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Post by V for Vizetta on Jun 25, 2009 22:10:43 GMT -5
"Find the generator? Got it." The squirrel quickly changed his search parameters, looking for a map of the city.
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Post by Leda on Jun 25, 2009 22:16:26 GMT -5
Well, if Vic was on top of that task, Sally decided to focus on something else important. "Nicole, locate and download all available maps, schedules, passwords, and security checks for Mercia. And make it fast!"
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jun 25, 2009 22:41:03 GMT -5
After a few moments of searching, Vic let out a triumphant "Gotcha!" as he pulled up a map of the city, helpfully marked with locations of most of the major buildings. Power Generators, Security Center... and a new structure, marked onto with "T.D.C.". It looked to be almost across the city from the Command center... but in an area Vic knew -very- well. "Found it, Princess. It's pretty far, but I think I know a few shortcuts."
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Post by Gatorman on Jun 25, 2009 23:12:16 GMT -5
"SHHHH!" The sound of footsteps slowly grew louder. " I hear someone coming," Sue whispered. " You two go on up. I'll bring up the rear." Sue leaned against the wall, waiting to strike with her hammer. " Go!" However, just as the squirrel and squirrelmunk made their way back into the ventilation shaft, the SWATbot made his way inside. "RUN!" screamed Sue, as she took a wild swing at his laser shooter, then ran like hell. [dice=6] [dice=6] The SWATbot aimed for the princess, but his wrist was knocked out of aim by Sue's trusty hammer. The tapir only succeeded in buying the three of them about two seconds, certainly not enough for them to make a full escape.[rand=213383850401167031371533642165662831379994639844808532260380932921]
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Post by Leda on Jun 28, 2009 22:40:57 GMT -5
"Come on!!" Sally called out, hanging out of the open vent with an outstretched arm. Once Sue latched hold, the princess hauled her up with Vic's assistance, and the trio scrambled deep into the system of ducts. However, it wasn't long before the squirrelmunk noticed a change -- a very dramatic change. She'd initially thought it was simply the adrenaline and rush of the moment, but even as she quelled her nerves, the sweat at her brow never backed off. In fact, she was beginning to sweat even more. And the previously cold metal of their cramped route had begun to grow warm to the touch... uncomfortably so. Sally's eyes widened a bit. "You guys, we have a problem. They know we're in here, and they're cranking up the heat on us!"
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jun 28, 2009 23:15:19 GMT -5
With a soft yelp, Vic started trying to scramble through the vent. "We gotta get out of here a lot faster then."
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Post by Gatorman on Jun 28, 2009 23:22:31 GMT -5
Nobody was taking the heat more literally than Sue: more fat in her body led to more sweat pouring out her forehead; more sweat led to dehydration; more dehydration led to gradual exhaustion. Sue desperately tried to scramble across at the same pace as her comrades, but as they approached the exit, the tapir began slowing down a little. For the first time in her life, Sue thought of familiarizing herself with the term "heat stroke." "Guys...I..." She whimpered softly. Her brain told her not to quit, although the rest of her extremities felt otherwise.
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Post by Leda on Jun 29, 2009 14:48:35 GMT -5
The princess glanced over her shoulder at the lagging tapir. "Vic, go on ahead and get the grate opened. We'll be along as soon as we can." Her knees stung as she pivoted on them, but it couldn't be helped; if she couldn't ignore the burning heat now, they'd be in far more trouble in the near future. Sally shimmied her way back to Sue and gave her a rough shake. "Stay with me!! It's not that much farther! We can make it!" To further encourage her, the squirrelmunk latched hold of her arm and gave her a sharp tug. The skin on her legs was seriously starting to burn, and Sally felt tears of pain welling in the corners of her eyes, but she fiercely blinked them away."Come on, Sue! If we don't get out now, it'll only get worse!!"
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jun 29, 2009 18:03:19 GMT -5
The squirrel nodded, and gritted his teeth, before sending himself almost hurtling down the vent, trying to tuck himself into a ball to just roll. Hopefully, he'd be able to make it to the end of the vent, and moving like this SHOULD keep him from being in contact with the hot metal for too long. What he didn't plan on was this working as well as it did, sending him hurtling into the vent, and popping it out of its frame, sending him into a crumpled heap on the floor. " Ow... Vent's open!"
