Description: JEDAH is not a cook, he has people to do that for him. But even he knows that to make a soul omelette, you'll need to break a few hundred souls at a time. Il Paradiso Opera House has provided a base for the human resistance, a holdout against the waves of darkstalkers which blast through the area. In past weeks, the darkstalkers have been a looming menace, but never outright attacking ... now, though, with Jedah reneging on his guarantee of safety, all bets are off. And the charge is led by Q-BEE and the vicious SOUL BEES, thrilled by the excitement of catching their meals live. They're pretty used to dealing with heavy weaponry and tanks, so they'll make short work of the human resistance -- that is, they /would/ if BELGER from MAD GEAR hadn't fortified the opera house with small arms fire, or contracted DYRE behind the scenes and below board. But he has -- so combined with Captain ZACH GLENN, the human resistance cell here might actually have a chance of survival!
It would appear that today things are going to get pretty rough at the Il Paradiso Opera House.
To say that the Queen Bee is excited would be an understatement- It's only through Jedah that she has managed to apply the ability known as 'patience' and after getting a preview of what is to come from her last battle, she is absolutely ecstatic to see what other humans possess brighter, shinier souls for their swarm to feast upon. (Mind, she's still rather bitter about having lost Juri but she got over that in about a day.)
There isn't much warning once the Queen and her swarm attack. The sound of faint humming is obscured by either the noise inside the house or the light drizzle of rain pattering upon the window. Perhaps a swarm of black and yellow can be seen approaching; if not, it doesn't deny that fact that it is, and that faint buzzing becomes considerably louder and the pace at which it approaches increases; without a doubt they're going to burst right through the front! "(There it is!)" the Queen bellows as she gestures toward the building, surrounded by what could easily be identified as a swarm of absolutely huge bees, each roughly a foot in length- though a little more than half of them sport faces similar to that of their leader which, really, may be considered even more horrifying.(ly cute).
%Brace yourselves, friends. Spring is coming.
Zach, perhaps due to his vantage point atop the opera house or perhaps due to his using his psychic abilities as a sort of sensor array, was among the first to notice the incoming swarm. The psion took a deep breath, and reached for his walkie talkie.
"We've got incoming. A lot of it," he says quickly. "Lock and load, people, but watch your targets. Make sure they aren't human before you shoot them." For all the good that advice will do, Zach thinks. The people who have up base here have shown determination and sheer grit in standing against the darkstalkers of Majigen, but they were still very frightened amatures. Zach straps the claymore onto his back and calls in again. "I'm moving to engage," he reports before making his down the face of the building, using the archetecture to supply landing and jumping points.
The psion strides out to make his stand, to protect these people and get as many of them home as he can. Even if he has to do it alone.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn has started a fight here.
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Zach Glenn 0/-------/-------|
Dyre, for all appearances, just seems to be sitting on the steps of the opera house, completely unbothered by all that's going on around him. He's very clear on where he will and will not work, quoting his contract word for word if he thinks someone is trying to push him into something he wasn't hired to do. However, when it comes to fulfilling the contract, he's a consumate professional. And perhaps his presence is even enough to reassure many around him. Likely, except for Zach, though the fellow psychic may not be ablle to clearly make out the conversation, there's a constant banter of back and forth inside of Dyre's thoughts.
He almost appears to be dozing off, at least until the warning goes out over the radios. One eye opens slightly, looking about a moment before he pulls himself yo his feet with a yawn. He pulls out his own radio, responding with a clipped. "On my way."
He walks off ahead, moving to fall in line with Zach, bleary eyes staring at the man in silence for a protracted moment before looking towards the oncoming enemy. "Bugs. Always bugs." His hands slide into the gauntlets on his belt, fitting them to his arms with a practiced ease.
COMBATSYS: Dyre has joined the fight here.
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Zach Glenn 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Dyre
Psions.. Mercenaries.. These are things that, for the most part, are lost upon the soul bees. All that they see before them are the next meal- But even with that said, the body of Zach stand out not because he's armed (a concept that they are quite familiar with), but something upon him is, "(.. Bright.. So very bright! What a strange color!)" the Queen fawns as she sets her sights upon Zach- And what's this? He's joined by yet another incredible looking specimen!
