Prelude to Infiltration, the path to Robotropolis.

[Whip the Rabbit]

(08-12-2012 02:10 AM)Gail Strafer Wrote:  
"So...ya'll are Alpha's friend, huh? It's nice to meet ya! How did you two get on the island anyway? Me an' Chadin and some others decided to come over on a boat when we saw ol Robo's ships heading this way."

He thought he was just showing good old-fashioned Southern hospitality. But it would be in stark contrast to the sharp teeth he displayed every time he spoke.

Whip's spine froze, he bore his teeth, and his general expression was very taut. Every vowel that left the carnivore's mouth seemed to pulse into his over-exaggerated fear. Not that his words, or even his manner of speaking were threatening at all, but just the thick points that he called teeth, the way they seemed so specifically sharpened to ravish furry little creatures, Whip couldn't help but attempt to choke out some form of response before,....

(08-15-2012 02:11 PM)Espio Wrote:  
"Now...while we await our arrival at Robotropolis...why don't we fill each other in on one another's fighting styles? Should something go arwy..and I'm sure it will.", he said giving the others a once over, "I wouldn't mind knowing who tends to be where on the battlefield."

"I'M A NINJA!" Whip blurted out, jumping, perhaps a bit too anxiously, at the first excuse to change subjects. He immediately cleared his throat and shied down, slightly swerving his ears
to cover his face. Not that he was embarrassed,....
Well, maybe just a bit, but mostly, his transparent attempt at ignoring Espio had included not responding to anything he had said. Still, his regret was rather downplayed, considering his imagination was still playing the thought of being a nice serving over in his mind.

[Jijeka-Te]

Ji listened to the others, and shook her head at Whip's mix of cowardice and misplaced enthusiasm. Here was a specimen that could easily get into trouble... just like that fox from earlier. Still, she did her best to respond to Espio's question.

"You could say that I place a high emphasis on agility, dodging attacks rather than blocking or overpowering them. I can glide by using my neck frills to catch the wind, and I use my crook and flail to strike when I've got an opening. For the most part I stay in the air whenever I can."

Anu said nothing.

[Gail Strafer]

Gail frowned, as Whip didn't seem to respond well to Whip's greeting. He still didn't realize it was his mere presence causing the rabbit's fright.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

Doing exactly the wrong thing, Gail leaned forward to poke Whip to get his attention, since the rabbit wasn't looking at him. Fortunately, before he could reach the rabbit, Chadin chimed in on his powers. The wolf had been intrigued as to how the deer learned how to fire off electrical current, so this immediately turned his attention away from Whip.

Quote:"Of course, I'm sure you've all probably noticed by now the other little talent I have. Ever since the dimensional merge I've been able to channel electricity through by body, which normally appears as a glow on the scars across by body. Usually I can only activate it when I either get really upset, like you saw earlier, or when I focus real hard. Plus, there's one other trick I'm aware of. At times when I really concentrate, my crossbow can fire without making a sound. I had thought it was just my imagination, but it's happened a few times now. It might be another one of these strange new powers I got after the merge."

Gail frowned at Chadin's explanation. That sure wasn't helpful. He'd been hoping the deer would say he'd gotten it in some way that Gail could get the same powers too. But nothing like that had happened to him during the dimensional merge. He let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Now that there just ain't fair! How come I didn't get powers in the merge? Why didn't I start shooting laser beams out of my eyes or start flyin' or something?"

It was then that he realized all the others had gone now, so it was his turn to talk about his fighting skills. Grinning, he couldn't wait to tell all the others. He smacked his fists together and stood up for everyone to see him as he flexed his muscles.

"Me? I am a 100% certified underground street fightin' machine! It's what put bread on my table when I was still livin' in my old city! I beat everyone in town cuz I was a straight up nightmare in the ring! I can beat the crap outta anyone, weapons or bare fists! I betcha I could rip a SWATbot's head off in five seconds if I had the chance! You can hit me with a truck and I'll be just fine in a few seconds! Believe me...I know from...personal experience..."

Gail's excited chattering suddenly went to low pitched mumbling on the last two words. Obviously it was an embarrassing incident to him so he briefly quieted down.

To change the subject, he pulled out his Whipcrack revolver. For a regular person, such a handgun would appear comically large in his/her hands. But since Gail was so big it actually accentuated his size instead.

