what might be the cause of that fact.

She shook it off. She would have time to go and try digging into it later. For the moment, she had something else she felt she needed to do.

“If you two will excuse me. I am off to talk to Arrish. But I’ll see you at debrief if not before.” She would give the two younger girls a smile and a nod of her head as she excused herself and made her way to Arrish.

“Arrish, If you’ve a moment.” She would say as she got close to the noble born pilot. “I wanted to extend to you an apology. Your duel with Argent at the end was exceptional. But if I had not got too caught up in the moment, and sought to strip you of your command, you might not have needed to do so alone. Possibly even been able to secure victory for Apple.” She was speaking with a formal tone. But one that was much more military than nobility. But it was clear that, despite the rasp still evident in her voice, she was sincere in her words.

“It was... unbecoming of me. And unfair to you. And for that you have my apology.” She gave him a light bow. “It is rare that we live past our mistakes in this war. I am grateful that this one did not cost more than stung pride.”
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 2 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}Lightning Round{+


"I thought you were that guy over there! I saw him a little bit ago... or, well his helmet anyway,”


“No. He. Jake.” Aurora would softly interject, an amused smile breaking across her features at Serah’s generally upbeat vibe. It was a soothing counterbalance to how the end of the Simulation had been.

Which the skirmish on the east was hardly as interesting as watching Cockroach’s pilot weave into the dead Frames system and restart the Kattai system. Yes, she hadn’t destroyed the engine when her and Sleepy took off the top half, but still. That was by no means an easy feat to pull off. Clearly, that pilot was very skilled in at least Framewerk systems. Which made her wonder why it seemed to be assembled so basically.

She also wondered why it was pink. Seeing as that wasn’t part of the file she had read up on before the Sim.

Regardless, Aurora’s attention was partially pulled away from the mission on display when the Professor’s Lilim assistant approached her and offered up the Vial of Buran-X. It wasn’t something that Aurora had ever taken, as normally her compatibility with the VR systems led her to be unlikely to settle deep enough for feed back issues.

With a mental shrug she quickly took the vial. And true to the Lilim’s word she felt the nausea fading shortly after. Same with the underlying migraine she hadn’t fully noticed.

“Thank you.” Aurora would reply to the Assistant, giving the Lilim a kind smile of her own.

She returned her attention to the Sim in progress, just in time to witness Mema-Ka seemingly abandoning Arrish, Horst, and Logic Diver. That was very much not what she had expected from the man. She posited it could be due to what had been happening to his brother’s Frame, but the dead did not need more attention than the living. Especially in the midst of combat. She would not make the mistake again, assuming she ever found herself in place to do so.

Still she didn’t know what Cockroach was going to do in response, but she didn’t doubt that he had one. Their technical skills alone almost assured it.

Not that it was something she was watching for. No, Aurora’s attention was more focused on Arrish. And the pit of… guilt, that had sprung open inside of her. She still stood by her reason for attempting to shift command. Arrish had defaulted on his operational role, and was seemingly rushing into a unneeded confrontation. But Mema-Ka had proven he wasn’t worth having turned it over too. No matter how his play might turn out. ‘I owe Arrish an apology for this, if nothing else…’

“You as well.” Aurora would reply to Argo’s pilot as they came up to her. Turning slightly to face to imposing woman with a smile. “If the missiles hadn’t worked, I dread to think what would have become of my team. Especially considering everything needed to stop you and Argo.” Her voice was still raspy, but the Buran-X had also soothed her throat enough to not be threatening closure with each word.

Before more could be said, Griff awoke from the VR with the same boisterous energy he always had. Aurora could tell that his heart was in the right place at least, but his execution left much to be desired. But it was clear that he was trying, and as such Aurora was willing to give him some more slack.

That said both him, and shockingly to Aurora Squid’s pilot, were shortly thereafter corralled by Goose’s Lilim. Though not before the machine had dispensed blankets and water bottles to everyone present. Something that Aurora was quick to take advantage of, her throat was still parched from the feedback.

And some water would help in soothing her stomach as well. It was mostly filled with bile at this point after all.

In the foreground the Simulation raged on. Aurora's attention, never fully pulled away from it. As such Arrish’s courage and skill to climb out and then take out the Drone hack was seen, and it was commendable. As was Elora’s use of the Hyper wave Array to scramble and stall the hacked controls. Determination in the face of all that had befallen Apple was heartening to see.

And once Aurora was again impressed by Cockroaches mechanical ingenuity, with their attempt to crush Raptor with a Kattai malfunction. At least she hopes that was the intent. Otherwise it was an error she would be puzzling out for a while yet. Regardless, she wasn’t impressed by the suicidal nature of the action.