"(Halt!)" her words come out as a deep humm and buzz, and almost instantly the swarm stops just short of the duo. The Queen raises her hand as if making a gesture of peace, a delighted, almost friendly-smile upon her humanoid face as she then proclaims, "(Surrender, and we shall let the ones inside live!)"
Of course, the duo would have no idea what she's saying. Following several slow blinks, she raises a pointer finger to her lower lip, followed by a thoughtful buzz. A lightbulb goes off shortly after and her voice, this time, comes out as if someone were talking through a fan on high-power, "Give us your bodies.. And others live!"
Zach may sense that Q-Bee is making a genuine offer. But, somehow, there's no way it would be that simple, right?
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
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Dyre 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Zach had... not exactly felt comfortable with Dyre when the mercenary had shown up. There was something... /odd/ about the man. Like there were somehow two people occupying the exact same space, and you never knew which one of them you were actually /talking/ with. He is staring down the swarm, the only word that really fits, when the creepiest thing happens.
The apparent leader, perhaps the Queen, /speaks/. In /English/. Zach suppresses a shudder, but only just barely. The wave of hunger coming off of the swarm is almost palpable. He turns to regard Dyre.
"She means it," the Marine says to the mercenary. "At least until she gets hungry again." Zach undoes the strap holding his M1911 Colt in its holster, his right hand relaxing around the grip in a comfortable, familiar way.
Dyre pulls a cigarette from his vest pocket, then somehow manipulates a lighter with those metal gloves of his on, enough to get the thing lit. He'd been rationing those crefully ever since he got into this backwards hell, he doubted if he could get more once he ran out. The queen bee speaking barely causes a flicker of an eyelid from him. After all, after a guy with a lightning demon in him and dragonflies the size of cars, this was hardly all that bizarre. Though he sneers slightly at the offer, lighter slipped once more back into his pocket.
Anger wells up inside of Dyre. It's not from Dyre, it's that other one, but the anger is there all the same. It's always there in fact, at the moment it's stronger however. "That would be in violation of my contract." Grey eyes flicker over to Zach as he says that. Zach may not hold his contract, but being the right hand of the man who did seemed to pull some sway with the mercenary.
Psychic energy quickly gathers in his hand, strong enough to emit a silver glow. There's no more need for pre fight banter as far as he's concerned, he was hired for a job and its time to do it. He pulls back his arm and punches.. the ground. The psychic energy releases from his fist, coursing through the ground towards the queen. Then like a landmine, it explodes right underneath her, sending a flare of silver light bursting into the air.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee blocks Dyre's VII Chariot.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Q-Bee's attention, for a moment, drifts toward the odd device that Dyre has. And once it produces fire, the once pleased expression quickly shifts to a somewhat flat expression. It's because of that bit of caution that Dyre's explosive force attack is ease back in time while taking a defensive posture, and pure instinct against the energy. The Queen puffs out her cheek, ".. Mmnngh.." then raises her left arm to gesture toward the bulky man followed by a shrill, ".. HARVEST!"
He's a big guy- no doubt he'll have to be softened up before they can reap the reward. The swarm reacts collectively- In perfect synch, they swirl around in a massive '8', first around their queen then..
Ideally, swirl around Dyre. At some point the back of his vest would be latched upon, which would send him spinning around in the whirlwind then eventually launched at high speed toward an abandoned vehicle.
Zach gives Dyre a raised eyebrow. The man deferred to Zach for whatever reason, thinking the Marine represented whoever hired him. For his part, Zach never corrected that misconception. He simply made use of it. Zach watches Dyre step in to action for a moment, before drawing the pistol from its holster.
Taking smooth, confident strides, the psion snaps off nine shots at what appears to be the Queen. A .45 caliber pistol will do terrible things to the average person. Zach's certain it'll annoy Q-Bee while he lets down certain mental walls. He needs to clear that swarm out.
After the ninth shot, the slide of the pistol locks back. Zach thumbs the slide closed and holsters the pistol before pulling the claymore free from its sheath.