"I got this if I run into bigger trouble! They use these babies as a backup weapon when hunting big game!"

[Espio]

[ I'm stuck in a cast with an ankle sprain. This translates to me generally posting on my phone for a bit. Expect minor issues like loss of color and double posting as I can only type out so much before I cannot see the text. Sorry for the inconvience.]

Espio listened intently as the others explained their general fighting styles, eyes closed and arms crossed as he plotted out where everyone generally preferred to be. It was a ragtag group...and yet fairly well rounded. Whip's sudden outburst did draw his attention away; causing his right eye to slowly open and glare in his general direction in a "Oh really?", kind of expression. He shrugged it off in the blink of an eye, assuming he was probably a greenhorn or one of many aspiring ninjas.

"So if I'm hearing this right...generally Alpha, your higness and her companion, and Gail are best taking the front lines. We have a trio of agile fighters, and a tank in Gail.", he said assessing the situation. "Myself, Ji and...Whip...", he contined on, "Would likely be fighting along the front and mid lines on a battlefield, confusing the enemy.

---

"Lastly, Chadin would be somewhere in the back, offering support to the others. It would be of use to keep in mind where he is and keep the enemy away from the rear lines of combat", he said with a confidant nod. "Can everyone agree with this formation, more or less?", he proposed to the others.

"And lastly...a few issues of interest. First...Alpha seems rather confident with that blaster that he possessed...it would be a good secondary objective to obtain a new robot weapon or blaster part for him to use on the go. Gail...did you bring that blaster arm you had with you in the launch base, by any chance? He might be a tad more powerful with a decent sidearm capable of destroying metalic enemies.", he said recalling the blaster fire from the previous battle. "Next...I would like to compare ninja tools with you, Whip to see what we have to work with.", he said pointing at the lapine. It was partly a test to see if he truely was a ninja by taking a look at what he carried on him He was a bit skeptical...to say the least....

[Chadin]

Quote:"Now that there just ain't fair! How come I didn't get powers in the merge? Why didn't I start shooting laser beams out of my eyes or start flyin' or something?"

I rolled my eyes at Gail's remark. I couldn't expect him to understand. I doubt he even understood the ramifications of what might happen if I allowed my powers to be too greatly influenced by anger. It was like walking on a tight rope. With an extremely angry wind constantly blowing while I'm trying to serenely walk across it. Heck even having these powers wasn't all that much fun either. Every time I've had a major episode with my powers, when my scars were glowing their brightest, I felt the electricity coursing through me as much as through the target. And by the leaves of the Great Forest it HURT!! Gail just didn't understand, nor did I expect I ever could make him.

Nevertheless, I listened to Gail and the others discuss their particular skills. Somehow I couldn't help remember Vanessa as Gail talked about street fighting and such. I still didn't fully understand everything, but even if Gail had fighting experience, it certainly wasn't anything like fighting Swat-bots. Okay, he handled himself pretty well on the beach, but still. He seemed way too reckless. I could only hope he didn't end up learning the lessons I've had to learn as a Freedom Fighter the hard way.

I nodded as Espio suggested I provide support fire. Truth be told that's exactly the sort of role I'm used to. But if they were being up front about themselves, I felt that I needed to be fully up front with them as well. I let out a heavy sigh, looking squarely at Espio. "Listen... Espio, right? Don't take this personally, but I don't trust any of you. Believe me, I have my reasons, but the simple truth is, I don't. I'm only going along with this because I have absolutely no intention of letting Robotnik keep his chubby little fingers on those chaos emerald shards and after what happened on the factory ship, I don't think I can do this alone. I'll do my part to make sure we get the emeralds back. But if I get the feeling any of you are going to double cross me, or steal the shards for yourselves... I'll put a laser right between your eyes!" I cast a VERY stern glare at each of them, leaving no doubt that I was making a solemn promise, not a threat. But even as I tried to maintain a calm, serious demeanor, my voice still carried a weary undertone and my ears folded back in such a way as to subtly convey my unrest. Not because I was tired per say. Tired of suffering through the emotional rollercoaster of betrayal. Of course, I doubt any of the others would pick up on that, or understand.

