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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Sept 28, 2019 22:04:49 GMT -5
If Will's reaction was anything to go by, Lydia was refusing to budge until the plane had landed, a show of stubbornness that was well expected, somewhat appreciated, but above all else, utterly disheartening. Seven minutes could easily exceed Lydia's window of opportunity; no one else needed to be inside Will's head to realize that. Max wanted to scream at her to do the right thing and trust them to see this rescue mission through, but to her shock, Will and Ryan had stolen the words right out of her mouth.
Some things never change, it seemed. For nearly two years now, Max had been begging and pleading with Lydia to let go of her pride. To get out of a situation that was clearly hurting her. To trust her. To trust somebody. Lydia never listened to her, even when her own health was on the line. But maybe... just maybe she would listen to Will.
Will took the helm. Ryan retreated back into the cabin. Max stayed glued to her seat for a moment, merely staring at Will in fear and dread, looking deep within his eyes and into the soul of the woman she still cared so much about. A single word escaped her lips in a whisper just barely audible over the jet's engines...
"Please..."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Sept 28, 2019 22:23:52 GMT -5
"............"
Lydia had to admit that she hadn't anticipated Will's reaction. She didn't blame him or the others for being concerned about her, but to hear Will asserting himself over her, to a point where her motor cortex override system was jerking about as he resisted it influence... it was almost heartbreaking. Part of her didn't want to let go. She had to save them from the mess that she had made. She had to do something besides floating around uselessly in Will's head. But Will was resolute that she save herself. Ryan was confident that they could save her. And Max...
Max was there for her. That was all that mattered.
She trusted them. They had carried her this far. They could do it just a little bit further...
"Disengage."
With a deep whirring sound, the command units around Lydia's arms loosened their hold, allowing her to slip free, liberating Will's own appendages. Lydia slid the instruments back into place against the walls and pushed the visual feed periscope back into the ceiling. Then she hastily started the detachment process, unhooking the cables that hardwired Proteus II into her host's brain.
"Will?" Lydia's tone was soft but firm. No nonsense. "Check for parachutes. If push comes to shove, I'd rather you guys be prepared. Have Max take over; I've taught her the basics before. And Ryan... well, whatever he's doing, just make sure he doesn't hurt himself."
She stared sadly but boldly at her monitor. How she wished she could look Will in the eye. "I'm counting on you."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 29, 2019 14:20:25 GMT -5
In response to Lydia saying she'd get out of his head, Will simply nodded, maintaining a serious expression. "And we're counting on you to stay alive." Once he had fully regained the sensation in his limbs, he stood up, gesturing to the seat. "Max, we're counting on you to at least not crash this metal flying contraption. Better you than me fly this thing."
Okay, good, someone who actually had an idea as to what they were doing was now in command. Nodding, Will turned to Ryan. "Ryan, I'm gonna see if there's any parachutes in here. Might as well be safe. Just in case, see if you can't open a door. Just... not right now, I'm sure that'd end poorly."
With that, the tall blonde began to check every compartment, seeing if there were any of those things that crazy people who jumped out of perfectly serviceable sky carriages used.
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Post by ColArana on Sept 29, 2019 17:54:12 GMT -5
Ryan gave a weak chuckle at Will's comment about seeing if he couldn't open a door. "Opening a door isn't gonna be the hard part. The important thing will be is if I can close it after I'm done." He commented, planting a hand on the cabin door. "If you can find parachutes, perfect." He added. "I'm gonna get out of here the second I feel any turbulence. I'll give you a heads up if I'm gonna throw the door open so you have a minute to get clear, or brace yourself. Vacuums are a bitch and all that." He noted. He stood near the door, scanning the room for any parachutes to help Will. "Left of me." He stated, indicating a shelf near him. He then swallowed and braced himself.
"...Alright. I'm ready for anything. I think."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Sept 30, 2019 19:51:53 GMT -5
"I'm on it," Max boldly responded, switching over to the main pilot's chair once Will had vacated it. She said nothing else on the matter. Even if they couldn't verbally communicate it, she was confident by that point that she and Lydia understood each other.
