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Mr. Miracle
Though along the cold, metallic ground his white, claw-tipped paws scrabbled, Miracle luckily didn't have to go searching for his allies for too long. After all those breadcrumbs they'd left behind.. or rather the trail of destruction for what it truly was.. stumbling upon his team wasn't taking him long at all. As ratty (literally) as he was right now, Terry decided to weave between the legs of Frosty the Snowman and Human Torch alongside the remaining officers they had been in clash with. Though, the odd-looking rodent did not scurry past the two without leaving his own little present behind - a particularly powerful leap into the air that had him firing a shockwave of prismatic energy through his ringed tail like a laser cannon in order to help push the enemies towards Ice and Blaze.
His keen nose already twitching plenty, Terry found it rather easy to keep track of the policewoman, though noticing her behaviour he did feel glad she was taking the time out of her obviously busy schedule of trying to not get shot to go look for him. She and the other two probably had caught wind of his little clash with that murderbot, thus explaining the impromptu hide-and-seek session. Though not being one to keep the lady waiting, Miracle's body had lit up once more before forming back to his human self as he smoothy slid over the floor and leaned against the wall next to the doorframe to the Laboratory, tipping his hat to Akira before taking note of his disheveled, somewhat dusty suit.
"You called?" Though chipper and quick to re-enter his Miracle Persona, it was quite evident that mentally speaking, Hagen was still busy going through the remaining pangs of blunt force he'd suffered earlier. His alter-ego's charm was cracked, but not gone entirely. It could never, really. "We need to talk once you're all done wrapping up here because, boy, do I have some real bad news for you all.."
Amaterasu
Amaterasu managed to setup a rudimentary barrier, though it clearly was not gonna last. Frisk's magic barrier already showed signs of heavy damage, only barely standing after Frisk reinforced it. The rest of barricade would likely fall much faster.
Amaterasu dutifully trotted behind her barrier at Frisk's request. She lowered into a proper battle stance, staring down the entrance solemnly. Her Thunder Edge charged energy, poised to strike the second the perimeter was breached.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE, CAZZO!" Ghiaccio yelled at V2, while attempting to freeze the war machine. However, that wasn't V2's plan at all. Stopping in place (coincidentally, the rage-aura around them dissipated at this exact moment), V2 kept firing with the Nailgun for a fraction of a second, before...
Well, before saying a snappy one-liner. It was drowned out in the intense noise of dozens, potentially hundreds of superheated nails firing at Ghiaccio at once. The superheated nails slammed into Ghiaccio's ice shield at comically rapid speeds, hoping to melt it. Towards the end of the barrage, V2 tilted the gun downward into their leg, firing just a few nails into it to heat it up and melt the ice that had formed there.
It was at this point that V2 noticed the Sentry Unit flying towards them like an artillery shell. V2 chose interception, swapping to one of their most dangerous weapons- the Malicious Railcannon- and firing it directly at the gigantic machine. The explosive energy slammed into the robot, aiming to knock it off it's course with kinetic energy, although the V model did also engage in evasive maneuvers.
V2 evaluated the situation for a moment. They were outnumbered, potentially outgunned, and had failed at distracting all of the enemy forces for their allies. The best way to salvage this was to kill that high value target, Ghiaccio. If they didn't, this operation could be an utter disaster, depending on how the Data Center crew was holding up.
With the Hunter disarmed and now freezing over, Blaze took his chance to deal with the Fusion Adept. His wild swing struck the man right in the face, cracking the visor as he was blown backward from the force, falling prone with a shout. He didn't seem to resist any further, remaining on the floor for a few moments – before his body shifted into a ball of energy like before, shimmering weakly as it drifted upward, vanishing through a crack on the ceiling.
He did not return.
Up ahead at the stairwell, Akira and Miracle had now reunited, the latter appearing a bit worse for wear. The officer's peek through the crack revealed a short hallway that rounded a corner to the right. Occupying it were a series of Sumeragi robots: two Chainsaw Sentry Units, two Flying Drones, an Interceptor, and a Bomber. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be a hole on the ceiling near the door, possibly explaining how the larger units in particular had made it this far.
