The System: Prologue; The Final Assault

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - First thing's first. This is a restricted RP. Only the people who joined the original topic, The System, can reply to this. Anyone who posts and wasn't in the original topic will have their post removed and will be notified.

BIC -

The System: Prologue; The Final Assault

Tense. The air was so very tense. It was the kind of tension that could be cut and served around like cake. Aside from tense, the air was dry. Barren, almost. Overhead the sky was cloudy, but in the setting sun it was a vivid orange. The earth ahead was dry and cracked, with no life in it whatsoever. Not a trace of moisture. Not even dead trees were present. It was as thought the area had been completely absorbed.

That was not far from the truth. Up ahead, in the distance, was the stronghold of the MCP. The most dangerous program known. It could infect any program it wanted and using the information it gathered, it could not only control the infected program but form more of them. It could spawn a never ending army of whatever program it wanted and with the amazing complexity of its programming, it could adapt to any situation. The stronghold was like a fortress, protected by high walls and any defense it could find. Guns and cannons lined the walls, and an army of programs stood in front of it. The programs were not randomly spawned either - they had been selected and organised. There were even vehicles, tanks and planes.

On the other side of the wasteland stood the last defense against the MCP. The users. Every user who was willing to fight had turned up. Operators had been working overtime to get this ready. Formulating and creating MCP-resistant programs to aid the users, who were being lead by a select group. Because of the situation, every user was given an upgraded template so that they could fight. To each user, there was a squad of programs under their command. Vehicles on this side, too. But even with the vast numbers on the User's side, the MCP's army still looked alarmingly large.

"This is Yoshimitsu calling all System Defense members," Yoshimitsu said strongly into his mouthpiece. He did not cut an impressive figure, all things considered, but he still had an aura of authority and power to him. His hair was blue, spiky at the back with a fringe that was swept over one eye. On his top half, he was wearing a half sleeveless black, zip-up top, a shoulder guard over his right shoulder and a long, flowing over his arm. On his legs, he wore loose-fitting combat pants that fell to his combat boots. Hanging from the belt on his combats was a similar material to his sleeve, flowing down and behind his right leg. Next to him was a rather bulky-looking motorbike.

"I repeat, this is Yoshimitsu calling all System Defense members," Yoshimitsu repeated. "All preparations on this side are complete. How are things over there, Arv?"

"Some of the users are a bit jittery," Arv's voice rang through Yoshimitsu's earpiece. "But everyone's organised."

"Good. What about over there, Raikami?" Yoshimitsu asked.

"Same, more or less," Raikami's female voice replied. "I don't think any more organising is gonna help things. Some of these guys seem like they might lose their heads if they have to wait any longer."

"Okay. I'm just checking in with Sem, then let's do this," Yoshimitsu said. "Sem? What's the status on your end?"

"Good to go. As good to go as we'll ever be anyway," Sem replied.

"Okay. Operator, final scan of all programs?" Yoshimitsu asked. Seconds later, he got the go ahead. Swinging his leg over his bike, he revved the engine and pulled the vehicle round, driving slowly in front of the army behind him. It was traditional in a war, he decided. And he'd probably never get to do this again, whatever the outcome.

"Everyone!" Yoshimitsu shouted, his voice rising clearly above the muttering of the army. "We are the Users of the System! We are the people who run the System, and give it life and meaning! We have been driven out by a virus that has outsmarted and out muscled us all! The time to make a stand is now! We will fight for what is ours, and we will kick that sorry virus's ass out of the System and into the recycle bin where it belongs!"

He revved his bike again as he heard the crowd cheer and roar, swinging it round and pumping the accelerator. With a roar of the engine, he shot towards the MCP's stronghold. Behind him, he heard the army following, ready to lay down their lives for the defense of the thing the held dearest.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

He was called Arvensis, and that was most of what anyone knew about him - even his comrades. He never talked much about himself. Only that he was there to do what was needed - to stop the MCP from devouring The System.

He was an anthropomorphic digitigrade model, approximately the height of a tall human. However, that - and his long brown hair, bound at its edge by a metallic ring - were all of his actual template that anyone ever saw. The rest of him was entirely encased in a biomechanical armor/power suit, mostly covered in a dark green organometallic 'skin' which reflected the light that touched it in strange, turbulent patterns, giving it ever-changing markings. He was currently hovering at a significant height over the shattered world below using an array of impulse thrusters mounted on his shoulder-pads, and surveying the battleground ahead - or rather, surveying what, with any luck, would be the battleground once they got past the first waves and close enough to the stronghold to assault it directly.

He smirked underneath the helmet that obscured his face - advanced as the MCP may have been, and with as many counter-surveillance programs as it has, it still couldn't breach Scout Alpha's cloaking algorithm. He was particularly proud of that one. After all, it was the first one he coded ever since he came upon the program that allowed him to do so - a symbiotic, self-evolving core program named SEED Omega, which posessed the ability to scan, analyze and replicate coding, working in tandem with a user's mind. It was the core of his armor, and the heart and soul of the advanced system of sub-programs that he created through its ability. The same sub-programs that he was going to make extensive use of against the threat.

Scout Alpha was the first of a few, designed to provide him with information. Small, birdlike and of a frictionless, quicksilver-like texture, Scout Alpha supported some of the most advanced sensory systems the System has ever seen and a cloaking algorithm which he designed himself and was yet unbroken. Its direct link with the SEED Omega core - which did not rely on any external communication code - made it the perfect scout.