Max's hands firmly gripped the yoke, her eyes scanning the instrument panel in one last, hasty attempt to re-familiarize herself with the setup. The radar was ticking down the miles until they reached their predetermined landing site. The city was fast approaching, the temperate rainforest transitioning into a deciduous wood.
"Alright..." There was no room to doubt herself now, but still, Max was reasonably nervous. "Let's see, slowly ease off on the throttle... Need to pitch left a little... Wait, is it pitch or roll? Or yaw? Dammit, terminology doesn't matter. Now where's the landing gear on this th-?"
BANG
The plane violently jolted. Despite her shock, Max quickly managed to readjust it back into a safe decline, promptly going rigid herself afterward. "What the hell?! Did something hit us?!"
---------------------------
Through the thick sea of fluid, along the canal that trailed the top of the brain, Mr. Stone followed the radio signal being broadcast by Proteus II. After searching the body for quite some time, finally he was nearing his target. It wasn't long before he could spot the pod attached to the motor cortex just up ahead through the glass domed window of his mech suit. The red pinpricks of light in his pupils flashed with steeled determination.
Target engaged.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Sept 30, 2019 20:39:36 GMT -5
"Watch where you're shooting, you imbecile!" Dr. Michaels snapped to the transport ship's copilot. "That's my favorite jet! I told you I want it brought down with as little collateral as possible!"
"A-Apologies, ma'am." The copilot was certainly taking the situation seriously, even if he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. His boss's voice was so darn adorable now.
"Besides, Mr. Stone is in there. We can't risk grievous bodily harm to Mr. Lowe until he's completed his mission."
---------------------------
"Sh*t f*ck..." Lydia's computer was having a panic attack. The spindly mech suit hauling her doom was just visible through the dark haze. Her palms were sweating as she continued to unhook the pod from the motor cortex as hastily yet still delicately as possible. Yes, she had to get out of there, but not at the expense of Will's functionality.
She felt the jolt through Will. She heard the rumble through his ear. Already, she was assuming the worst. "Oh my Lord, we just can't deal with these things one at a time, can we? C'mon, c'mon..."
Three more wires. Just three more wires. Gently...
A silhouette filled the pod's searchlights, reaching for her like the cold hand of death.
CLINK
"MOTOR CORTEX DETACHMENT COMPLETE."
"YES! LET'S GO!"
Proteus II's thrusters kicked into full gear, propelling the pod through the dense cranial fluid, away from the brain, away from the cyborg assassin hot on its tail. Lydia spared not a single glance back or even at her visual feed. All she cared about was reaching the nearest vein and getting the hell out.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Sept 30, 2019 21:11:56 GMT -5
"Aren't you such an adorable little ball of murder, good doctor?" Liderc's voice sounded strained from trying not to laugh, although his amusement at Cora's situation was obvious. "You almost remind me of a friend of mine. Well, minus the murder part. Adorable and little, however? Definitely."
Honestly, he wasn't sure why he even bothered tagging along in this ship when he could probably outpace it my flying. Perhaps he just found Cora's predicament that amusing. "A-Anyways," Liderc continued, suppressing an undignified snort. "How exactly do you plan on causing grievous bodily harm with this thing? What, do you have DNA cannons? Or... nevermind. I'm sorry, you're just, like... adorabloodthirsty. Yes, that's an actual word in my species' language." He placed a hand behind his head. "... You do have a way to reverse, this, r-"
The angel cut himself off, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "Hang on. I'm sensing something out there, and it's not friendly to us..."
---
"Parachutes! Ah! Thank you, Ryan!" Reaching out in the direction the cyborg indicated, Will grabbed three of those things used by crazy people. "Alright, I'm-"
Something hit the plane from outside, causing Will to stumble, nearly landing on his face. Barely catching himself on a hand, he looked up. "What the hell was that?! Ugh, don't tell me, they're not giving up, are they?!" He tossed a parachute at Ryan, dropping a second on Max's lap. "Best be safe than sorry right now. C'mon, let's get outta here! One way or the other!"
An astral feather, shimmering blue and green, landed on the windshield of their jet.
"Or the other other way." Neither the roar nor the strange feather seemed to phase Will too much.