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm successfully hit Dyre with Medium Throw.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Well, there went that plan. Dyre goes quickly hurtling through the air and right over towards the parked car. So much for looking professional. He hits the car like a ton bricks and slips to the ground.
There's an annoyed grumbling from him as he gets back to his feet. At least he managed to keep that cig in his mouth. He shakes his head to clear it, eyes locking in on the bee. Now he's not only angry, he's annoyed. And yes, to Dyre there is a difference.
It takes only another moment to collect himself before he launches himself once more at the queen. His fist flaring once more with psychic energy. He grinds his foot into the ground, spinning on his heel as he comes at the queen with a backhanded smack from his gauntlet.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee dodges Dyre's IV Empress.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee parries Zach Glenn's Large Thrown Object!
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
The Queen is unhappy. There could have been some amusement derived from the 'flying' mans sailing away, but that has no chance of happening when Zach takes a shot at her as well. Her attenae twitch as she catches the sound of the trigger clicking, then before his eyes she grows.. Fuzzy? There seems to be five or six Queen bees at the moment of firing. Obviously she's no magician, she's just moving -that- quickly, making each shot hit the something else. Unfortunately it would seem that Dyre gets tangled in the same trap, she isn't even watching him at that point, but the 'true' Queen doe notice when the backhand strike swipes at the air just to the left of her face the exact moment she comes to a halt.
"... MMmgnh!!" How come they didn't accept her offer? It was a very reasonable one! The only thing she can take from this is that she is not as great a negotiator as Jedah. And that, frankly, annoys the Queen even further. And so Dyre ends up becoming the target of her frustration as she thrusts her hips back at him (it isn't a provocative motion, honest. Or.. Well, it might be.). The catch, of course, is that he would be on the receiving end of her massive stinger, quick movements again allowing her to jab at him seven or eight times.
The swarm, however, continues to act under the Queen's demand, and rather than shift target, they strike him yet again from behind and similarly strike with their much smaller stingers.
Zach's frown deepens as Q-Bee and the swarm focus in on Dyre. Hired hand or not, crazy or not, the mercenary needed help. Zach takes in a deep breath, summoning his will with the breath. Golden fire licks along the length of the claymore, washing across the width of it leaving Gaelic script in its wake. He holds the breath for a moment as he brings the blade horizontally around his right shoulder, and grips the hilt in both hands.
"HAH!" Zach yells sharply as he swings the sword around, unleashing a wide crescent of energy that seeks to tear into whatever Soul Bees he can catch without aiming the attack at Dyre!
COMBATSYS: Dyre blocks Soul Bee Swarm's Breaking Out In Hives.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Dyre blocks Q-Bee's S x p EX.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
There's something to be said for curling into a ball, arms over your head. Because certainly its enough to keep the worst of the stingers away from his tender flesh. Good thing he doesn't have a bee allergy, that he knows of. When the chance presents itself he jumps back out of the fray, landing in a crouch with his hand on the ground. A stream of words issues from his mouth in his native norsk, and from the tone it sounds like a long tirade of cursewords.
He takes a moment to breathe, looking at the queen and her swarm. Letting his mind work for once as he tries to make sense of the blur of black and yellow in front of him.
COMBATSYS: Dyre focuses on his next action.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm fails to interrupt Blast Punch from Zach Glenn with Buzz Off.
- Power fail! -
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Q-Bee 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Zach Glenn
While the swarm does have their orders, it's almost all of a sudden that Zach storms in to interrupt their pattern- And so, for the moment, they will have to divert and get the human nuisance out of the way there's just one problem.. Is that..
Is that -fire-? It's not fire that the swarm has seen before and it causes a brief moment of panic, misunderstanding how it actually worked in a previous... Situation. And so several of them lash out toward the young man but to no avail- those several are absolutely slammed and sent scattering; some drop to the ground as twitching corpses, others bumble about until they can recollect.
This certainly catches the Queen by surprise too, "Ouch!" but while the swarm is herded away from Dyre, she doesn't move and instead nibbles her lower lip in a brief moment of uncertainty; it's such a cute expression, who would want to strike that?