Her attention on that half of the battle field was quickly dropped upon seeing Argent Wings move to open up its own Flash. Thus meaning Aurora missed the midair quick draw, not that she would mind. As what really caught Aurora’s attention was Logic Diver. And the way the Simulation started to strain in response to Elora's distress.

“What in the…”

Rather than turn her attention over to where Elora was waking up. Aurora was watching the Professor. due to her angle she caught him out of the corner of her eye, and how he wasn’t surprised at the oddity of the simulation. Her eyes narrowed. ‘You are looking for something in all of this…’ She thought to herself. Making a mental note to see if she could get a recording of the VR station’s log, if not hands on access to it.

She glanced over at Elora, Lucius, and Cockroach’s pilot. And decided to leave Elora to them, she had gotten herself into this situation after all, and while Aurora wouldn’t hammer it in. She agreed with Elora; the young pilot had failed. And she only had herself to blame, as Aurora had warned her against going in deep. But this was training, which is the best situation to encounter such failures. And she had made up for it in the end. Aurora would keep her thoughts to herself unless directly asked.

In the meantime, Aurora would watch the final moments of the mission. And keep an eye on the Professor.
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}From the Outside{+


Aurora was more than a little confused at the mannerisms of the Lillim pilot. And before Aurora could begin to inform them that she was fine, she was off. ‘Surely that one is unique even amongst Lilim, they have to be...’ She mused to herself as she carefully pushed herself up and off the VR’s stations chair.

Just as Aurora had gotten to her feet, a feat that wasn’t as shocking as it might have seemed; Her legs were fine after all, Sleepy’s legs hadn’t been broken after all. The strange Lilim returned to deposit a more familiar face. Before racing away once again.

“Hello.” Aurora would greet Atty’s pilot with a smile and a wave. Her name was sadly out of reach, but that was fine. She was comfortable enough in saying that she and the younger girl were on good terms. The name would settle soon.

“Impressive.” Aurora would tell the other girl. Only to give her a flat look. “And. Reckless.” She would only hold the look for a moment before letting a small smile break free, as she nudged their shoulder.

”Just water. No need. For medical.” She would answer the new face at last, which with the way the Lilim rushed off Aurora figured that water would be soon arriving. “Seems. Handled.” She would add with a shrug and a half gesture towards the direction that Goose’s pilot had taken off.

The sound of her name pulled her attention towards the simulation’s display. To which she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the praise sent her way, or more accurately the derision implied towards the others. At the very least that pilot seemed to be a spirited one. And she let out a small huff at his callout as he began doing something with the wreckage of Squid.

She turned her attention over to her team instead. Her levity becoming short lived as she heard Mema-Ka and Arrish bicker for a moment over second in command. ‘Even in death, they still refuse to listen.’ She shook her head. There was nothing he could do about it now. Just make note of it and move on.

“I. Aurora. You?” She would ask the newcomer. He was kind enough to come check up on her after all, she could at least introduce herself.

She kept most of her attention towards the Sim. It was clear that Ava and Guinevere had a plan, some communication she must have missed. ‘That’s where you had been hiding. You had been in range too…’

And the clash between Shiva and Argo was also heating up. And she had to admit she was impressed. Argo had been put through the ringer, but it was still moving. And if she was right, it was far from harmless.
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}Disipatation{+


From the moment Aurora let loose all the Sleepy had to offer she never once looked away from Mother Goose. She locked eyes with that would be her end, unbowed, and unyielding.

She did not blink as pain lanced through her throat. Did not falter as a knot of fire twisted in her center. Through pain and fear she did not once blink in the face of her death. As such she did not miss the single banner of her success.

‘Target: Core compri-’

It was only there for a moment, in the corner of her eye. Proof that she would not go alone. It was enough for a fleeting moment of grim satisfaction.

As in the next instant. The was only Pain.


‘She was trapped in the lingering second the world stuttered.’

‘Trapped in the explosive wrath of her own loss.’

‘It burned. It blinded. It consumed.’

‘She did not think. She Burned.’

‘She did not see. She Burned.’

‘She did not understand.’
‘She. Burned’

‘She was thankful.’

‘It was not cold’




Aurora returned to the real world violently.

Pain lanced through her as she jerked upright, her body protesting everything. The light, the sound, the movement. Her skin felt raw. Breathing lit fires up and down her throat, and she could not stop the violent dry retching that over took her.

But, tragically honed instincts kept her from actually throwing up. Past experience informing her it would be nothing but bile. Which would only serve to worsen her throat, to the point it might actually tear and bleed. And she would much rather forgo the week of nutrient past that would result in if at all possible.