The back wall held another screen flashing the same 'Connection with Sophia Force Lost' message as before, and there was a sleek-looking camera positioned where the wall and ceiling met above the screen. It was unclear whether it was functional at all.
Fortunately for Akira, the robots didn't immediately notice her inspection. However, instead of progressing deeper into the station like previously encountered units, they appeared to be standing guard. Catching them by surprise could prove a little more difficult than the group's previous encounters.
Data Center (auto perms granted by Comic)
Upon holding Moniqa's ID a bit closer to the central screen, a slight jingle came from the computer, and the login process completed.
ID Recognized – Moniqa Albrecht, "Sheeps 3"
Operation Management Officer – Q.U.I.L.L. of Japan
The previous text faded, leaving just Q.U.I.L.L.'s logo in the background and giving way to new pieces of UI. A loading bar popped up on the bottom of the screen, gradually filling up, and a few alerts appeared on the top right.
ERROR – Could not establish connection to global network
Accessing local Q.U.I.L.L. database...
Access Complete – Q.U.I.L.L. of Japan
With the loading bar completely filling up, Frisk was then met with a simplistic home screen. At its center was a search bar, allowing for a keyword-based search of the database. Along the top of the screen, meanwhile, were a series of marked files that didn't seem to fall under a shared category. Left to right, they read 'Lifewave Research', 'The Muse', 'Project Gunvolt', 'Mission Reports', and 'Journal'.
Seeing the readily-accessible data before her, Frisk got right to opening the files that caught her eye, pulling out her phone to take pictures of as much as she could. First off, she opened the Mission Reports segment, which pulled up a few files to begin with, among the more recently accessed ones.
March 13, 2054
Mission: Bring Back the Muse
Outcome: FAILURE
Summary:
GV conducted head-on assault on Onogoro Float, creating a diversion for Sheeps Leader and Sheeps 2 to seize control of orbital elevator Babel.
Control of Babel taken. GV entered the elevator, assisted by Sheeps Leader.
Loss of contact due to elevator leaving signal range on the way to orbital space station Firmament.
Elevator returned to base 2 hours after departure to Firmament, containing only injured Sheeps Leader.
Sheeps Leader's personal report confirmed GV was KIA, and rescue target Joule fatally wounded by collateral damage. Head of Sumeragi Defense Unit, Nova Tsukuyomi, was also killed in the encounter.
Sheeps Leader also reported battling against the previously encountered third party known as Copen.
Without The Muse, Sumeragi has lost a major asset. However, the loss of GV is also a major blow to Q.U.I.L.L. Next steps to be established.
February 2, 2054
Mission: Kaleidoscape
Outcome: SUCCESS
Summary:
Following injury of Sheeps 2 in battle against Sumeragi Adept Zonda, GV engaged in pursuit of target in the Sinner's Row area of the city.
GV obtained visual of Zonda. However, contact with the enemy was soon lost due to Septimal interference.
Update to target's file: 'Mirror' Septima conjures illusions of intricate quality to confuse foes.
Communication with GV lost for about 10 minutes, later confirmed to be signal jamming.
Zonda was eliminated by third party, later identified as Copen – who absorbed Zonda's Glaive and septimosome into his gear. Claims to work alone to exterminate Adepts.
Combat report by GV confirms Copen utilized replicas of Septimas used by previously encountered Adepts. 'Greed Snatcher' bullets noted as especially dangerous, as they neutralized GV's own Septima for a short period upon contact.
Enemy eventually retreated. Data will continue to be collected to prevent unwanted intrusion in future missions.
Having saved enough for now, Frisk moved on to the 'Lifewave Research' file. The forces outside continued to break down the barrier, firing incessantly with plasma, lasers, and missiles alike.
The following information was pilfered from Sumeragi's servers.
The Lifewave is a natural power connected to all living organisms, first documented by Sumeragi's first spiritualists in the Heian Period. Extensive research since then has revealed several distinct categories, known as 'stages', that a living being is attached to at birth; corresponding to greater physical, cognitive, and supernatural abilities.
1st to 3rd stage (Primordial): Average humans and animals.
4th stage (Tetrad): Generally consists of spiritualists and ESP users.