At least it's cute until Q-Bee practically springs upon the smoking merc, hands upon his shoulder, feet upon his chest and humanoid eyes locked upon his- And should she get hold of him she draws down her abdomen to again strike him a couple of times with her extended stinger. His vest may take out some of the punch, but the stings are followed up by being hoisted up into the air, flipped around, then slammed straight to the concrete with the bee woman seated right upon his chest. Not to mention her gaze doesn't break for even a moment. "..."
Zach walks toward the swarm, soulfire wisping along the blade of the sword in his grip as he starts to pick up the pace. The Queen still seems intent upon Dyre; Zach's not about to step into that just yet. The merc is on his own for the moment. Zach takes a single leap, making a slow spin on the approach.
The Marine lets out a loud yell as he brings the blade around in a wide, sweeping arc aimed at slicing through as many bees as he can manage, golden soul power slashing in the wake of the sword's path!
COMBATSYS: Dyre interrupts C to R from Q-Bee with III Emperor.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Dyre waits patiently were he crouches for the queen to come for him. He figures like a normal bee, this one isn't going to give up the chase that easily, nor is he expecting reinforcement from his 'partner' for the moment. He grins at the bee, lips spread wide as he keeps the cig trapped between his teeth.
He doesn't even flinch as the queen grips his shoulders. In fact, he seems to be waiting for it. He lunges forward as soon as she does, the stinger grazes him as he slips in past her guard, silver glowing gauntlet aiming for the midsection of the bee-woman.
As it impacts, the silver energy suddenly flares bright red, and his mind does a somersault, the dominant mind receeding allowing his much angrier much more short tempered alternate to take charge, his eyes turning red as his grin turns even more feral.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hit Soul Bee Swarm with Dragon's Tail.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Zach Glenn
The Queen likely does move as predictably as Dyre figured, but it could very well be the fault of Zach- He was supposed to be her target after all; but rather than be concerned about that, perhaps she should be more worried about the glowing gauntlet belting her in the midsection. Who would have predicted that! An alarmed buzz passes her lips following the strike and sends her tumbling backward along the ground. However she ends upright rather quickly and hovers over the sidewalk once more with her gaze locked up Dyre, but then her hands raise to her cheek. Wh- Wait a moment he.. Was he -always- that good-looking? Those red eyes! The queen gasps, although, perhaps distrubingly, it is very quickly followed by a heavy rumble from her stomach.
The fascinated Queen darts up into the air then toward her foe. However she stops just short of striking; instead her hands twist and contort, taking the shape of a large chunk of a beehive which she fires several soul bees from to attack him!
As for her swarm, they aren't so lucky with their scuffle against Zach's massive weapon. Try as they might to pull themselves together, the energy-laden slash throws them into futher disarray, scattering them about again, along with few more collapsing to the ground flat on their back. However even in their confusion they manage to bumble (lol) out a counter-attack, with the meddlesome flyers bunching up and striking the Marine both sides high from the right and low from the left, intent on ramming him to knock him off-balance.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Soul Bee Swarm with Soaring Dragon EX.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Zach misjudged the landing, wobbling slightly from the weight of the weapon. That earns the sword a glance from the Marine; it's the first time the weapon has given him an issue since entering this place. Regardless, it's a distraction, and it costs him.
Soul Bees pummel the Marine, driving him to one knee. Zach plants one hand on the ground to try and steady himself under the assault. It may take him a moment.
COMBATSYS: Dyre blocks Q-Bee's Thrown Weapon.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Dyre shifts his hands, curling his fingers, exposing the claws tipping the metal fingers, using his open palms to block the blast of bees his way. "Ah.. haven't had a chance to stretch for a bit." His voice is even different, deep and gravely.
More psychic energy ripples along those claw tips of his, crimson red. He grimaces slightly as he pushes the energy down into the ground once more. Blood drips down his arm from wounds that weren't there a moment ago. Though that's likely a minor concern. As the bee is likely more concerned by the claws of red energy bursting from the ground around her.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee dodges Dyre's XIII Death.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Soul Bee Swarm falls asleep.