She kept her breathing controlled as she took careful breaths as her body rebelled with a storm of messy and overstimulated pain signals. It took several long moments where she kept her eyes closed and simply rode out the phantom sensations. Each breath easing the pain further and further.

When the retching finally died off, and she felt like she could move without going light headed from pain. She opened her eyes.

And was momentarily stunned to see the VR Room.

‘The training mission’ She recalled. The memories of everything that had happened settling back in with a disquieting ease.

She flopped back into the VR station’s chair. She did not have the energy to groan or blush in embarrassment.

She had… not forgotten. That would have been too convenient. But she had… lost sight of the fact it was only a VR simulation. Even when the thought occurred to her during the Sim, it slipped away shortly after. She wasn’t used to them being so accurate, wasn’t used to having Sleepy along side her in anything other then true life or death circumstances. And had gotten caught up in it all.

Had actively thought she was about to die. Even if she hadn’t truly embraced that as an outcome.

She was glad ever more so that she had buried her venom earlier. Even as it lingered in the back of her mind. Slithered under her thoughts. The feeling was true, it was merely the context that had been false. ‘but if it happened in training…’

Further thoughts were scattered as a solemn voice spoke next to her.

It was the Lilim Pilot. Mother Goose’s Pilot. Apologizing and praising her.

“No need.” Aurora rasped, the phantom feedback from the particle cannon threatening to close her throat with each word. “To apologize. Your Frame. Incredible.” And it was, Aurora had never encountered something that had required so much of Sleepy’s firepower to take down. Nothing that even needed a fraction of what she and her frame had poured into Mother Goose.

She smiled up at the Lilim. Tired and exhausted as she was. And tried not to lean into the comforting gesture. She failed as much as she succeeded. Both for the same reason. She simply didn’t have the energy to do much just yet.
In March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Advanced Roleplay


As Wonderland’s forces pushed into Penrose. They would suddenly be beset by a volley of laser fire as a score of Pennybots descended upon the encroaching horde. And while the Penny bots were outnumbered many to one, they had superior speed and strength.

Not to mention an unrivaled understanding of the battle field. As each Pennybot shared data with each other, and that data was processed not only by the Pennybots, but also by the girls back on the Bastion. Who were backed up by the valiant Ship’s own sensors.

So despite their lower number, they were a frighteningly effective defense force.




.:⋮[Beginning of the END]⋮:.



Nowhere At All

The stalemate between Penny’s and Osiris’ techno arachnid was short lived. For Penny never expected to be able to overpower the thing. As she had yet to find an opponent that she was actually stronger then.

So shortly after Impact Penny was already moving onto her next move. Using the blocking claw as leverage, Penny swung underneath the body of the scorpion. It’s second claw still glanced through her multilayered barriers however, scoring a scratch on her head.

She set her repair protocols on that light wound absently, as she slid along the ground underneath on her the hover systems. One hand lightly traced across the undercarriage of her target. Leaving thin gray lines in her wake.

AS she reached the base of the tail Penny would slam her arm into the ground anchoring herself as two of her spider limbs reached out to either side of the street to grab the replicated cars there. Before swinging them in to crush Osiris.


With Everyone

“She is so lucky I moved the Bastion into place so she could do that.” Penny would sigh at Lily’s actions, though she also couldn’t help but smile at them as well. The spunky girl’s upbeat personality was really a boon at times like these.

She would turn to Alicia. “Since everyone else has gone ahead, seems like you get to share my source with me. My first Patron, is responsible for the lightning storm. Whatever is happening down there is big. Since it’s got his attention.” She would inform her friend, her longest and oldest one at that.

“No idea what’s going to meet us there, but.” A swirl of space twisted next to Penny until a hole in space was formed about ten feet above Covington Tower. “Once more unto the breach, shall we?” She would ask with a grin before she turned towards the open portal. Only to blink at the situation below. “Kayli?”

She would shake her head before jumping through the portal, and down onto the roof top below. The end really was soon it seemed.


On the Phone

’The Queen of Hearts is a dead woman walking. Of that I can assure you.’ Penny would reply. Her voice cold, there was no love lost between the two Queens after all. ‘And the longer you hold off, the quicker it will be so as well.’ The Queen of Penrose would add. Clearly willing to strike at least that much of a deal.

‘And, if you will forgive some unprompted advice.’ She continued a moment later. ‘Patrons are fickle in their support. I’ve been abandoned twice, and even had an attempted assassination attempt before. And those were from the supposed ‘good’ ones. It’s not worth it to tie your happiness to them.’