6th stage (Senary): Beings that have greatly influenced history, leaving behind all sorts of miracles. Also regarded as 'Saints' or 'Spiritual Beasts'.
7th stage (Septima): Beings with psychic power that defy the laws of nature and physics. Referred to as 'Adepts'.
The Septimal stage was first discovered in 2024, when a man in South America, regarded as "the First Adept', exhibited the ability to create and control electricity. This Septima was later dubbed 'Azure Striker'. In the years since, Adepts have steadily grown in number, enough to begin to overwhelm the governments of many countries, who have turned to persecuting Adepts due to their destructive capabilities.
The factors that determine whether one is born an Adept, the type of Septima manifested, or what exactly prompted the Septimal stage's appearance remain unknown.
Frisk's Determination barrier finally gave out from the pressure, shattering apart – and the moment it did, Amaterasu lunged forward, swinging her Thunder Edge. The glaive cut through the Patrol Bot that had positioned itself by the entrance, some electricity arcing out to zap the nearby Hunter and the two closest Homing Launchers. They all staggered back from the attack, though the Hunter recovered quite fast, a flash of bright light surging from his body, aiming to briefly blind Amaterasu. Regardless of its effectiveness, he would suddenly vanish and reappear behind the wolf with another flash of light, drawing an energy dagger to slash at her. At the same time, the more distant Grenadiers and Homing Launchers launched an explosive each, all heading for the goddess.
With Ammy delaying intervention for a bit longer, Frisk made to get through some of the 'Journal' files as well. The most recent file seemed to pop up first.
June 20th, 2055
Sumeragi's been cracking down harder and harder on their security and operations. I hate to say it, but it's not looking great for those of us here.
It feels like yesterday that Zeno and I slipped past the border to join forces with the members of Q.U.I.L.L.'s Japanese branch. Having seen how ugly things were getting for Adepts back home in Germany, I thought joining with an organization that fought for their rights all over their world was the right thing to do. To help make a better life for the oppressed, even if the media called me a terrorist for it. Despite being a lot younger than me, Zeno had that same idea years before I did, except Q.U.I.L.L.'s Italian branch was soon overrun by other groups.
Years later, though, I feel like we're at the end of our rope. Sure, we're some of the few remaining members of the group around the world, and for being the branch that's placed right next to the largest Adept-exploiting company on the planet, we've held out for a pretty long time. But since that day in Firmament, with both GV and Joule dead... It's never really been the same. Like we've been dug into a hole that we just can't get out of.
GV wasn't just our best combatant. He was part of a family. Asimov's been so cold and angry since his death – I know he saw him as a son. Seeing our usually composed and friendly leader like this is difficult. He keeps going out on missions the moment he has an objective established, saying things like 'I can't simply stay somewhere safe and use my brain'. With him putting himself on the line like this, disregarding his well-being so much... I worry he'll get himself killed.
Is it wrong for me to say that?
I don't know how much longer we can function here. I get the feeling Sumeragi's close to pinpointing our location and wiping us out for good. I'll have to try and back our information up elsewhere, make copies of our IDs, convince Asimov and Zeno to relocate. Maybe even tell Asimov to grant me some sort of 'second-in-command' position so I can get clearance to manage every bit of information that Q.U.I.L.L.'s got on its hands.
Probably best that I meet up with him in his office upstairs when he's back in HQ. Even if I'm feeling desperate, I'd rather not go around his back and get that top clearance some other way...
Another set of pictures was taken, but the sounds of explosions and energy fizzling about behind her grew more and more difficult to ignore to Frisk. Maybe it would be best to deal with the threats now before her allies were overwhelmed.
Armament Factory – Conference Room
Grabbing a cup from the coffee maker, Tracy pressed her ear and the cup against the wall. While there had previously been no sound coming through from the other side, the teen's homemade trick allowed her to pick up a bit on the adjacent room's conversation, though it was greatly muffled.
"...Mining provided a great deal of materials for production. Though it may not seem like it, this land holds a variety of greatly beneficial resources. I believe we should continue to see growth in our operations here, as will the other facilities within the district."
"I see. Then, aside from our weapons, machines, and vehicles, fabricating more unmanned mechs here should be on the table too, right?"