[Alpha Omega]

After Chadin was done promising to shoot anyone who cut and run on the group, Omega had a simple question, one probably best answered before anyone got shot because of it. "So then who, pray tell, should we trust to hold onto them until such time as we finish here? If I were the one to grab them, then I wanna know I'm not gonna be shot for trying to evacuate Robotnik's playing field with them, and I'm sure everyone else here feels the same."

[Whip the Rabbit]

(08-21-2012 12:03 PM)Espio Wrote:  "Next...I would like to compare ninja tools with you, Whip, to see what we have to work with."

A Challenge.
Whip could see it. The disbelief in the chameleon's eyes, of which he saw so often when he informed other people of his occupation.
...
Well, he never received payment for it.... nor did he have any more than a week's worth of "formal training", and the good majority of his well-established weaponry had been stored away in his home, which, for all he knew, hadn't ever existed to begin with.
But he had the knives! And he could walk along walls for a bit! That had to count for something!
He wanted nothing more than for the chance to flash his knives around. Earn the recognition that he deserved for bring a true and amazing "ninja". Still, almost immediately after the challenge of his idol was issued, Chadin addressed an issue of his own. An issue, Whip found, which didn't interest him in the slightest. It sounded aggressive, but ultimately, not aimed towards himself. Whip couldn't stand being anywhere near the emerald shards, so even if he were to stealthily snatch each shard right out from the apparently-turmoiled antelope's nose, he wouldn't make it far before leaving behind a trail of his previous meals.
Meals.
Now Whip's stomach grumbled, but before he could use his single-track mind to ask for a snack, Omega followed on the elk's "interruptions" and asked his own question. Whip decided to try and shirk responsibility and toss it onto somebody else.
"Well, it can't be me. Those shards make me really sick, so I can't hold onto them." He stated. "Besides, they stink like Echidna do..."

[Jijeka-Te]

If lizards could blush, Ji certainly would have done so a little as Espio referred to her by her royal title. Nobody besides Anu had done that recently. Gail's and Chadin's outbursts did a great job of getting her mind off that, though.

She didn't say anything. Neither did Anu.

[Gail Strafer]

[Say, when were we thinking of moving onto Robotropolis? Next round? I don't want to get bogged down here too long.]

Gail delivered an equally stern glare straight back at Chadin, at the end of his little speech. This was NOT what they needed going into a combat zone. They needed to stand as one to fight Robotnik, because Robotnik and his forces would be doing the same thing.

"You still got your stickers* in your britches** from when we stood up for Gerald? I just want to know more about what happened to him before I say he's a bad guy! We've only got your side of the story right now!"

Gail gestured to the rear of the craft, back towards where they started out from.

"And look, he's still back at the village with Sonic lookin' after him. There's no way he can screw things up from there! Why don't you wait until after we got the shards back before we figure out what to do with him? Robotnik's enough trouble already. We don't need more enemies, let alone amongst our own friends!"


[These American Southern English terms are a little more obscure than the others I've used with Gail, so I thought I'd explain them:

*stickers = spiky seeds from certain weeds
**britches = underwear]

[Espio]

[I wouldn't mind a jump after the following round. When it comes back to me, I'll jump?]

Espio eagerly awaited Whip's response to his challenge. Much to his dismay though... Chadin piped up again with yet another disgruntled comment. He let out a sigh as the deer took aim at team synergy...and Whip an out to his question. He was beginning to become a thorn in his side.

Given how Whip instantly changed the subject, he filed him away for now under "aspiring civilian". He did smirk a bit from the lapine's joke at the end.

To clear the air from Chadin's remark, Espio cleared his throat. "We should only worry about who carries the shards should we get in, and out without alerting the horde. And I'm giving a.... 6% probability of that scenario playing out. "

---

"In all honesty given the size of the group, we will likely be fighting our way out, and if we don't watch each others backs...we all won't be making it back out of Robotropolis.", he bluntly stated. The last thing he needed on this mission was for everyone to be paranoid about one another, fighting for themselves. "If you don't want to wind up taking a trip to the robotisizer, Chadin...I suggest you calm your spirit, and leave your issues behind in this swatpod before your paranoid nature gets you into a corner by your lonesome with a swatbot patrol moving in for capture. Don't be a loner.", he said as the control panel beeped twice.

He glanced at the controls, turning back to look at the others. "Two minute warning till we reach Robotropolan airspace. Get ready...", he said as he took the controls, taking on a (more) serious expression.