Currently the data displayed into a window on the on-screen-display he saw through his visor, sensory data from the suit itself compiled and displayed on the rest of it. Below him, the armies of System users were gathering, preparing for the upcoming conflict. Some of them looked nervous, but they were all prepared to get out there and do what they had to. He smiled a little. Then the message came.

"I repeat, this is Yoshimitsu calling all System Defense members. All preparations on this side are complete. How are things over there, Arv?"

Yoshimitsu. He was their squadron leader of sorts, and in some senses, a complete antithesis of him - he changed his template every other Tuesday, for one. Nevertheless, Arvensis respected him. He and the rest of the group have been through some tight spots before, and Yoshi always managed to pull them through, somehow.

"Some of the users are a bit jittery, but everyone's organized." he replied, his voice deep, resonant, inhuman. As Yoshimitsu was checking on some of the others, Arvensis took some time to gaze at the deep golden crystals that were attached to assorted parts of his armor - amplifiers, designed to boost the power output of SEED Omega and allow him to use more of his programs, more effectively, at the same time - a gift from the Operators to assist him in this crisis. He wondered how effective they would be, when Yoshimitsu's voice rose on the comm channel again, making the final call to arms. He couldn't help but smirk when he heard it.

"Recycle bin indeed. Typical Yoshi, has to be all dramatic on us." he chuckled. A warning sign flared on the OSD - the MCP was releasing its first waves.

This was the time to see if these amplifiers were what they were jacked up to be.

"Gemini Beta, Activate!" He barked an order. There was a spinning and a clicking noise as an intricate cartridge reader on his right arm assimilated and loaded a program cartridge, ejecting it into the air, where it released a stream of data to the ground below.

The datastreams integrated into a sleek, slender, streamlined biomechanical digitigrade - part leonine and part draconic in appearance and covered with complex, flowing markings - and more blades than could possibly be good for it - with a long blade-tipped tail, vicious looking leg talons and extremely prominent armblades, growing out its wrists and extending past its elbows. The creature emitted a feral growl - like that of a wild cat, and its body emitted a soft glow. And instantly, where there was one creature, there were now two. Four. Eight. Every clone that materialized soon split in two. Past the first division, the amplifiers emitted an amber glow, glowing more and more powerfully with each split. Gemini Beta, his melee attack program, was named that for exactly this ability - the ability to split into copies of itself. Normally, past the first division, the clones lost power levels. However, the amplifiers compensated for that. He hoped. Soon enough, he had a veritable army of Gemini Beta on the surface. As ever, he would command armies of utility programs from above and provide some air support where needed. He'd reserve the Big Guns for when the real battle would begin. Sniper Gamma made a better siege weapon after all.

Opening a small panel on his left hand, he took a look at its contents. It was just a small picture of a person he knew he would never see again but a part of him would always hold close to his heart. A female with a feline template, clad in the uniform of a Techrunner clan from the Barrens. She still meant the world to a part of him - and even though his life forced him to move on, he could not help but gaze at her face one last time, in case that he would not return from this battle. He wanted to remember her.

He closed the panel with a sigh. Deep under the armor, he was still a sentimental bastard.

"Yippie Kai Yay, MCP'ers." he muttered, then with a smirk, he charged, a wave of Gemini Betas still cloning underneath him, blades at the ready. This was going to be one hell of a day.

 

[Linkachu]

"Who would've thought I'd one day be standing here… before an army…" thought an odd looking individual as she gazed back at the bodies upon bodies standing behind her. Calling her an "individual" was far too human in nature, though, which her current model template certainly was not. You'd barely even be able to tell she was a she if not for her feminine voice. Linkachu - no, Raikami now, was attached to the electric element, but with the upgrades granted by the operators in this desperate time of war she'd taken advantage of all they had to offer.

She had designed the model to her liking, making it unique even among the mass of users who surrounded her. If Linkachu was an electric elemental, this new body was an electrical GOD. The things she could do with it… The female very much looked forward to giving it a test run. All she needed was the okay from Yoshi and greatest battle the System had ever seen would begin. This final act of war would either see them freed from the MCP's clutches, or the entire System decimated.

Raikami twitched her ears with impatience, ears that had kept a similar style to Linkachu's yet were now slimmer and longer. The only other feature her new model seemed to have retained was her black whipping tail, but it'd still been altered in thickness, not the mention the yellow lightning bolt at the tip being sharper and more scythe-like than ever before. The rest of her body was quite different, much more wolf-like facially and in body-build, with golden spikes running down her back; silvery scales running from her cheeks, down her neck and covering her underbelly; and draconic forearms and back legs. While all four of her limbs were lined with hard, dark-brown scutes, her forearms were slim and nimble compared to her powerful back legs, allowing her to manipulate objects with her clawed hands when semi-bipedal yet also granting quadruped movement. Any bits of her body apart from the draconic features and black tail were covered in smooth, shimmery, light-brown fur.

Yes, Raikami was certainly no Linkachu, hence a suitable name change had seemed appropriate. As odd as she looked now, though - her visor having required a slight alteration in appearance to fit snugly over her ears and stay firmly in place - the female knew this body was much more than meets the eye. If all of the abilities she'd asked for were present… things would really get interesting once she‘d engaged in battle. Only then would both her companions and enemies see her true form…

Nervous murmurs were beginning to raise from the users around her - some friends, but the majority she'd never laid eyes upon until this very moment. It seemed natural to be anxious in such a situation as this, but Raikami knew in her heart that any who'd shown up today fully understood all that was at stake. They'd fight to the bitter end - an army against impossible odds but with one common goal: to live in a free System once again. That was all she wanted, after all… To revive her happy memories of days gone by…

Her thoughts began to wonder, the creature flicking her tail angrily at her own emotional weaknesses. This was not the time to reminisce! She was knocking on death's door for gods sake. Focus! She had to focus, or they were all dead.