‘You have my number.’ Penny would finish. And before Lea could reply the call ended, leaving her with the dial tone ringing out.


In Her Room

“Ha! Guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, should I?” Penny would state, laughing a little. Before she led the way through the second door she had gestured at.

It would lead towards another corridor. One that went on for a bit longer than the ones used to bring everyone to Penny’s own room. But eventually it would come to an end with a small T-junction.

“Door on the left leads to the general command room that has been set up for other to assist with the Pennybot management.” She would explain, a small scree blinking to life showing the room in question.

The room itself was simple, sterile metal walls and floor. In the center of the room however was six large command stations, all ringing a pillar of cords that vanished into the ceiling. The basis of the command stations was a large almost recliner type chair, but when one was seated the chair would almost fold around the person. Brining into view nine different screens, two full keyboards, three partial key pads, a mouse and a set of joysticks.

In the room four of the six stations were in use, and it was clear that not everyone was piloting the Penny bots the same way.

“There is a head set built into the head rest, to communicate to the other’s easier and to speak through the Pennybots.” Penny would explain. “The room on the right, has the same set up but only has one station. That one is for you Violet if you want to keep some distance between me and you. If you want to join everyone in the main room I can shift it over easy.”


A One on One

“An accident then.” Penny would say with a nod. “I can forgive such. Seeing as it was done with the best of intention. And you were not wrong to think we were in a hurry. Even now, the rest of those you brought here have already split off to muster forces against the Queen of hearts.” She would continue.

“Rise.” She would command. “And know that if this is to happen again without forewarning or permission. I will see it as an act of war by your Misstress.”

She would gesture at the door and it would swing open on its own. “You are free to roam the Bastion or leave as you see needed. For now, I have matters I must attend to myself. I do thank you for your time.” Penny would nod at the Chesire cat before leaving. This body would soon head towards the front line to assist with the defense of Penrose. Along with several others of those that Penny Prime had brought back with her.


Left Behind

Penny watched as Ani strode away, walking back towards Penrose. Seemingly planning on taking the long road. She too shelved the idea that there was another AI tracking the data of people nearby. It was after all the third AI to do that to Penny’s understanding.

But the madness of Penrose didn’t give her any time to worry about that particular comment.

“Cat door.” Penny would reply to the twins pointing out the interdimensional Catflap that was still chiming softly not far away from them. “Leads to the Bastion, and there is an open wormhole there leading to Covington Tower, where things are starting to kick off.” She would explain as she led the way.

She was ambivalent if Ani followed after them. But knew her home would be safe one way or the other. And regardless Penny’s other copies would start working to dismantle the cat flap as soon as the twins made it through. If it didn’t vanish on its own that is.


Alone?

Penny’s attention continued to widen. And despite the stress she felt should have been the case, if anything it was the opposite. The further she spread her attention, the easier it seemed to become.

Subdiving, and sub processes events across her own personal network, even as she gave all of them the same level of focus and attention she would as if she was there. Which she was, as much as she wasn’t.

Calculating combat sequence against Osiris, talking with Violet, confiding in Alica, threatening Lea, watching over Nina, guiding Miko and Ronin home. She was there, at all of there, and she was ‘here’ and only ‘here’.

And because of that it was so easy to divert a pair of Pennybots away from the network. To shadow Olivia and Jelena until Freya showed up.

‘When did Freya and Shelyn split up?’

Just as she made sure that they would have a safe place to fall back too. Shifting the Bastion with barely a thought, rooms and space for all of Asengav’s refuges unfolded into place within the hidden gaps of the titanic ship.
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}Thunder Fall{+

“Squid is confirmed terminated.” Aurora called through the comms with a grimace on her face. A threat had been taken care of and so had Elora’s request. But the loss of Dragonfly from the blitz from Atty had performed was not a good thing. At the very least Atty had paid for it as well.

She spared a moment to analyze the flow of thing on the eastern front. Horst and Raptor had Logic in hand for the moment it seemed. But Aurora would be hard pressed to say it was going smoothly. Argo had slipped past the front lines and was in perfect position to harass them as they moved to regroup with the rest of Apple. Not to mention it seemed like Argent wings was over there as well if the wreckage of team Banana was anything to go by.

“Sleeping Thunder moving to-“ Aurora’s words were lost, drowned out by the electronic wail from Mother Goose’s Lilim pilot.

And then the other colossus on the field began its charge. And it was easy to guess the target; Sleeping Thunder. And if it was just that, it would be fine. Even with its speed being so shocking.