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Post by Gatorman on Jun 29, 2009 18:16:31 GMT -5
Sue desperately tried to pull away from Sally's prodding. "GAH! STOPPIT, Sally! I'm dizzy already," and indeed, the blistering heat made her feel very disoriented. Nevertheless, Sally at least instilled some drive into Sue, and managed to make it to the end of the vent right after Sally. She was barely able to remain standing; her knees were weak and shaking from exhaustion. "Shouldn't be too far now, guys," she said.
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Post by Leda on Jun 30, 2009 22:18:25 GMT -5
As she hopped from the oven-like duct, Sally exhaled with an overwhelming wave of relief -- but it was short lived. Sue was still trailing, and it was already clear that she would need some help. "Each of us should take a side," she quickly instructed Vic, already reaching for one of the tapir's hands. "We can worry about getting the rest of the way down later, she just needs to get out of the heat!" Taking great care to allow their teammate to lean on them for support, Sally and Vic managed to get Sue down from the duct, and assisted her in making it back out of the window. (Just to make things a little more interesting, I'm rolling for the stability of that platform, since it WAS thrown together out of spare parts. 1 = it holds, 2 = it fails) [dice=2] (Just as well. Can't make things TOO easy.) As the squirrels aided their comrade to safety, however, it suddenly became a lot less safe. Sally's ears flickered at the groans of metal bending to the will of gravity, but before she could call out a warning, one of the base supports snapped in two. In an instant the platform had collapsed, spilling its users down into the junk heap that had birthed it.[rand=726902967657317991847659092744564714466122851934986129127864978]
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jun 30, 2009 23:44:24 GMT -5
[dice=3] One moment, Vic was pulling a tapir of of a vent The next, he heard a groan of metal... And the junk pile was hurtling at his face. With a startled yelp, he tried to keep from getting skewered, and wound up under a sheet of metal. Which saved him from getting stabbed and crushed by falling chunks of metal. So as a result, he only got bruised a bit.[rand=06814697329969832868796692978913493135807068027417922791750909872]
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 4:54:32 GMT -5
[dice=3] (1: bruise; 2: sprain; 3: concussion) [dice=2] (1: arm; 2: leg) One ordeal was over for Sue, but another was beginning: she landed right on her left leg. She let out a sharp yelp, slamming her eyes shut as the force of the landing resulted in a painful, sprained leg. "Oh, man...what now?" said the tapir, gritting her teeth and welling up with tears.[rand=555130258112480758911182877677292597900713564772872285491254819]
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Post by Leda on Jul 1, 2009 17:27:38 GMT -5
To their great luck, Sally and Sue wound up under the same sheet of metal as Vic -- luck, that is, because spy orbs rushed to the back of the building at the great clatter that erupted from the tumble. As two orbs scanned the area, all they spotted along the ground was junk. It was only by sheer happenstance that one orb spotted the missing vent cover, sending them both floating off around either side of the building in search of the escaped intruders. [dice=3] However, Sally's luck ended there. As the tower disappeared from under their feet, even her gymnastic reflexes hadn't been able to prevent landing directly on her head. Now that the dust had settled and the surveillance had passed, the squirrelmunk remained motionless, unconscious amidst the rubble.[rand=9882773232555728387476455816597475207088771793614943302949998939]
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jul 1, 2009 17:38:46 GMT -5
Vic groaned as he sat up, nearly clobbering himself on the sheet of metal, but catching himself just in time, looking at the others. "You two ok?" He murmured, before he realized Sally wasn't moving. "Princess..?" This... is not good.