To her relief Yoshi's voice suddenly boomed in her ears through her visor, directing her thoughts back to where they belonged. Yes, she was ready. More than ready. "Let's do this!" she replied with a grin. Turning to survey the army behind her, Raikami gave a mighty roar, "It's time to prove your worth! Our actions today will determine the future of the System! Make your attacks count, and be brave! Everyone - MOVE OUT!"

A magnificent cheer rocked the world then - one of the most amazing scenes the female had ever witnessed in all her days. She felt her soul being revved up from the sheer intensity of the collective, whirling around once more to proudly lead them into battle. They'd beat the MCP now, or die trying.

 

[Sem]

"Hmph, ‘as good to go as we'll ever be.' That's certainly the way to put it…" Sem murmured to himself as he let go of the button on the com-unit around his neck.

They were finally here, facing the MCP program. The fight was long and hard, against rogue agents and corrupted programs. All of that and one template change later, Sem stood before the MCP stronghold, before an army that seemed to dwarf their own rag-tag army of System Defense members and ordinary users.

Back to the template change, Sem looked utterly different than he did. Instead of being human at all, he was and otter about half the size he was. He had gray fur and an array of aqua-blue fins and whiskers along his body. Along with the com-unit on his neck a raindrop-pendant hung, glowing faintly in the orange light of sunset. He also had a black hoodie of sorts that looked like a trench-coat on him.

He was given quite a few things from the Operators. One of the things was an advanced power level, which basically allowed him to be one with his element; Sem dubbed it Poseidon Mode. Also, the necklace had special properties, one of which he would utilize in only a moment.

He looked up at the clouds above, they being only source of moisture for the hydrokinetic to utilize in the arid landscape. At least he wasn't in a desert against a fire-scorpion.

Closing his eyes, he gave mental commands for the activation of his Poseidon Mode, which made him pretty well, as the name would suggest, a god. As he opened his eyes Sem felt a rush of power course through him, his conscious extending beyond his physical body. With simply a thought, the clouds descended and melded into the air, cause the area to be incredibly humid. The clouds were replaced by new ones rushing in from all around.

"That's better," Sem stated, rolling his shoulders. "Now it's your turn."

Grasping the necklace around his neck, he muttered a few lines and began glowing with a blue essence. The aura pulsed and shot up into the air, fluctuating like a living thing as it collapsed on itself, creating a small-scale implosion, birthing a portal. From the portal, millions of data-bits descended to the ground, forming into something large.

The Operators had granted Sem the use of a summon. Not just any summon, however.

The data began to condense, giving the being color and form. Thousands of scales reflected hues and shades of green, blue, and purple. The scales covered the rippling muscle the lay underneath. Fins appeared along the massive creatures length, along with spines.

The summon was a serpent, an ancient program that existed since the creation of the System. It was wild and powerful; beastly growls and screeches filled the air as soon as the draconic head formed. The beast answered to no one thus far and was left alone for most of the System's history, occasionally surfacing to prey on ships. It lurked in the inky depths of the data-oceans. Because of Sem's upgrade, he was allowed to control the Leviathan.

The Leviathan towered over the army, writhing its coiled body restlessly. The Aquamor looked at the monster warily, knowing it would only begrudgingly obey him. He noticed that those around him also seemed visibly frightened, especially those who fell under his command.

He felt he should say something to them, but he wasn't one for speeches. He turned and nodded to those behind him. The meaning of the nod could have had any number of meanings, but above all it simply meant, "Good luck."

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Yoshimitsu ran his hand along the side of his bike, feeling the engine roar and vibrate as he picked up speed. Right from the start, Yoshimitsu knew that it was his role to infiltrate the MCP stronghold and try to either destroy or contain the program. As heartless as it may seem, the army's job was to cause a distraction so that any Users could get to the MCP. Being the fasted on the System Defense, he figured he'd be best suited for that job.

The first wave of attackers from the MCP had started their assault. Yoshimitsu punched a button on the front of his bike, the right hand side folding out to reveal a series of swords. Quickly, he grabbed the largest of them and wrenched it out of its holder, hit the button again with the sword hilt and prepared to start the fight. This was the cannon fodder wave - the weakest programs sent to delay or tire the opposition. Yoshimitsu gave a grim smile and lowered some goggles over his eyes.

"And the fight is on," Yoshimitsu muttered, swinging his bike round in a wide arc and slicing through a number of programs. He spun it round and shot straight into the opening he had just made himself, rocketting past the weaker programs. Up ahead, he could see the next wave. This one was not the same - it was being lead by someone. An infected User. Gritting his teeth, Yoshimitsu knew he had no choice. He punched another button on his bike, making it carry on moving despite him not touching it. If his hunch was right, that infected user would have direct control over any programs he was working with, so by killing the user, the programs should have a temporary shut down.