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Post by ColArana on Oct 16, 2019 21:47:33 GMT -5
Ryan was almost thrown to the ground by the force of the impact as well, but had braced himself against the doorway, as he'd been preparing to leave anyways. "Will! I'm getting out there! I'll try to cover us until we find a safe landing spot!" Ryan grabbed a door release lever and pulled it, the secured door of the jet pulling open and a vacuum of air threatening to pull everything out. Ryan braced himself against the door frame to avoid being sucked out toward the ground below. "Good luck Will! I'll catch up with you and Max and everyone on the ground, huh?" Ryan leaned out of the door and aimed his arm. A cable with a magnetic weight at the end extended, hitting the metal of the jet's wing and Ryan then returned the lever to its proper place, the door closing up behind him as he jumped out and retracted the cable to draw himself up to the back of the jet. He spun his head around to see the situation and groaned.
"Oh no. LunArc. Why now of all times!" He raged, staying low on the back of the jet, and using the cable extending from his palm to keep him anchored in place and avoid falling off the jet, as Ryan assessed the new threat.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Oct 19, 2019 20:10:32 GMT -5
From her position, Max couldn't see what might have been on top of them, but her first inclination was to agree with Will's. How LunArc managed to catch up with them, she didn't know, but now that they had, that question was at the bottom of her list of concerns. She tried not to let the rest of them deter her and instead placed her focus on the top priority of landing the jet.
"Thanks." Max graciously accepted the parachute from Will, her eyes continuously facing forward, keeping one hand on the controls while the other slung one of the straps over her shoulder. They were almost above portal park. The business district was on the other side of the city. Just had a couple more miles and they would be home fr-
"MOTHER PUSS BUCKET, WHAT THE SH*T IS THAT?!!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 26, 2019 20:57:31 GMT -5
"Yes, thank you for the commentary, Mr. Serapis, it isn't at all vexatious," Dr. Michaels grunted bitterly. "Whatever damages come of this recovery mission are beside the point. What matters is that we get those chips back. The mess can be thoroughly cleaned up from there. And I have just the means to accomplish this..."
The pilots looked a bit unsettled by Liderc's ominous observation. Dr. Michaels, on the other hand, seemed curious. Excited, even. It wasn't long at all before the pilot offered his two cents. "Dr. Michaels? There's... a third party within our airspace."
Taking this into account, Dr. Michaels took a peek out the nearest window.
Her wicked smile was practically tangible in her tiny voice.
"Yesssss... Perfect..."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Oct 27, 2019 10:54:49 GMT -5
The ship suddenly tilted down, as something grabbed onto it, something big. A quadruped creature grabbed onto the front, weighing it down, slightly dragging the ship downwards. It had a lupine head with curved horns at the end of a long neck covered in blue, astral fur; bright blue eyes with diamond pupils, a grey-blue body, and a pair of large, feathered wings, mostly blue with some green. It had no mouth, with all noise coming from it seeming to originate from within the creature, projected telepathically.
"Well well well, I heard you have it out for a friend of mine," Percy commented, looking at the small creatures within the ship. "I don't exactly approve of that, so sorry, this is the end for you." With that, he threw back his head for a moment, pupils slowly brightening to white, energy building up...
"Doctor, you had better have a plan, because my insurance does not cover being blown apart at the atomic level."
---
"Ah! I can actually explain the feather and the roar! Mind you, Percy doesn't like his little secret coming out, but judging by... this..." Will gestured to the astral feather. "He's apparently decided it's okay for it to come out. Long story short, space chimera bullshit thing. No, we're not sure if it's natural or mutated. But hey, at least he's... got the transformation under control now?"
Ah! No more tempting fate! Stopping that right now! "Ryan! Don't you dare die out there! If you do, I'll have the village shaman summon your ghost just so I can yell at you for dying on me!"