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 18:10:41 GMT -5
Sue winced in pain as she made an attempt to kneel down amidst the junkheap. If she had been the only one injured, it would have been no problem. Coupled with an unconscious princess, that made escape very difficult. This left Sue with a dilemma: either stay inside where it's safe, or run for it, with Sue and/or Vic carrying the princess back. Fortunately, she was able to make a timely decision. "We need t' led Rob know we're here. We're gonna need a li'l help." Sue carefully stood up, still in a world of pain; however, she needed to act immediately if all four were to make it in one piece. "Vic, both of you hide. Wish me luck." Sue ran as fast as any tapir with a bum leg could, with one hand close to her hammer.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 1, 2009 19:50:49 GMT -5
Off aways in another alley a pair of turquoise ears had perked up. The sound of an ominous crash by the building his team mates had infiltrated left a feeling of dread in Rob's gut as he retrieved his bow and carefully peered out. [dice=2] (1: spotted, 2: coast clear)... And found himself staring directly into the eye of a spy orb. The archer's breath rushed into his lungs as a second orb whirled around, and he turned and bolted off into the alley, frantically reaching into his quiver for an arrow as the two orbs followed suit.[rand=4838649837999904356848543724768047430127597065853026228936458798868]
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 20:34:50 GMT -5
A stroke of luck: Sue spotted Rob coming down the alley, trying to shake off the two spy orbs. Immediately, she waved Rob over to where she awaited. The orbs were hot on their trail, but before they could do anything else, Sue swung the claw of her hammer at one of them. [dice=9] [dice=3] Surveillance droid number one: dead, pushing up daisies, counting its blessings. [rand=6062261299930295933918471150621173290875084802698256228248152486]
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 1, 2009 20:43:12 GMT -5
The hedgehog skidded to a halt, his senses momentarily stunned by the tapir's sudden appearance. With a quick shake of his head however he recalled his hand still crammed down his quiver, and quickly he retrieved an EMP arrow. Turning toward the second spy orb, he fired. [dice=10] [dice=3] With a crackle the small machine's camera eye momentarily went static as the arrow nailed it and stuck to its side. It fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Quickly retrieving the arrow from the fallen piece of equipment, he turned toward Sue and nodded. "Where are the others? We need to move before reinforcements get here."[rand=43259012449323737539350154130811939034981971906808687629179881007]
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 20:47:36 GMT -5
"That's just th' problem, Rob—one of 'em ain't movin'!" Sue limped back as fast as she could, with Rob following, to where Vic and Sally were waiting, the princess cradled in Vic's arms. "It's Sally," she said. "We escaped from th' vent just as th' robots put th' heat on us. Th' platform we threw together gave way, and, well, she landed on her head. We need a lotta help carrying her back home."
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jul 1, 2009 20:57:40 GMT -5
Vic looked up as he heard footsteps closing in, his expression distraught. "Rob, I can't get her to wake up, and her computer has the map!" He glances down at Sally his tail drooping limply on the ground.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Jul 1, 2009 21:16:02 GMT -5
Taking in the sight of the fallen princess, the archer's breath drew sharply through his teeth, leaving his jaw to hang open after. " Bugger me," he uttered, carefully approaching her. And that was when he noticed the small amount of blood seeping from her cranium. That feeling of dread in his midsection returned. Okay, he thought as his mind swept through the details; Sue was limping, the princess had a possible concussion, and only he and Vic seemed to be in any shape. And yet they still had the generator to blow. He pressed his lips together into a thin line, kneeling down beside Sally and carefully examining her more closely. "Can you get her computer to work?"
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 21:34:29 GMT -5
"I can try," Sue replied. She picked up Nicole, examined it for a second, then opened it up. She had never been accustomed to a piece of work such as this. "I wonder which button y' press to bring up a map."
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Post by Leda on Jul 1, 2009 21:49:16 GMT -5
Before any buttons were pushed, however, the compact computer's screen flashed red. "Warning: Unauthorized user. Please cease infiltration attempts immediately or preventative actions will be taken."
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Post by V for Vizetta on Jul 1, 2009 21:52:55 GMT -5
Vic blinked at that reaction from the computer, his eyes falling to the princess. "Maybe we should leave it alone."
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 21:59:29 GMT -5
Sue took off her hard hat and scratched her head. "Hmmmm...must be very good at detectin' users. Maybe it's voice-activated, too." She gave it a try. "We are friends of Princess Sally Acorn, ma'am..."
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Post by Leda on Jul 1, 2009 22:02:58 GMT -5
"Five seconds remain before preventative actions are taken. Five... Four..."
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 22:08:48 GMT -5
"She's in a heap o' trouble, miss. She's got a concussion, it looks like..."
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Post by Leda on Jul 1, 2009 22:12:46 GMT -5
Nicole went quiet, though only vocally, as several beeping noises took over instead. It was short-lived, however, as a burst of electricity suddenly jolted into Sue's body a second later.
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Post by Gatorman on Jul 1, 2009 22:16:30 GMT -5
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Just when Sue's day couldn't get any worse, Nicole had to happen. She fell to the ground, still conscious, and wondering whether to let cool heads prevail, or whether to take her hammer to it and make it look like an accident.
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