"I'm so sorry," Yoshimitsu said, kicking off the front of his bike and bringing his sword ready. As soon as he was within range, he stabbed at the User, his sword cutting straight through. Without a second glance back, Yoshimitsu spun and grabbed the handlebar of his bike as ti went past, then swung round so he was seated comfortably. As he had suspected, the programs ceased activity while they received new orders. Without waiting for that, Yoshimitsu brought his bike into a violent spin, swinging his sword out and cutting through the programs.

"This is Yoshimitsu, calling all System Defense members," Yoshimitsu said into his mouthpiece. "The MCP has infected Users, and they are leading squads of programs. We have no choice. We have to kill any User that tries to stop us."

Yoshimitsu felt sickened by saying that, but he knew it was true. Gritting his teeth again, he straightened up his bike and glanced behind him. Their army was following him closely, and had now started their own attacks. With a grim smile, he watched three of their armoured vehicles pass him, guns blazing. Yoshimitsu revved up his bike again, and followed.

 

[Sem]

And the call was issued, and the army progressed onward into whatever ending fate had designed for them.

The Aquamor led his unit, which was unlike him, since he detested making the first move, but at the same time letting his men go ahead of him was not very chivalrous. With a simple leap and the summoning of an ice-platform, Sem rose alongside the Leviathan and landed softly upon its massive head.

The sea serpent hit the enemy line hard, making a large sweeping motion with its tail, instantly destroying most of the enemy programs caught in its path. It did not take long for the rest of their allies to catch up and crash into the enemy forces.

"The MCP has infected Users, and they are leading squads of programs. We have no choice. We have to kill any User that tries to stop us." Sem heard Yoshi say through the com-unit. Sem instantly focused his gaze from atop his summon, scouting out anyone that fit the description.

"There," Sem said as he saw an infected user leading a charge against them. Moving his arm in a fluid motion he created a long whip and lashed at the user. The water-whip sang as it cut the air, rushing down and impaling the user with a pointed end as potent as any sword. As the user decomposed into red digits the surrounding units fell into disarray.

"Get them now!" Sem shouted, accompanied by a mighty roar from the Leviathan as annihilated more foes with a slam of its tail.

The otterfish created a brief rain in his immediate area. He froze the large droplets into sharp icicles and rained them down upon the enemy so swiftly that they sounded like machine gun fire when they hit and embedded themselves into programs and the ground.

At this time his army moved out before him, clearing out enemies in the vicinity while Sem attacked far off legions. The Leviathan fared well; no enemy they had yet encountered had a weapon with which they could pierce the monster's armor-like scales.

Sem took a stance atop his perch and with mere thoughts began launching boulder-sized hailstones at far-off enemies, turning himself into a siege weapon. He did not know how long he could keep up that current method of attack, but every bit helped. He hoped the others were faring well.

 

[Linkachu]

Even in these tense times, Raikami had done thorough strategic planning before the battle - mindless chaos just wasn‘t her thing. Five other users, all of them companions she'd worked with in the past and knew she could trust, had been sectioned off as leaders for one of five squadrons. She'd also tinkered with her headset in advance so that it'd activate with voice recognition, numerous commands giving her the ability to contact as many or as few users at a time as she pleased. All it took was the right keywords.

At this time, as she raced towards the on-coming wave of infected programs, Raikami gave the voice command to open channels only to the users under her direction. "Remember your formations! Squad one, take the left flank. Squad two, the right. Squad three's with me! Squad four, you're long-distance attacking and air support just as we planned. And Squad five, you guys are on back-up. Hold back, but be ready for distress calls and heal anyone who needs it! We're all in this together, so let's work like a team people!"

"You said it, boss!" came a low-set female's voice with a chuckle.

"Sssh, Breaker. It's just Raikami for now," the electric wolf retorted gruffly. She didn't much enjoy all of the responsibility that‘d been dropped on her, but she knew no one else would get the job done like her, Sem, Arv, and Yoshi. As full-of-it as it was to say, if it hadn't been for their actions up to this point the System might have already been completely overrun by the MCP. They'd all earned the right to lead, whether they each liked it or not…

"Is this really the time to be joking around?" came another voice, younger-sounding male who seemed slightly unnerved. FeatherBlade was possibly one of the youngest members in the entire System Defense army, but his skills far surpassed the average user. Raikami knew he was terrified by all of this, but she trusted him with her life.

"FeatherBlade, if we lose our cool now we're all dead. Lighten up, kid! It'll keep you grounded when things really turn ugly… Err, more ugly than they already are. You know what I mean!" another male with a much deeper and gruff, yet relaxed tone replied.

"You talk too much, Rye. You all do for that matter…" a mid-range feminine voice sighed at that, sounding as if she was tired with life. That wouldn't have been too far from the truth, really. Trance, who Raikami had met quite awhile back, had always been an weary-sounding individual, but since the MCP's infestation the female user had sunk to a whole different level. She just wanted to see everything concluded one way or another.

"… is it obligatory that I speak now too?" an almost monotone voice piped up then. Zee, the obvious speaker, was one of the most gender-ambiguous sounding users Raikami had ever met. What's more, Zee was fully aware of this fact and in-turn refused to tell anyone what their true gender actually was. It drove Raikami mad, but she'd long given up trying to figure such out.

"Apparently so, Zee," Raikami grunted, though she couldn't hide her smirk. "I'm counting on you guys. Don't let me d-!" A blast from the front line of enemies rocketed by, narrowly missing Raikami's face as she side-stepped to safety. The glowing red-eyed programs, only the most basic of models at the moment, were just meters away now. The time for chit-chat was over.