But then Horst dove further away. Hunting Argent and leaving Raptor and Logic alone to deal with Argo, and placing him too far to assist with Mother Goose.

Angel and Shiva stayed, for a moment at least. But Aurora watched in detached disbelief as Shiva disengaged from close combat, not a bad idea all in all, but then they kept going. Hunting Argo if the trajectory was any indication. And then so too did Angel, diving deeper into Mango’s controlled territory. For no reason that she could readily parse.

Both of them only giving passing fire support. Leaving her and Sleepy to face down Mother Goose. Alone.

It stung, this blatant abandonment. The seeming open disregard for the loose plan they had discussed. The roles that people had agreed to. The only one following that still was Raptor.

She shoved the boiling mess of her emotions to the side as she refocused on the problem before her. Forced herself to run the numbers as Goose continued to barrel down on her and Sleeping Thunder.

Plans came and went as Aurora put her years of experience and not inconsequential intellect on the problem.

But in the end it was clear. ‘We can’t run; they outpace us. We can’t grind away at them; they outmatch us in durability.’

“You’ve killed me and Sleepy.” She muttered to herself as she confronted the truth of it. Muting Griff as he started spouting nonsense at her. She muted everyone. She didn’t care right now, not in the face of all this.

“Fine then. But not before I extract my pound of flesh.” She growled to no one.

Just as Goose slammed down its Bastion, Aurora threw the throttle forward and Sleeping Thunder lurched into motion again.

[Spider Legs - Hover Move: (Y)15 -> (X)15]

“Attention Apple.” She would broadcast to her 'Team' as she set about adjusting settings. Opening capacitor banks, circumventing safeties, bypassing system limitations.

“Goose has breached our lines and contact is inevitable. Raptor is designated second in command.” Her voice was crisp and clinical, not an ounce of her anger leaked through. “Guinevere is still unaccounted for. Be on watch for Drone Hacks.”

“Home base is compromised, if not lost. Regroup at grid point; Xray, Twenty Seven.” With her message done she clicked off her comms and buried the venom she wanted to unleash. It was strange being the more vitriolic of the two. She mused, normally it was her calming Sleepy down. But here and now the frame was calm, almost apathetic, no Cruxi to kill and no real danger to fear.

She would laugh were she in a better mood.

Instead Aurora pulled the trigger on one of Sleeping Thunders many weapon systems and around the titanic frame and a corona of lightning surged into existence. It was crude, but it should provide them some defense against the salvo of missiles inbound, as she finished her preparations.

For any who knew the specs of Sleeping Thunder the lightning was much dimmer then they might expect.

[Arklight Thunder (Tesla Field)[Creative+Flash in the Dark]: Attacking inbound Missiles]

As Aurora had been busy preparing more than just a final message. [Flash in the Dark+Metal Mind] She had rerouted two thirds of her Arklight’s normal output into the Particle Cannon’s capacitor bank. It was a risky move at the best of times. But with Goose staring her down she had limited options.

Still she could feel the minor jolts of numbness and pain as she pushed systems in ways they were not built to go.
It was fine, she had deal with worse before.

Her finger hovered over a button as she looked down at her map display. The targets selected and firing angles locked in. Win or lose, she would not go quietly. She hit the button.

‘Thunder Fall Activated’

She pulled the trigger.

Sleeping Thunder woke up. Roaring it’s defiance to the heavens.

[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Arklight Thunder(Tesla Field) Attacking Mother Goose (V17)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Gatling Guns Attacking Mother Goose (V17)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: MoonBreaker (AB-AP) Attacking Mother Goose (V17)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Particle Cannon(Charge unknown) Attacking Mother Goose (V17)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Dragon Wing Missiles x4 (armor-piercing) Attacking Mother Goose (V17)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Dragon Wing Missiles x4 (armor-piercing) Attacking Argo (V21)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Dragon Wing Missiles x4 (high-explosive) Attacking Argo (V21)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Dragon Wing Missiles x4 (high-explosive) Attacking Cockroach (O15)]
[Flash In The Dark – All Out Attack: Artillery Mortars (HYDRA Shell) Attacking Cockroach (O15)]

The Frame unleashed hell. A swarm of missiles flew out from their pods trailing a thick cloud of smoke. A hailstorm of metal was spewed forth as the Gatling guns rang out with a hateful Brrrrt, the sharp echoing retort of the Moonbreaker overlapping them for a moment. Ground shaking booms could be felt as the Artillery Mortars fired off their devastating payload. And the harsh snap and cracking of lightning overflowed as the Arklight Thunder’s Tesla Field was pushed to its absolute limit and beyond, flooding the area with unconstrained energy.