"Yes. Simpler, older generation models such as the Mantis line should be feasible to make over short periods of time. We'll have to leave the fancier stuff to the main factories, including the prototype Cerberus Legion."
"Heh, I always did have a soft spot for the Legion line. Ol' marvels of engineering. Would be nice to see them make a comeback."
"In any case, we still have incoming materials from the auto-fabrication plant and the district, so orders are to continue operations as usual. Of course, keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Demerzel's assigned a Kestrel to hunker down here, but we shouldn't get too comfortable. Those intruders from yesterday could wander in here from anywhere in the slums."
With the adept defeated, it was quickly seemingly compressed into an orb of light before finishing itself through a crack on the ceiling. Ice blinked up at it, not expecting it but not showing any visual indication of surprise.
"...He flew away."
"Aww, what gives?! After that pain and we don't get to snag some answers of our own?! UGH!!"
Blaze stomped his foot in irritation, the metal blackening under his stomping, a thread of steam coming from it. Ice just pointed forwards, not acknowledging this childish display of frustration.
"...Miracle needs helping or something?"
"Yeah yeah I know, ice cube. Let's just go."
Blaze would be less keen to listen to the other elementals, Quake and Ice being the exceptions. In hindsight, Quake likely knew this when he split the two of them out. So he tolerated Ice's direction, the two of them heading to a doorway which lead to a stairwell. There was no telling where Akira had gone.
As they walked up the stairs, Ice investigated their surroundings while Blaze took a metal pipe they had found amongst the battle, banging it on walls they passed.
"Akira! Miracle guy! Where are you?! Show yourselves already!"
The banging continued as they climbed, only for the pair of opposite elementals to find Akira and Miracle at the entrance to a room marked laboratory. The magician seemed worse for wear. Upon spotting the two, Blaze chucked the pipe behind him, the two catching up to the rest of their party.
"Yo! Top hat! You about to keel over?" Blaze asked, arching a brow as he crossed his arms.
Ice didn't make any verbal remark, simply holding his palm up in a feint wave geared towards no one in particular.
Unfortunately, Frisk could only briefly scan the files before she took her pictures. Time was short, so she’d rather take these pictures now just in case, have at least something to show when she got back to base with Ammy and Veetoo. Though she did notice the names of each member of Q.U.I.L.L. that was brought up: GV, Joule, Asimov, Zeno, and of course Moniqa. That failed mission ‘Bring Back the Muse’ was probably the one she’d already read about, when there was a turning point and Sumeragi gained the upper hand.
Amaterasu was now out in the hall, doing battle with their foes. Frisk took her last pictures before tucking away her phone. Hopefully these files would still be here when they took care of this and... why was it so chilly all of a sudden?
“Maybe V2 knows...” Chara mused.
How cryptic, but it did its job. Veetoo needed help, right now would be ideal. The time for fighting had come.
Conjuring a war hammer, Frisk tapped into her rejuvenated power since last night’s brawl, aberrating on the spot. Like a glitch, she materialized behind the Hunter just after he’d moved behind Amaterasu, Frisk swinging the hammer heavily at his head. Her aberration wasn’t finished yet, however, as the teenager then appeared beside the nearest Grenadier with an equal blow, then a second and a third, glitching her way to each one rapidly to deliver her heavy strikes before she finished her chromatic aberration, appearing back in the entryway to the room, hurling the war hammer to the far side of the room to catch any Sumeragi still on their feet. It would carry on to the back wall, striking to then bounce off of it as though the wall were made of rubber, the hammer then spinning back to fly toward Frisk’s hand, once more attempting to catch any foes in its return venture.
“Veetoo needs our help,” Frisk informed Amaterasu. “So let’s try and knock these guys out quick.”
The Hunter moved to slash Amaterasu with his dagger – but a warhammer slugged into the side of his skull just before the blade could get within reach. He was flung into the nearby wall with a loud thud, falling unconscious as Frisk continuing to aberrate this way and that.
In the chaos of the conflict and being faced with such a strange ability, Sumeragi's infantry struggled to keep up with the attack. The first Grenadier went down much like the Hunter, while the second Grenadier barely managed to bring up his energy shield, its edge narrowly catching the warhammer as it came down, glancing it aside, though the shield was knocked out of his hands. The one Homing Launcher she moved towards was not as lucky, being incapacitated by the blow.