An electrical charge sparked along the spikes of Raikami's back, increasing at dramatic pace into wave upon wave of turbulent, electrical energy. Her fur seemed to flow with it like wind through grass. It seemed as if energy was pouring out of every fibre of her being, collecting to create a densely concentrated electric-blue barrier around her body. The barrier crackled viciously as if tempting the enemy to pierce it. And so they tried, the violent energy surging to blast the programs back through the air like rag-dolls, scorching burns covering their bodies. Raikami was like a bullet, blazing through and electrocuting all that even grazed her.

"Ahah! Lightning barrier works like a charm! Take that, MCP!" Raikami thoughts laughed gleefully. This was just one of her new upgrades, and not even close to the most impressive. And yet as she continued to mindlessly mow down weaker programs, a sudden call from Yoshimistu brought her back to reality. Infected users were commanding squads of programs, and the only way to deal with them was to eradicate them completely. This wouldn't be the first time she'd taken the life of an infected user, but the thought never ceased to darken her soul.

"Kill the infected users…?" FeatherBlade's voice suddenly came through, again on a channel private to only Raikami and her other 4 squad leaders. The disbelief in his words made Raikami's heart drop even lower.

"Yes… There's no way to save them now. The MCP owns their mind. You must kill them, because they won't hesitate to kill you!" the electrical creature replied bluntly.

"I understand," Featherblade replied gravely, the other four squad leaders giving similar replies of acknowledgment.

Raikami said nothing more as she continued on through the first lines to finally breach the mass and face down the second wave. She gazed upon unique models before her and cursed, knowing just from visual confirmation that they were indeed infected users. With an aggravated growl she pushed her emotions back and lunged at the nearest red-eyed user.

OOC: Yes, I brought in more characters and, yes, you will find out what their models are later. =)

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

He went ahead of the users - He figured that with an army of Gemini Beta at his disposal, he could give the first wave a nice softening before the Users moved in - they should save their strength for the real challenge. He observed the battlefield to see what he was up against.

No air units yet. Naturally - they'll probably be hanging back until the ground forces are exhausted, or until we get too close for comfort.

A series of images from near the fortress confirmed his suspicions. The MCP's fliers were prepared for launch, but not yet moving. He could recognize a few of the fliers: from tiny clasper mines that launched, grabbed hold of friendly fliers and exploded, to the more common organic-type Corrupters - which resembled a hybrid of a bat and a scorpion from hell, equipped with claws for close-range combat and a tail stinger which acted as a syringe, injecting raw MCP code into a target, triggering a program-based immune reaction that either killed the victim or worse - infected it.There were other things preparing for launch - some of them he has never seen before, some of them he has. And there was at least one thing in there that he could NOT see, but could sense the general presence of.

"They have stalkers." he muttered "Terrrrrrrrrrriffic."

Looking down to the main battlefield he saw the flowing tide of enemy programs - the first wave. And like a wave they came. He recognized their coding well... Legionnaires.

The Legionnaire was a simple, humanoid melee attack program - it was of average height and a muscled build. It had broad, large shoulders, resembling shoulderpads and skirt-like plates extending down from its waist and hanging over its legs - which ended in odd, almost hoof-like feet. Its right arm terminated in a long gladius-shaped blade, while its left arm terminated in a round shield. Its head sported a 'mohawk' of red feathers, similar to an ancient Roman Legionnaire's helmet, and had no face. Where its face would have been were it human was a T-shaped black marking, set within which were a pair of lenses - a large one above a smaller one - glowing eerily red.

Normally, Legionnaires had no texture save white blankness. These Legionnaires however were modified by the MCP - their capabilities were enhanced, and the rivulets of red MCP coding that flowed all across them looked like they were splattered with blood. Every unit had different patterns, almost random, which only helped contribute to the illusion - an army of bloodstained warriors, operating in deadly efficiency.

For indeed, armies was how Legionnaires worked best. On their own, they were rather laughable, but they were never alone - always in large groups, functioning as a single military unit - evidence of their genesis as training programs for military applications. The MCP gave them a significant power boost, but it was clear that they were only being used as cannon fodder. A distraction. To tire the users out.

Adjusting several things with a little mental nudge, he scanned through the wave of coming programs to find very specific programs - the control modules for the Legionnaires - Centurions - and marked them as special targets. Centurions were also humanoids, but larger and more muscular than the Legionnaires, with an armor-plated body. Unlike the Legionnaires, their arms did not terminate in weapons - but they still wielded ones - a large intricate halberd on their right, a tall shield on their left. They had a cape that fanned out behind them, emerging from their shoulderplates. Their heads were similar to those of legionnaires, except that instead of two lenses, they had three, set in a triangle within the T-shape on their face. They had improved fighting capabilities, but their true power was commanding their own units of Legionnaires. Without a Centurion to lead them, a Legionnaire squadron would fall into disarray.

There was a moment of silence as the armies faced each other. On one side, the silent, blood-splattered lines of Legionnaires and Centurions, standing silently in formation. On the other side, the feral hordes of Gemini Beta, twitching their blade-tipped tails, shooting a blue-eyed glared towards the frozen red lenses of the Legionnaires - a perfect contrast to the robotic, statuesque army.

Life against Death. Chaos against Order. Arvensis couldn't help but find it amusing that the enemy's ranks were the ordered ones.

The target lock was complete.

Arvensis pointed forward.

On the other side, one of the Centurions emitted a series of digital, warbling notes - pointing on with its halberd. The other Centurions followed.