And all the while Aurora kept the trigger pulled, unleashing more and more devastation. Even as shocks of pain and numbness rocked her body. The systems of the Frame pushed well beyond their limits as she finally let loose her own roar of frustration and hurt in the isolation of her cockpit.

[Flash in the Dark – Overcharging, Overloading, and Overclocking Everything]
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}Storm Surge{+


‘Merde’ Aurora cursed in the privacy of her thoughts as the comms were slowly overtaken by static and distortions. This was explicitly why she had warned Logic Diver away from going deep! The foolish girl had possibly destroyed one of the few advantages they had in this mission.

It burned at her. In the field this level of insubordination could mean death for far more than just one Pilot.

Regardless, she pulled back on Sleeping Thunder’s throttle. Full speed ahead wasn’t needed anymore, but she was far from just standing around as well. She hit the toggle next to the throttle as she set about adjusting some of Sleeping Thunder’s compression and suspension systems.

In response the lumbering behemoth slowed, but dozens of thrusters lit up along the underside of its legs. Newer Frames would have taken to the air with this system, hovering even as they crawled forward. But Sleeping Thuder was a bit too old, and a lot too heavy to have that level of supplementary propulsion.

[Spider Legs - Hover Move: (Z)15 -> (Y)15]

But that did not mean the Frame gained no benefits from the subsystem.

'Target acquired'

At the outer edge of Sleeping Thunder’s range sat a wounded and temporarily blinded target. One that neither Pilot nor Frame had any intention of letting slip out with such superficial wounds. And with the activation of ‘hover suspension’ there was no interference from the lumbering gait of the Frame to throw off their aim.

[Particle Cannon(Full Charge): Attacking Squid (Q17)]

The discharge of the cannon split the air with a roar as she restrained the urge to vent her frustrations alongside her Frame’s destructive salvo. And yet in the midst of her attack one of the many screens she had before her flashed an update at her.

'Priority Target in range - initializing Missile Lock'

Atty had blitzed inside their perimeter with startling ease. At least for a moment, until the smaller frames trajectory clicked.

“Did she really let herself get tossed!?” Aurora couldn’t help but ask, not seeing any other way outside of assistance from Mother Goose that Atty would have been able to come up and over like he was doing so.

The cannon discharge ended. And before Aurora could reorient Sleeping Thunder to unleash a hailstorm of bullets in Atty’s decent, regardless of Electric Dragonfly’s proximity. Angel Zero raced past, their destination clearly to assist Dragonfly. She discarded the idea of opening fire in that direction now. Atty for Dragonfly might have been viable, if only to curtail some of Mango’s speed, seeing as Dragonfly was soon to become as much a liability as an asset. But Dragonfly and Angel were not worth one Frame.

She returned her attention back to Squid. The targeting system installed into Sleeping Thunder having already lined up another shot.

[Automated Targeting System - Moonbreaker(AB-AP): Attacking Squid (Q17)]

Aurora couldn’t help but notice that Horst as well was moving out. Their intention also to assist. But she couldn’t help but feel it was a move born more out of chivalric pride, then tactical sense. Seeing as there was little to nothing that anyone on Apple could do to truly assist Logic Diver at this point.

She would be more upset at this if it didn’t create a reasonable line of scrimmage, what with how it seemed that the Pilot from team Banana choosing to pivot to Apple’s side for the time being.

But truly, little about how this mission had been playing out so far was how she had expected it to go. Much to her consternation.

[Dragon Wing Missile Launchers; Attempting Lock on to Atty. Cockroach, Guinevere, Argo priority targets upon entering range]
[Moonbreaker; Empty]
[Particle Cannon; Uncharged]
[Artillery Mortars; Artillery Mode, HYDRA Shell Loaded]
In March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Advanced Roleplay

’Wow. I see why the Queen left when she got the option.’ A Pennybot would say as they started to move out, it’s head turning towards the Ascendency. ’The hypocrisy is staggering. At least she had a Spark.’

They bots moved as one almost. With only a slight hitch before they launched from the rooftop. But if one kept an eye to the other roofs once could seem more Pennybots as well. All moving to intercept Wonderland and their forces.
‘We might need to split the teams.’ One of the right Pennybots would state. Though it was absently said, as if the bot hadn’t meant to speak aloud. ‘We should be able to get approval to shift the bulk of our forces here.’




.:⋮[Edge of Understanding]⋮:.


Alone?

It was strange for Penny, the moment Nykannis breached the safety of the Bastion and spirited her away. She had been in one of the numerous hallways interweaving through her home. Taking a moment to herself in the midst of the never-ending parade of chaos that Penrose specialized in.