Soul Bee Swarm wakes up.
The swarm gets the moment they need to pull themselves back together- but the numbers of downed bees does count for something, but the morale is still high and the momeny Zach stops annoying them, they proceed to turn their attention toward Dyre. The Queen is well aware of this, and truth be told nor is she very concerned about the red-embued claw coming toward her. The red energy is close to surrounding her, as if she weren't paying attention at all, she zips in the blink of an eye into the air, then to his side. "Everything.. Queen want everything inside body~.." and she attempts to drive her pointed knee into his solar plexus. Assuming she pulls that off, she would then hook an arm around his neck and try to choke him while climbing onto his back. Hopefully he doesn't leave his mouth open too long, because she intends to reach inside of it.
As for the swarm; the sound is recognized as a command and Zach is not left on his own after all. They swoop to swirls about the marine to ideally become a distracting nuisance as the several others cling to his back and shoulders. With enough wingforce they would be able to hoist him off the ground, then quickly fling him backward to the closest available obstacle. The telephone pole will do.
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm successfully hit Zach Glenn with Quick Throw.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Zach is promptly flung; the bees are too many, too fast, for the Marine to do anything to avoid them. He slams into the telephone pole with force to splinter both wood and bone, with Zach tumbling to the ground with a heavy impact. The Marine still holds his sword with a firm grip as he wobbles to his feet.
Zach takes a long moment to catch his breath and sheath the sword, before wading one more into the swarm of soul bees. He reaches for some to throw into others, snapping punches and kicks into others. Each strike, every grab is augmented with that same golden soul fire as Zach seeks to tear into the swarm. Q-Bee may notice a certain dampening of Zach's spirit. It's still there, still burning, but not as brightly, not as loudly as before.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee successfully hits Dyre with Armed Combo.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Dyre ends up grappled, growling furiously under his breath at the crazy bee lady that has him trapped. Then, he starts laughing, it's a mad, slightly unhinged laugh. "Never heard of a cornered animal?" The psychic energy around him suddenly begins to ramp up. Flaring sharply in the minds of those that can sense it. And then the damn breaks.
With a psychic wail echoed by his own throat the energy rips from him, painfully, flairing around him in a crimson sphere, raging like a small localized inferno, hopefully catching the bee grappling in him in the storm.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee blocks Dyre's XIX Sun.
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Q-Bee 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm fails to interrupt Charged Combo from Zach Glenn with None Of Your Beeswax.
- Power fail! -
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Q-Bee 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zach Glenn
The Queen responds to Dyre's laughter with a confused tilt of her head, but it ends up being rather contagious- so her expression lights up as she laughs along with him; laughter lacking any sort of melodic tune to it. In fact it's pretty indestinctive to her other buzzing save for the buckling of her shoulders. "No!" she answers in the middle of it, and then his energy is unleashed! Her antennae and hair are drawn back from the intense storm, and she's forced to release him when the touch gets too hot for her! Other than that, it takes a bit of focus, but she is able to withstand his raging energy but with an arm over her eyes she isn't really able to admire it. In fact the front of her entire body seems to be a bit singed as a result. ".. Oh.."
That said, while it may not be intentional, he's suddenly grabbed her attention fully. As much as she liked Dyre, the last thing she wants is Zach's spirit to die out (which she, ends up confusing for actual nurishment). "(What did you do!)" she cries to the swarm.
Of course it isn't until now that she notices that Zach is actually doing quite a number on her faithful and loyal swarm- There was an attempt at a fierce retaliation, but they rather clumsily end up losing co-ordination and slam themselves right into his swinging fists and feet. It would be rather humiliating if they were capable of feeling such a thing during a fight. Q-Bee ends up hovering in front of him, then circling him in a typical manner, hands raised to her cheek and blowing a raspberry at him in an attempt to fire him back up, of course also intending to goad him into creating an opening for her to lay additional taunting jabs by poking at his face with a pointed claw.
A pointed claw attached to an insect arm that, at some point, slipped out from a slit below her right arm. "Coward! Coward!"