The armies charged forward, towards each other, blades at the ready. A sea of white and red against a sea of green and azure. The Gemini Beta were beautiful in their deadliness - leaping at unprepared legionnaires, tearing them apart with their leg talons and armblade swings. Others were locked in blade against blade combat with legionnaires, occasionally swishing their tails to slice through a leg, an arm, sometimes even a head. The Legionnaires were falling left, right and center, disintegrating into red digits and vanishing. But the Gemini Beta did not escape unscathed - every once in a while, a Legionnaire or two managed to impale one on a sword-like arm, or a simultaneous kill happened. However - every time a split Beta died, its other half gained the data and power it lost. Occasionally, new Geminis fissioned off from weakened older ones, drawing energy from Arvensis' amplifiers. However, at the same time, red digits flowed across the battlefield and into the ground, giving rise to new Legionnaires. It was a stalemate until the commanders were taken out.

And some were already falling - A pack of Gemini, with the efficiency of a hunting wolfpack - charged down a Centurion and tore it to shreds, then proceeding to hunt down the confused Legionnaires left without a control unit. With a cry of determination, Arvensis swooped down from the sky into the chaos below, small triangular ports opening on his shoulders and raining focused bursts of azure point-lasers upon a Centurion, aiming for weak spots. Another swoop and the Centurion was no more - and then, back to the skies, to survey the battlefield. Slowly, the tide of the battle was turning.

Or was it? Something was not quite right. The Legionnaires were not falling into disarray like they were supposed to. The Centurions were grouping in closer - which they weren't supposed to.

It happened in a flash of red light - four Centurions crossed their Halberds, and tendrils of red data launched, encasing them in a pulsating, throbbing cocoon of energy, which launched its own tendrils, stabbing into wandering Legionnaires, absorbing them into the mass, which grew in size and pulsed more wildly, until at last...

The cocoon burst, releasing what was within - something which he has never seen before. The new creature was a massive creature, reminiscent of an eight-limbed, armored centaur. No - centaur wasn't the right term. It was more like a snake with legs - clearly, it was only poised like that to leave the two gargantuan, clawed pair of limbs it had where its arms would be free. Its head - featureless as the faces of the creatures that formed it - now sported an array of twelve lens-eyes, arranged like a spider's, and supported a long mane of red tendrils. The four shields also transmuted into four massive wings on the creature's back - and the halberds - they were absorbed and modified into the body, creating a tail that ended in a vicious looking bladed maw, consisting of four segments which snapped open and closed menacingly. The creature shared the coloration of the Centurions - white, splattered with red.

"What the hell is this thing?" Arvensis muttered, reading the data he received on the new creature. It had no codename - it was, plain and simple, a whole new creation of the MCP, and the MCP did not bother naming it. What good was an individual name, after all, for a program that sought to make everything part of itself? Its power levels were significantly higher than those of its individual components.

The beast reared up - striking the ground and knocking over a small pack of Gemini that were already rushing to deal with it, erasing them without a second thought. With a flick of its powerful tail, several Gemini were knocked over. Arvensis watched in horror - and some degree of fascination - as the new program bashed the bipedal melee attack program against the ground several times, then proceed to toss it into the air, and with a snap of its tail maw, snatch it out of the air, chew and seemingly swallow it, swinging its arms wildly at another group of Gemini, knocking several of them over. Slowly, the Legionnaires resumed their attack, their formations becoming tighter, more organized.

"I'm going to need to take this thing out..." Arvensis muttered. He launched a mental command to the Geminis, pumping more power to the amplifiers to compensate for losses. The command was simple - focus on the Legionnaires. Keep them busy.

By then, the beast stomped through the battlefield, rearing up and striking the ground with its claws. Geminis fell in its path, as did Legionnaires, but it did not mind. It could always call upon new ones. The MCP was getting careless on this front - which could only mean it had another wave ready to launch.

With a quick swoop, Arvensis flew in, opening his laser ports and launching a small barrage of weak beams at the creature's head - directly onto its eyes. The beast was unfazed, but its attention has been captured. The creature turned an eerie glare to Arvensis, fire burning within the lenses. Then, slowly, the beast rose from the ground, unfurling its wings and beating them loudly, taking off into the air. With a digital screech, the beast charged, using the gravity to propel a dive, clawed arms at the ready, tail maw snapping open. Arvensis dodged the first sweep, firing the point-lasers again in a spread-fire pattern, aiming for gaps at the armor. The beast roared, lashing forward with its tail, attempting to snatch the armored user out of the air - but his maneuverability was superior. He dived to the ground, the creature following - and launched a mental command.

When he rose again - and the creature with him, the creature had hitchhikers. Several Gemini Beta that were clinging on to its sides with their foot talons, clambered atop its back and proceeded to hack at the creature's wings. It gave a screech, launching its tail backwards to attempt to devour them, undulating in midair to shake them off - but to no avail. The creature's distraction gave him all the time he needed to finalize a target lock.

"Let's see if these things are all they're jacked up to be..." he muttered, blue light building within the point laser ports.

... The armor's texture shifted slightly. More and more ports silently opened along the sides of the power suit, along the front part of the chestplate, across the back - subtle adjustments to the armor that he could easily generate and disable - but now, they were all aglow with energy. The amplifier crystals, too, were changing - azure energy building up within their golden depths. Energy coursed through the entire armor.

And just as the creature managed to finally shake the last Gemini off...