It was strange. Because even as she was stolen away, and locked inside a perpetual moment to listen to the doctor monolog. Penny didn’t feel as if she had actually gone anywhere. None of her connections had been disrupted. None of her cycles skipped, none of her active processes hitched.

Even when she knew. Knew. That something should have stumbled.

But nothing did. And so, across the Bastion, and beyond. No one noticed.

Yet, Penny herself couldn’t help but revel in that moment. It itched at her in a way that nothing ever had before. As a foundational part of her world view had started to shift. The shape of which it would become, she could only tease out the edges. Yet she couldn’t wait all the same.


With Everyone

Penny’s attention was focused on the table before her as everyone began preparing for the fight to come. It was that reason alone she witness the titanic flash of lightning, bright enough and big enough to show on the table’s holo-display before the rumble of thunder set the Bastion to rock once again.

The lightning cradled, and highlighted Covington Tower.

“Obviously.” Penny would snark at the image, seemingly reading something in it that wasn’t apparent to anyone else, but then the lightning flashed again. And this time she saw the subtle way it seemed to twist and flow around the tower. And the message hit her all at once. “Oh… That’s…”

Penny would look up at everyone gathered. “We need to move now! The Black Mirror has appeared on top of Covington Tower.” She would inform everyone. “I’ve got forces on route to intercept Wonderlands army, but that’s not going to matter if they set off whatever it is their plan is.”


On the Phone

’Well, Lea. It’s interesting timing to hear from you I must admit.’ Penny’s voice would come from the phone in Lea’s hand suddenly and without the normal warning of a call answering. ’Though I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the one you were expecting to answer.’
‘I’ll give you one chance to back down. I know where you are, I know where the mirrors are, and I have the forces to crush all of you.’ Penny would state calmly. ’Stand down, and no one has to die.’


In Her Room

“Well, if you want to join the rest of Sanctuary in the mess hall you are free to do so.” Penny would state, pointing at a door that would only appear as she was moving to point at it. “Some of the arcade machine’s have been moved there, on top of them setting up a makeshift theater. Also have some board games that seem to be getting used, and Monica is cooking.” Penny would explain. “If you want to be done with the fight, I won’t hold it against you. Most of the girls I look after don’t want to be involved.”

“The second option, is if you want to be a part of helping, but not directly.” She would point at another door, it too appearing only as she went to point at it. “This is the same idea I was going to offer to Violet. Back in Wonderland I overtook one of their factories, and alongside the blueprints from you and the research from the Mint. I restructured it to start fabricating duplicates.”

“It would be a bit much for me to organize and direct all of them, seeing as I’m planning on keeping the factory running until Wonderland runs out of supplies to make the copies. So, I had some of the girls that want to be involved set up a secondary network and some command stations that can be used to direct and guide all the Pennybots I’ve got running around at the moment.” She would add with a shrug and a somewhat lopsided smile.

“Lastly. And this is true for you as well Violet. You can stay here, my room might not have the most entertainment, but it’s safe and I can pull anything from within the Bastion here if it’s not being used.” She would finish folding her arms loosely. “I can stick around as well, there are plenty of Penny’s around at the moment, one less isn’t going to be missed.”


A One on One

While everyone else was off in the Temporary command center Penny and the Cheshire Cat retreated to a private room. It was empty for all save a table. And the other copies remained outside or moved off to do other duties.

“This may not be the best time. But I must ask. Do you know who I am?” Penny would inquire the moment the door shut, giving her and the Cat some privacy. “I ask, because if you had knowingly repeated the actions of Wonderland. Me, you, and your Baroness are going to have a problem.” She strode over to the table so as not to loom over her temporary ally.

“Because the last time someone broke into my home. It was at the behest of Iracebeth, The Queen of Hearts. And as Queen of Penrose, a city currently under siege from Wonderland. There is a limit to what I can forgive and tolerate, as I am sure you must understand.” She turned to look at The Cheshire Cat. “So tell me. Was this just a innocent mistake, or will I need to watch you for the remainder of your time in my home?”


Left Behind

“Right, and who are you exactly?” Penny would ask as she adjusted her grip on the sword she had most recently picked up. She had a few moments to scrape through her logs, and well the LLM cosplayer wasn’t one that Penny recognized. She knew the person that had gotten buried in swords hadn’t been hostile, but Wonderland was a strange place. She wasn’t going to drop her guard.

Plus keeping attention away from the impending demolition sight was probably also for the best in that case. Seeing as how she doubted loyal to this crazy location would be happy with her detonating the Queen’s castle.