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Q-Bee's Weapon Jab.
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Q-Bee 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Zach bats aside the bladed arm with ease, only a very slight trickle of blood to betray any damage done. Zach's soul still burns, but it is the fire of an internal combustion engine instead of a blazing inferno; channeled to a purpose but no less intense or powerful for that. Zach growls, low in his throat as snaps a swift punch at the Queen's face.
She's here, the bees are not as pressing at the moment.
As the mercenary hits the ground he once more lands in a crouch. Though it seems his mind has gone through a reversal again, his expression going more placid than the near mad cackling that issued from him a moment ago. He takes a moment to take a breath. Gathering his wits about him. Though once the Queen's eyes are off of him and back on Zach, he's off like a shot.
He dashes forward, heedless of the wounds he's already sustained, leaping at the bee woman with his arms spread wide. He's aiming for her back, attempting to bring her to the ground with the sudden impact of his full weight on her back.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hit Q-Bee with Medium Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Q-Bee 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee dodges Dyre's Violent Clinching.
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Q-Bee 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Zach Glenn
Well.. Um.. Ow. Jesus. The short story is that while Q-Bee got the reaction that was intended; it was at the expense of a very -very- painful blow to the face. An alien sound, it's somewhat like a buzz yeowls from her throat as she slaps her humanoid hands over her face and is sent reeling backward- coincidentally this also ends up knocking her into the large man -but-, rather than into his grasp it's against his shoulder so she ends up completely unintentionally right over his shoulder and lands upon her her feet. She staggers back a few steps, but once she gets her balance again she looks absolutely miserable, body slouched over and shoulders twitching as if she were about to shed tears.
Mind, they're very much crocodile tears, but even then the tear-ducts of this face don't really work so it's effect is a bit absurd.
What it does do, however, is rile up the last of her swarm- it's difficult to tell but their buzzing grows increasingly angered and they rockets upward into the sky.
The Queen's jaw drops- further than one might expect, and following several chocked sobs, a massive blob of sticky, glowing, and golden energy erupts from her mouth, and it doesn't stop, pooling over her hands then out in front ofher to eventually form into a bubble of amber. It's hoisted overhead, then lobbed it Zach's general direction. Should it make contact with him it would not only explode, but the 'honey' inside would stick his body to the ground.
And this is where the swarm comes in, as they rocket down from the sky then, almost comically, take the shape of a massive, open hand which would slam down upon him with enouch force to make the cement crack not once, not twice, but thrice.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee and Soul Bee Swarm successfully hit Zach Glenn with QJ Omega h plus 5.
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Q-Bee 1/-------/<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Zach Glenn
Zach's eyes go wide; he knows he doesn't want to get caught with that honey. The psion tries to leap clear, but only succeeds in getting glued to the pavement. The bee-fist comes down, and crushes Zach under the force of repeated strikes.
The bees disperse, leaving Zach lying in a crater, gasping for air, trying to close some of the cuts and scrapes through sheer force of will...
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn gains composure.
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Q-Bee 1/-------/<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Zach Glenn
Dyre misses his target, hitting the ground, gasping for breath. He's pushing his limits, but even in that he does one thing that is completely uncharacteristic of him. He looks over to Zach long enough to make sure he's still breathing. "Get up. We can still do this." His voice, too, is back to that deep soft one. The original. Or well, the one that was in control to begin with. It's less an order, he actually sounds.. concerned. Odd.
He works his way to his feet, gripping his arm to his side for a moment, grimacing through pain, though he starts to build up his psychic energy again. A sound starts in the back of his throat as he launches another unfocused blast of silver energy at the leader of the bees. His shout reaching a crescendo as it bursts forth.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee blocks Dyre's X Fortune.
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Q-Bee 1/-----<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Zach Glenn
The Queen needed to get that out of her system it'd seem; she wipes her sticky hands off using her tummy, then watches as the swarm wrecklessly slam themselves down upon Zach. It's success comes with a cost, as a once the 'hand' raises a final time, number of them remain on the ground, flat on their backs and curled up, or some stuck to Zack's body, with their wings twitching a bit before they expire. It's a mournful loss for the Queen; but that is simply the way things go.