The newly opened gun-ports along the armor fired a starburst of high-energy azure lasers in all directions, curving forward to lock on the flying creature, impacting it from many different angles, relentlessly. The beast screeched, beating its wings powerfully to attempt to break away, but where it went, the beams followed - a merciless barrage that lasted until the creature's armor finally burst, raining red code upon the battlefield. With a wild screech, the beast convulsed and plummeted to the ground loudly, spasming wildly before disintegrating into red code, leaving a core of pulsating red, gelatinous substance behind it. Within moments, the Geminis were all over it, slicing through it, tearing it apart. the substance fizzled into red digits and vanished. The remaining Legionnaires were easy pickings now.

Just then, Yoshimitsu's message rang through his ears. Infected users. Was the MCP mocking them? Was it simply infecting all it could, or was it specifically targeting users knowing that their lives were a weak spot? He'd believe anything about the MCP. It was Sentient. Intelligent. Deadly. This thing he just fought was a test run. The MCP would indubitably call upon more of its kind with the next wave of Legionnaires.

He wondered what kind of monstrosities were the others facing.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

For what felt like the thousandth time, Yoshimitsu felt his bike swerve after a program so foolishly lunged at him. It was almost pathetic, the way they mindlessly attacked him and tried to get him off his bike. However, Yoshimitsu was beginning to suspect different motives - out of the four of them, him, Sem, Raikami and Arvensis, he had made the most progress distance-wise. The programs now had to be trying to slow him down.

"Meeting surprising amounts of resistance," Yoshimitsu said into his mouth piece. "If you guys can send any support, that'd be great. I think the MCP's realised that I'm gunning for it, and not the army."

With another swerve of the bike, Yoshimitsu punched the button to open the sword containers, slotting the bulky sword back into the bike and pulling out a somewhat smaller, sharper one. This blade looked like it might join the first, but could be a deadly weapon anyway. The hilt was built into the blade, near the bottom and on the side there was a gap for Yoshimitsu to put his hand through and wield the sword. After punching the button again, Yoshimitsu spun his bike round and looked straight ahead, firing up the engine.

Behind him, he could hear his back up. They'd broken out the heavy duty tanks. Each one had a number of multi-rocket launchers, capable of constantly firing rockets as long as they had rockets to fire. So far, they'd cleared out a good path for Yoshimitsu, but the bulk of the army was still to come and they were losing numbers fast. Even though he knew the operators were working overtime to keep their numbers up, the fight still seemed impossible.

Yoshimitsu shot past the first line of defense, and saw the next. Walking tanks, he mused. Four-legged, armed walking tanks with ridiculous amounts of fire power. Around him, the earth was exploding as missiles missed their mark - him. Swerving his bike, Yoshimitsu shot straight past the leg of the one of the tanks, bringing his sword cutting straight through it and causing it to topple over. Then something made his heart skip.

He could see one now. Another User. But there was something strange about this User. No traces of red. Not infected. Then why was she in the fight? And especially on the wrong side? She was stood on a tall spire, a very tall spire, holding what looked like a sword. Long, dark brown hair and a blue outfit.
"Encountered an non-infected User, but she's on the wrong side. Working with the MCP," Yoshimitsu said into his mouth piece. "Engaging now."

However, the woman, whoever she was, made the first move and dived from the spire, bringing her sword down in front of her. It unfolded, making a symmetrical, two-bladed staff. As she fell, she spun violently, purple and white energy flowing around the blades as she picked up momentum. In the few seconds given to him Yoshimitsu pulled out the first blade he had and jumped from his bike. As soon as she collided with the ground, there was a massive explosion.

Through the rising dust and debris, both Users shot directly up like bullets. Yoshimitsu twisted in the air, putting a lot of power behind his swing and slashed at his new opponent. Simultaneously, the woman spun her weapon and brought it swinging to meet Yoshimitsu's. The pair released a shockwave of energy, then landed on one of the MCP tanks.

"So who're you then?" Yoshimitsu demanded, opening his channel so all other System Defense users could hear the conversation.

"Name's Hizoku," the woman replied. "Specially trained fighter, mecernary, the hired muscle."

"The MCP doesn't hire," Yoshimitsu shot back.

"Nope. I just picked the winning side. When all's said and done, you lot'll be dead and I'll go back to being unnoticed," Hizoku replied.

"You idiot," Yoshimitsu snapped, bringing up the heavier blade and swinging round at the woman.

 

[Linkachu]

Raikami closed her jaws around the neck of the male humanoid, the infected user barely even flinching as the creature's fangs sank deep into his flesh. Even the electrical barrier, which sent vicious shockwaves through his body and slowly burned away his skin, went largely unnoticed. Any shred of humanity the user once held had been robbed by the MCP, nothing more than a puppet left in its place.

Using her back legs to push off for extra leverage, Raikami sharply jerked her head back to rip out the throat of the user, landing gracefully on all fours to watch as the body swayed and tumbled over. The lifeless form soon deteriorated into a stream of red coding, which in turn dissipated into the air. It was just as Yoshi had mentioned, the units previously under the user's command appearing to stutter and lose their way. This made for an easy opening for Raikami to rush head first into the group, her barrier blowing numerous units back through the air while others were sliced clean in half by her scythe-like tail. Even if the loss of their leader was only a momentary confusion, Raikami didn‘t give them the chance to regroup.

