Swatpod Refueling Hangar- 7S

[Jijeka-Te]

Ji finally gathered the courage to stand up and face the creature; however, with all the shots flying around she couldn't do much except stay put. She did so, her royal flail ready to strike should that thing get close, while Anu stayed down.

[Gail Strafer]

Gail watched with disbelief as the holes he and Chadin put in the beast simply closed back up again. And to think he thought he'd be well-armed after looting those SWATbots. Maybe it was time to bring out the heavy artillery. Of course, since the wolf had no experience with rocket launchers beyond video games, he did not consider the fact that this was a relatively small, enclosed room. The backblast and ensuing explosion would probably kill him and the others. Nonetheless, he put the rifle down, and reached for the rocket launcher held to his back by the shoulder strap.

Meanwhile, the snake creature again retreated to the ceiling to acquire its next target. The beast apparently decided this time it was going to go for the easiest target: Ji and Anu. They had decided to simply sit still in the corner without attacking, so the creature figured they ought to be easy prey. Again, it thrust its spike-shaped head downwards like a giant arrow, aiming to skewer the pair.

[Chadin]

As the creature leapt back up onto the ceiling, I watched it carefully, readying myself to dodge out of the way in case it should decide to attack. All the while I kept trying to charge my power so that I could try and attack it. That's when I spotted Gail readying the rocket launcher. "GAIL NO!!!" And with that, my focus was gone, and so too went the charge I'd already built up.

[Jijeka-Te]

The creature had been half right. Ji and Anu were indeed stationary targets. However, they weren't necessarily unprepared ones.

As soon as she detected that the thing was headed her way, Ji jinxed sideways, swinging her flail in an attempt to clock it on the side of the head. Anu ducked behind her.

(Offense beats defense, defense beats agility, agility beats offense. Offense beats defense, defense beats agility, agility beats offense. Most of my characters on SA have been agility-heavy; I need one that specializes in defense.)

[Gail Strafer]

The shadow creature ran right into Ji's flail. But similar to the laser fire, it simply cut a gash in the creature's form, which sealed up as the flail passed. It was a bit like holding a stick vertically in a moving stream of water.

However, this time the attack had another effect. The flail happened to graze one of the shard-like crystals in the creature's "brain" area. Immediately on contact, the snake snarled in pain. Its long body, normally moving very sleekly through the air, began spasming and whipping around as the creature beat a hasty retreat back up to the ceiling. It hung there for a bit, hissing at the group below.

---

Gail looked over at Chadin, surprised that the deer would try to stop him. Of course, Gail would do that, since the wolf did not understand what he was doing.

"Why not?! This'll blow it to kingdom come!"

And with that, he hefted the launcher and pointed it at the snake on the ceiling. Albeit he would need a little time to find the trigger and the sights since it was his first time using it.

[Chadin]

Great, the creature's not bad enough, now I have to stop Gail from killing us too!! "And us along with it!!" I shouted, leaping at Gail in a desperate attempt to keep him from killing us all. Unfortunately, with my attention on Gail, I missed what happened with Jii and the creature. It's up to her now.

[Jijeka-Te]

...!

As soon as Ji realized what she'd done, her confidence skyrocketed. Readying her flail again, she hopped into the air, using Anu as a step (much to his surprise and mild annoyance), and took another swing, aiming for the densest area of crystal matter she saw.

[Gail Strafer]

"OOF!"

Both Gail and Chadin tumbled to the floor. In the confusion though, Gail managed to pull the trigger by accident.

Fortunately for the whole group, all the weapon did was register a dull click. As the pair collapsed in a heap on the ground, the rocket popped off the end of the launcher and bounced across the floor. Gail hadn't even loaded the rocket right, so it wouldn't have fired anyway.

That's not to say it didn't scare him witless seeing that rocket hit the floor.

"Aaah!"

The wolf immediately scooted away backwards, terrified out of his wits that the rocket was going to blow at any second. Fortunately for him, it just sat there idle.

---

Meanwhile, the creature saw Jii incoming as it hung from the ceiling. It figured she was going to try for another blow to its crystals, since that's what she'd done before. Of course, the creature was very protective of its weak point, so right as she was about to connect, the snake juked its head out of the way in the nick of time, sliding over to another part of the ceiling.

It was definitely more cautious, now that Jii knew its weakness. However, while the creature could anticipate one combatant's movements, it might not fare so well against three all targeting its weak point.

[Chadin]

I too attempted to shield myself from the inevitable blast. Particularly my ears for all the good it would do, but the memory of what happened during my last attempt to infiltrate Robotnik's base with Giichi was still very vivid in my mind. After a moment or two, I blinked beneath my the protective shield of my arms. I dared to peek out from under them, only to see the rocket lying inertly beside us. "Did you even load that thing properly?" I asked, suddenly realizing how dismally anticlimactic my efforts had been.

[Jijeka-Te]

Ji wasn't about to be outdone that easily, and jumped off the wall before going for another attack. She remained oblivious to the hoopla regarding the rocket launcher, and since Anu was watching her and the creature, so did he.