Watching Zach struggle is entertaining to watch, though Dyre continues to be a nuisance and interrupts her viewing with a launching of silver energy but.. Um.. Wait a minute, how did he suddenly become so 'meh'? He was totally hot before, and she puffs her cheeks. "... Change back!" she demands as she thrusts her palms outward to push herself away from the energy and take a higher vantage point.
A series of buzzes command the last of her swarm, "(Make him change!)" perhaps fifteen or so of them now to deal with Dyre as she returns her focus on the suffering scion. The air around her seems to distort, and honey continues to ooze from her mouth. Both insectoid arms extend from her body as she swoops down to drive both her fists against his chest and yell, "No! You stay!!" She would then hoist him up by hooking her claws into his top while she rises to the air. Shortly after she repeatedly return the favor of slamming her fist repeatedly into his face with little sign of stopping.
Of course she will once she gets tired. He's actually extremely heavy with that sword of his so she has to drop him.
Meanwhile the swarm, their stingers taking a gentle glow and encouraged by their Queens newfound violence, return their attention to Dyre, circling and pelting at him with annoying headfirst dives and stings; there's no real rhyme or reason to it, but their intent is obviously to try to keep him away from Q-Bee.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee successfully hits Zach Glenn with I2.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Zach Glenn
Zach drags himself to his feet, coughing up globs of snot and honey. It's /disgusting/, and Zach is clearly unhappy. He's about to give Dyre some flippant response, but Q-Bee is suddenly on his chest again, pummeling him about the head and shoulders. Zach drops to the pavement with a grunt of expelled breath.
He is quicker to rise this time, however, and he pulls the claymore free of its sheath once more. As if a switch were flipped, Zach's presence is back, beating against the psychic senses of both Dyre and Q-Bee like the heat from a blast furnance. Glenn levels the point of his sword at Q-Bee as if to aim a shot. "Please buy me a moment," Zach says to the mercenary in a firm tone, but one that expects to be obeyed.
Zach reaches once more for that font of soul power within him, golden energy sliding over him like a cloak, throwing light on everything around him.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn gathers his will.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach Glenn
COMBATSYS: Dyre blocks Soul Bee Swarm's Power Strike.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Dyre
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Soul Bee Swarm 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach Glenn
"Ulf, you have a fan." Dyre barks out short laugh, even as he keeps his arms up to deflect the bees' attacks. In fact, it seems to only make him laugh with even more vigor every timke one smashes into him. "Too bad, you got me now instead."
He balls his hands into fists, the metal gauntlet creaking as he balls his weapon of choice for combat. He begins to lay about him in reckless abandon, driving punch after punch into the bees around him, still laughing under his breath as he attempts to beat the bees into a fine but crunchy paste.
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm interrupts XI Strength from Dyre with None Of Your Beeswax EX.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach Glenn
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Dyre 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Soul Bee Swarm can no longer fight.
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Q-Bee 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach Glenn
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Dyre 0/-------/---====|
Q-Bee can't help but smirk a little in response to Zach's words. In fact she's feeling a little smug since she feels she gained the tactical advantage by distracting Dyre. Sure, it was completely by accident, but she's going to take all of the credit regardless, "Hah! He not come," she manages to sputter between heavy breaths of her own. And that resurging presence? The Queen absolutely adores it; in fact it gets her mouth watering, even as her insect arms retract to her body and her finally hinges back to its normal proportion. In theory that golden energy should be deterring her as it's brightness is almost to much for her. On the other hand she is incredibly compelled to hover toward it. ".. So.. Yummy."
And so hover she does, reaching out toward him, and once she's close enough, attempts to not only grasp his shoulders, but drive her very long stinger straight into him. Unlike with Dyre, though, she would inject something inside him- A temporary paralyzing, delerium enducing vemon. It would stun him long enough for her to twist and slam him to the ground as she would proceed to claw and bite at his neck and face to eat up that honey.
Should the delerium take over, though, he wouldn't see Q-Bee biting him, but rather her bursting from his chest with his entrails in her mouth and wearing his face instead of her own.