Regardless, there was only ten minutes until the rest of the local area copies finished up setting the charges.


And Nowhere At All

The temporal stasis field clicked off around Penny, but the itch persisted. She felt as if everything was still a second to the left and an inch into the future. She took a deep breath as the Stacy Squad roared into existence around her, focusing inward for a moment.

She felt bad for Finn. She recalled him, but she didn’t know that he had harbored such animosity towards her. Still his fate wasn’t something she could do much about. As much as it pained her to see him get so pointlessly tossed away.

The mention of Oros did touch upon Penny’s hate, but these multiversal replicas didn’t. These people hadn’t done anything to Penny. Not personally, maybe to other Penny’s in other realities. But Penny wasn’t going to waste energy hating someone for something they hadn’t done.

And if that was everything that Nyakannis had to offer Penny would have left. Let the Orors’ and Stacy’s duke it out here in this Penrose that wasn’t. Taken the supposed favor of this Grand Magistrate and returned to her home.

But there was something else. That itch, the shift, a truth Penny could almost realize. It dug at her. And as much as it wasn’t Nykannis’ fault, she was the reason that Penny noticed it. And she wanted to repay that, as much as she wanted to explore it.

She let out the breath she couldn’t actually hold.

“Normally I don’t seek out fights. Call it rebellion from my father. But I don’t like seeking to cause destruction.” She called out eyes closed the world seemingly waiting for her to act. “And I don’t actually care about your hypothesis. But there is something you have put into motion now, that I do want to follow. So, for that reason, and that reason alone.”

[Phase Two Response Configuration: Assault Mode, confirmed.]


Penny’s eyes snapped open, and in the same instance her integrated weapon systems unfurled. High density energy blades extended from the backs of her arms, her secondary spider legs unfolded from her chassis, and her shoulder mounted ray casters emerged. A secondary layer of holographic barrier plates phased into place across her body.

Penny was ready for war.

In the next instant there was a high-pitched ringing as Penny opened her maw and a thunderous roar came out. As fully charged gauss round flew straight at Osiris. Penny was a half-step behind her opening shot. Charging forward at her designated target, one arm forward to block, the rest chambered back and ready to strike at anyone who came in close enough.

A feral grin stretched across her face. As her soul roared out in satisfaction.
In Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay → 3 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay

+}Backline Orders{+


There was no reason for Aurora to let off the gas. The more information flooded in the clearer the picture became, Apple was far too spread out. And the only thing she could do was attempt to make it to the front faster.

[Dash: (2)15 -> (Z)15]

“Logic Diver. You are too deep. Pull back.” Aurora would order as she once again cycled the Particle Cannon to spool up another level of charge. It would prove to be a mighty strike when she finally got into range to make use of it.

But it felt a bit like her current frustrations as well. Just building and building, looking for a release. Since she had told Elora not to do this, but it was something to take note of for the future she supposed. Though her frustration wasn’t sole due to Logic Diver, her extreme distance away from the battle was another source. Though if it was more manipulation by the Professor, or just poor planning on her own part was tough to say at the moment.

Still. There was more preparation she could do with Logic Diver’s contributions. The greatly expanded sensor range did allow her to begin locking on to priority heat signatures. Something she was quick to do with her missile pods. And hey, may be the warnings would serve as a distraction in their own right.

Though she doubted that Atty or Argo would change tactics. Guenevere and Cockroach might.

“Angel, Horst. Feel free to continue Advancing. Rank Romeo is likely to be our front line, so stay within two ranks of there. Otherwise engage at will” She would continue to advise and order the rest of her Team. Seeing as she was unable to directly participate anytime soon. “Raptor, Harassment of Mango’s eastern squad would be appreciated. Try to pull some of the heat from Logic to give them an easier retreat window.”

"Dragonfly, I'm reading Atty not far from your location. Be ready to assist Shiva if they close in, otherwise keep on your guard that distance isn't going to mean much to them."

She ran her hand across the top of one of the dashboards absently as she gave out her orders and observations. Almost as if she was trying to soothe Sleeping Thunder as they lumbered towards the fight. ‘Soon, it’ll be soon. just a bit longer.’

[Dragon Wing Missile Launchers; Attempting to Lock on to Cockroach, Atty, Guenevere, and Argo]
[Moonbreaker; Anti-Battle ship Anti-Battleship Armor Piercing. Charged to standard safety.]
[Particle Cannon; Three turns of Charge]
[Artillery Mortars; Artillery Mode, HYDRA Shell Loaded]

© 2007-2026
BBCode Cheatsheet