The victory was short-lived however. Another infected user had changed its course of attack to came straight for the female, a mighty yellow-glowing sword held fast at its side. Raikami couldn't tell the gender of this armor-clad user, but something else caught her attention. While their armor was mostly jet-black, sharp, jagged protrusions emerged at either side of their helmet, shoulder blades, and their elbows. These closely matched the faintly glowing bolt-like markings covering their armor. It didn't take a genius to realize what element they were.

"Another electric element, eh? We'll see who's superior!" the electrical creature snarled, bracing herself as the user clanked towards her. Finally she lunged forward, claws ready and teeth bared, only to be blocked by a precise swing of the user's sword. The sword crackled brightly with energy as it connected with the electrical barrier, creating a shockwave that exploded outward in all directions. Both Raikami and the user were caught in the blast.

"Hey now! Watch what you're doing, yea crazy critter!" came a voice as a large set of hands caught the elemental and held her securely. She quickly shook off her daze and stared back at the infected user, who was still feeling the effects of the blast, blowing back through its legions like a domino. It made sense that something with enough energy to destroy her barrier would cause such a reaction, but it was still rather humorous to see.

"Heh. You can put me down now, Rye. We‘ve still got a user to take down," Raikami said with an amused grunt.

"No ‘thank you'? That's all I get? Don't even know why I bothered!" the man retorted with mock-offence as he set the creature on the ground, giving her a couple of pats on the head, "Nice wolfie thingie." Rye chuckled at the growl he received.

Raikami turned to stare at the familiar user, the same silly grin as always plastered on his face. Rye had a huge body model, about 7 feet tall and built like tank. His dirty blonde hair was slicked back against his head, and his visor hid his eyes with deep black triangles for eye-slits. Covering his hugely muscled body was a suit of sorts, yet it had all the texture and cragginess of the rocky earth. Jutting from his elbows and knees were jagged stone barbs, and the bottom of his heavy-duty boots were countless knife-like spikes. His large gloves were the only notably different part of his model - techno-organic in looks with mysterious, faintly glowing streams of energy etched through them. The energy streams seemed to pulsate from a whitish, to a brown, to deep green; ever flowing and changing in color tone.

"Where's that sword of yours?" Raikami asked nonchalantly for being in the middle of a war.

"Oh, that guy? I had them alter my design so I could mount it on my back. Easier than having the bugger sticking into my legs all the time!" Rye laughed, turning slightly and pointing a gigantic thumb over his shoulder at the large blade seemingly attached to his back by invisible velcro. It looked like any other broad-bladed sword from this angle, the only aspects kept from its battle usage being the jagged stone hilt and tiny spiked mace at the tip.

"I'd ask if you were compensating for something, but… you know the routine," Raikami grinned and turned back to face the enemy, who'd finally recovered from the explosion and was advancing its troops once again. "We don't have time for anymore nonsense."

"Yea, even I can tell that much," Rye smirked, but his tone was focused, punching his fists together to create a brief ripple of energy. "Something tells me I should take this guy on this time. Opposing elements n' all. Don't wanna waste all your energy before the big guns start popping up. You hear that, squad 3? We're taking out the trash for the captain!"

Raikami gazed over her shoulder at the group of cheering users standing poised for battle, their enthusiasm matching Rye's own. She shook her head with a quiet laugh. That man was infectious, but she wouldn't have him any other way.

OOC: Next battle should be fun =)

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Yoshimitsu collided with the ground, face first. Luckily, he hit mostly dust which cushioned his fall somewhat. It still hurt. However, within seconds, he was on his feet again and back in the fight. Whoever this Hizoku woman was, she was good. From what he had heard so far, Yoshimitsu guessed that she was one of the renegade users. The users that generally posed no threat, but had access to their own templates for some reason. Really, Yoshimitsu thought bitterly. With all these openings in the programming, it's no wonder the System is being terrorized right now.

No time for thinking, though. Hizoku was good. Yoshimitsu lunged at her, bringing the heavier blade swinging down. Even as she sidestepped, he spun round and brought his second blade swinging round. Hizoku ducked under that attack and launched at low slash, aimed for Yoshimitsu's arm. The blue haired teen aerial-cartwheeled over the sword, then brought the heavier blade swinging round at the woman's legs. Hizoku jumped back, and raised her unusual weapon.

"You're good," she commented, flicking a switch on her weapon, causing it to open into the long, bladed staff. The unsual thing about the blade was that it still had the sword hilt, along with the handles to use it as a staff weapon. She raised the weapon and suddenly it started rotating, glowing purple. Yoshimitsu jumped back, gathering his own energy in his sword. As he did so, he slotted the shorter blade into the main one, combining them. As Hizoku released her energy, Yoshimitsu slashed foward and released a wave of blue energy right back. The attacked collided and exploded, but the pair were already on the move.

Even before the dust and debris had settled, the pair of them were in the air again, but this time Yoshimitsu was not blindly attacking. It hadn't taken him long to notice that his army was now locked in combat with the MCP's army. By fighting Hizoku, he had managed to remain mostly stationary as far as the war was concerned. As quickly as he could, he blocked Hizoku's mid-air slash and angled his sword, throwing her away from him. Scanning the ground below him, he landed next to his bike and hopped on it, revving the engine.

As he moved, he heard a second engine behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder told him that Hizoku had a bike of her own. Gritting his teeth, he sliced through half a dozen programs on his way past them, waiting for the other User to catch up to him.

"Attention System Defense members," Yoshimitsu said into his mouth piece. "I'm going for the strong hold. Cover me."