The ensuing warhammer throw missed the Grenadier as he ducked below it, and two of the three remaining Homing Launchers avoided the weapon as well – with the last one being hit right on the head, falling to the ground unconscious.
Despite the difficult situation they were suddenly faced with, the soldiers began to counterattack. The Grenadier rolled a grenade along the floor to explode between Amaterasu and Frisk, while the remaining Homing Launchers both fired a fast-moving missile at Frisk.
As the infantry retaliated, heavy footsteps came from the nearby hall connecting to the exterior. Entering the data center was a Sentry Unit with a blaster cannon for an arm, though it appeared slightly different from ones the two had previously seen. It had a mostly orange coloration instead of the usual green and red, and parts of its plating were missing or cracked, as though it had just been put together.
The Sentry Unit brought its blaster forward, and the remaining soldiers scrambled aside as it shot a large fireball toward Frisk and Amaterasu.
Her Thunder Edge sliced through the patrol bot, eliminating it while pushing back the other soldiers. Yet one recovered blisteringly fast, disappearing in a flash of light. The flash briefly blinded Amaterasu, but her other sharp senses caught the Hunter as they appeared behind her.
Before either could react, however, Frisk came from the doorway, bashing aside the hunter with a hammer of her own creation. Apparently having got all information she need, Frisk joined the fight, teleporting around the room and assaulting the Sumeragi before chucking her weapon and letting it sweep around the room. Two of the homing launchers ducked under the attack, only for Amaterasu to pass them, batting each aside with her Thunder Edge before they could recover. The nimble wolf goddess skidded behind Frisk, her tail dripping a streak of ink that intercepted the grenade, Power Slashing it back towards the grenadier.
The Sumeragi dropped like flies, reduced to half in a moment. The others retaliated, but thanks to Amaterasu, it was pretty dang futile. It almost seemed like they’d just wiped out the unit in one fell swoop - but the stomps of something big nearly took the wind out of Frisk’s sails.
One of those mechs had made itself known, one arm a giant gun of some sort. Probably didn’t wanna get shot by that. As Ammy retaliated the grenadier, Frisk pulled most of the magic back from her hammer, weakening it as she reared her arm back, then threw the weapon.
The Sentry fired, the fireball clashing midway with the hammer, erupting both projectiles. Frisk used her reclaimed magic to instead amplify her heels to give her a boost in speed. “I’ll go left, you go right.”
Leaping to the left, Frisk entered the central room of the data center, leaving zigzagging lines of knives in her wake, each of which spun before zeroing in on the Sentry, exactly mimicking Undyne’s homing spear attack.
Summoning her spiked pavise, Frisk reinforced it and drove the bottom into the ground at her feet as a barrier, expecting to have drawn the initial ire of the automaton to give Amaterasu an opening.
Akira Howard -Morning, NORA Ruins-
As she peered into the crack, she could make out several figures in the hallway, the light from outside pouring in from above them. With the aid of her IRIS, she could see the exact models, particularly useful for the sentries, and concluded that there were no life signatures, either. Robots guarding this particular area... but why?
Suddenly: Miracle.
Akira sputtered, quickly stumbling backwards into a combat stance. Upon realizing it was him, she relaxed her stance and let out a breath of relief. He was safe, though it seemed like he'd been roughed up. The officer took off her helmet and shook her hair into place. Even with the cooling and respiratory technology packed in there, it still got stuffy.
"Have you learned your lesson about going it alone?"
She heard clanging coming their way.
"Don't tell me..."
Sure enough, it was Blaze making all that racket. He was acting like he wanted to draw attention. On second thought, that was absolutely in-character for the boy. As the elemental barged in with a shout, Akira rushed to shush him.
"Are you crazy? There's hostiles in the area!"
She whisper-shouted, before the Legionnaire donned her helmed again and looked back through the crack in the door to see if the machines had been alerted. In doing so, she had a realization. The policewoman turned back towards Blaze.
"Through that door is a group of enemies all bunched up. No humans, just robots. You wanna make some noise?"
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