As for Dyre. Jesus, what is there really to say? His gauntlets really end up beating the paste out of what's left of the swarm despite their interrupt his punches by trying to bash through the gauntlets with their stingers or swiping at his exposed skin with the edge of their stingers. The ones that don't end up collapsing lifelessly on their own are firmly crushed under those mighty blows.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn interrupts ES C to R EX from Q-Bee with Claw Spiker.
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Q-Bee 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>-\-------\0 Zach Glenn
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Dyre 0/-------/---====|
Zach blinks once as Q-Bee moves towards him. He didn't have enough time to get to where he wanted. He reacts quickly, sweeping the sword once in front of him, a swift swing. The arc of golden energy that slides off of the blade screams towards Q-Bee with almost explosive force.
The tip of Q-Bee's stinger jabs into Zach's stomach. The psion wobbles and drops to one knee. Zach keeps from falling over by driving the tip of the claymore into pavement. His eyes are wide as Zach attempts to force back the hallucinations. Something tells him that the fight might not be done, but he is having a hard time telling up from down right now.
The bees stab into him more as he unleashes his fury upon the buzzing swarm. He drops to his knees as the last of the bees fall. It's painfully obvious the only thing keeping him going is pure adrenaline. Though that can only go so far. He watches another exchange between Zack and the queen, grey eyes locked on the battle even as his back curves, hands going to the ground to keep him up.
He shifts one of his legs under him, planting his foot against the ground as he gets ready to move again if things still aren't over.
COMBATSYS: Dyre gains composure.
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Q-Bee 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>-\-------\0 Zach Glenn
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Dyre 0/-------/----===|
And the Queen bee is knocked for a complete loop! The unleashed golden energy indeed interruptss her indulging and snaps her out of her dazed state. Granted if the blow didn't do it, the flight backward ending with a slam against the opera building certainly does! She raises a hand to her face as she shakes her head and quickly determines that she's at the end of her rope. She was so close.. She was so very very close to bringing home a huge feast and she blew it! Tall Hero likely is going to be quite displeased with this arrangement.
Perhaps she shouldn't have spent so much time goofing around? And of course her stomach tells her that she might very well be able to bring at least one of those two back.. Wait.. No, not as she is now- the ones inside the house could take advantage of her weakened state! And so her only available option is to reteat for now and hope that she gets another shot at slightly easier prey. Her wings rapidly flutter, taking the Queen off the ground, then she takes off to the sky- likely to return to her home.
Perhaps she can learn from this.
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee takes no action.
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Zach Glenn 0/-------/-<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Dyre
COMBATSYS: Q-Bee can no longer fight.
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Zach Glenn 0/-------/-<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Dyre
Dyre tilts his head back as he watches the queen bee fly off, a smug expression coming over his face for a moment as his eyes flash red. The shift in his mind happening with such a quick flicker it's almost impossible to detect. Though when he looks back over at Zach, its with grey eyes once more. It takes most of his will to get himself back to his feet. He gropes for the radio at his side, only to find the thing uselessly crushed into a twisted bit of plastic and circuitry. Of course it didn't survive.
He tosses the useless hunk of technology aside and instead turns to the opera house, he barely has the strength to get himself there much less drag someone along with him. Though he seems to have enough lung power to let out a shout. It's a voice oddly accustomed to giving orders, even if he himself doesn't seem the type to usually work in groups. Then again, who can be sure of anyone's history. "Get the medics! And antivenom!" They likely don't even have it, but with the giant bugs and spiders running around the plqace, hopefully someone had the foresight to acquire some. He makes the slow plodding pace back to the base, still gripping his arm. Hopefully it was just overly bruised and not broken.
Zach, for his part, flops onto his back, clutching at his midsection. His eyes are closed, his face a rictus of pain. He forces his will back into himself in order to close himself back up and work the venom out of himself, but he isn't too sure of anything right now.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn has left the fight here.
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Dyre 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Dyre has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:47:00 04/25/2015 by Zach Glenn, and last modified on 13:37:19 04/26/2015.