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Post by ColArana on Nov 12, 2019 23:11:57 GMT -5
Ryan was out of contact with the group inside now. Both groups in fact. He tried to precariously balance on the top of the flying vehicle. Max is gonna take some evasive maneuvers or some shit, isn't she? He mentally groaned, as he readied himself for action. Ryan was strong, fast and durable, but he also lacked a lot of ways to attack the jet. Firing another cable would mean losing his grip on the jet at the moment, and that.... that would probably end very badly, as his weight and density would probably cause the cyborg to go from 0 to terminal velocity pretty much immediately. Maybe with more practice.... but that wasn't in the cards. What was, was Ryan's final ace up his sleeve. The young cyborg lifted up an arm to take aim at the incoming LunArc ship--
Wait. That roar... The roar over the high winds. Ryan knew that roar....
"No way." And then he watched Percy crash onto the LunArc ship.
"You've gotta be shittin' me. Is that who I... Is that even possible!?" Ryan said, then immediately caught himself. In this place? Of course it was bloody possible. A grin spread out across his face. "Talk about showing up at the last bloody second! Nice job!" He exclaimed with a bit of glee, almost forgetting where he was, and slipping on the jet. He barely caught himself as a powerful highwind shoved Ryan back a little, but the cable held taut. It looked like Percy had things under control.... right? Ryan's cybernetic eye glowed, as it attempted to track any movement. Just in case Percy needed a hand.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jan 9, 2020 20:00:12 GMT -5
"Uh... Okay!" Max had no idea how else to respond to Will's explanation. She was still shaken by the sight of the creature that was apparently Percy, but she knew if she thought too hard about this now, she would lose focus on her flight pattern. As long as they weren't in immediate danger, she was willing to accept this new development with a grain of salt.
They still had quite a way to go before they were on the ground again. LunArc was hopefully under control. Ryan was on the wing, waiting by the sidelines. Will... Max could only imagine what was going through Will's head, not to mention Lydia's...
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jan 9, 2020 21:57:26 GMT -5
"This is not how I wanted this day to go..."
Lydia had opted to take a detour on her way to a viable exit point. The labyrinth that was the human bloodstream would hopefully provide her with a means to shake off the assassin on her trail. She had considered luring Mr. Stone into an organ that would instantly spell his doom, but she wasn't about to risk bodily harm to Will. For now, she was willing to stick with navigating Proteus II through the complex network of veins and capillaries and losing him at one bend or another. Her monitor already wasn't picking him up anymore. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.
The conversations Lydia was picking up from outside were... concerning, to say the least. Ryan was apparently on the outside of the jet. Sure, his inherent nature meant he could probably handle himself fairly well on the wing, but it was still worrisome to ponder what could happen to the kid. On top of that, as frightening as that roar and Max's reactions were, Will's explanation was almost more so. "Percy??"
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"Hm..." Dr. Michaels chuckled to herself, almost amused by the monster's threats and Liderc's fretting. Neither of them seemed to realize just how much had fit into the palm of her hand.
She reached up, tapping the band secured around her head...
Almost immediately, she felt it. A potpourri of emotions surrounded her, emanating from her crew members and registering in her brain as clearly as any physical sensation. Easily, Dr. Michaels picked through the weave of fear until she found what she was looking for. The mind of the beast. Such power. Such hate. Such anger. Such a tenuous bond between human intuition and feral instinct. So perfectly malleable...
Stop! We are not your enemy. Those two on the jet below us... they have your friend hostage. They have him fooled into thinking he has a parasite only they can rid him of. They're using him to steal our most dangerous technology. You have to stop them!
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jan 10, 2020 17:43:01 GMT -5
No! You... you're lying! You... You...
...
...
I must... I must protect Will... I must... protect... must...
The LunArc jet suddenly returned to a more upright stance, the beast letting go and turning around at the other thing in the sky. Yes. It understood. Will was being kidnapped. Will was being deceived. Will had to be retrieved and bought to sexy scientist lady for help (and to recover something).
A beam of light launched from its pure blue eyes, aimed at the fleeing ship. After this blast, it began chasing that infernal metal thing, its form turning into solid light, changing, gaining lanky limbs tipped with foot-long claws...
---
"G-GAUGH!!"
Something hit the plane, causing Will to stumble and fall. Rubbing his head and shakily getting to his feet, he looked around. "T-The hell was that?!" Looking out, it seemed as though whatever had hit them hadn't hit the main body of the overly-complicated sky carriage, or the wing Ryan was on, but...
That smoke from the other side probably wasn't a great sign.
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