MGE Dash: PainKiller

[KillMoves]

Rezeed (The Retired Digger's Tragedy)
"So an adventurer huh? Kinda just like me when I was your age." Rick replies. "I was real rowdy back then. Taking on high-ranking subgates, doing dangerous stuff." he starts to narrate. "But... that was when I didn't value my life whatsoever. I just rushed into everything blindly. Didn't even stop to think what my crew thought of me. Sure they said I should be careful but I took that more of a courtesy than genuine advice. And they... paid for my recklessness." Rick's narration suddenly shifted into a dark tone. "That was when I realized that life's one important thing."

As for him getting extra money from your practice digs. "Well I'll also be spending stuff on energy canteens and other stuff." he rebukes.

The two of you reach the retired Digger's house. It was a simple house made mostly from cement with the roof being angled to avoid retention of rainwater. It also seemed to have one floor. "It may not be a mansion but it has the benefits of electricity. See those wind turbines?" Rick points to two giant wind turbines near his house. "Got those from selling a 20-feet refractor. I'd use a refractor to power my house but I figured I'd sell it if I became desperate. That's why I had to power it with something that's worthless." he explains the wind turbines' presence despite refractors being the most convenient source of power these days.

"You sleep on my bed and I'll get tucked in the couch. I fell asleep in there more times than in the bed anyway."

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
"Ah no. I actually just helped you out 'cause it looked like you were about to start a barfight. With the bartender at that." she made clear of her intentions. "Well, take care of yourself out there. And don't underestimate those Reaverbots." the Elf bids you farewell before walking away.

Before she could get very far, she said to you. "Like the bartender said, just head north to the chapel. You can't miss it."
With all that said and done, you now know where to go. Since the road there might have Reaverbots, you may want to get some preparation. There's a Junk Shop just across the bar but with only 500 zennies that were luckily not touched, there's not much you can buy.

Scrapmaster
"Alright then." Neil nodded.

The two of you get a Sky Taxi rather quickly. Despite it having a chance of getting attacked by Pirates, the trip looked like it will be smooth.
"So uhh..." Neil broke the silence between the two of you. "What made you want to become a Digger?" he asks you. "Well I mean, aside from it pays good and its a really great job. Or are those the only reasons?"

[Rezeed]

"Before anything else, I wasn't just talking about the price of maintenance when it comes to getting some extra money. I was talking about the zenny you would be getting for refractors, artifacts, and the guild reward for them commissioning you to handle my field training. Based on what I've had on field training so far, most zenny recieved from reaverbots is usually enough to handle getting needed stuff and filling up the E-tank. I don't really need any more refractors at the moment because I have one for The Prelude and one incase I eventually come to have a support car. So I am not so much worried about getting refractors. I'll be fine with the zenny drops that I get for beating reaverbots. With that said, you should be getting some extra support for a more comfortable retirement by the time and after I'm officially finished with field training.", I said kindly and with clarity. "Are you sure you do not want the bed? I'll be fine with less since I'm am smaller.", I continue with concern.

[Oersted]

After the gal explained her motives and left Lloyd crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression "Hrm... For someone who only wanted to prevent a possible fight she seemed pretty darn curious about what happened, odd." once he was done talking to himself Lloyd shrugged and headed straight the chapel, even though he could probably do some preparations before heading there he decided against it, its not like he was heading in some ruin and really, what's the worse that could happen?

(Yes, I realize that I may be taunting the DM into making something bad happen. But then again I get the feeling bad things will happen even if I didn't.)

[Scrapmaster]

(Don't worry Oersted, its inevitable )

Dex was quite surprised the Taxi was going so smoothly, he never used a Sky taxi before, but it wasn't too different from a Sea shuttle, you just had to sit down and wait, he heard Neil's question, thinking for a moment, trying to remember "Well those are good points, but I guess I just wanted to be something more than just a common worker like my father and my mother were back at the Noire Continent, Self-adventure I guess,Exploring the world,Ruin and subgates are also the reasons,Haven't seen my parents in 2 years,only letters here and there, but not much" he said with a calm tone, "What about you? what gave you the idea of searching for 'those things'?" he whispered

[KillMoves]

(Because Knights In the Nightmare and Blazblue: Calamity Trigger is too addicting)

Rezeed (The Retired Digger's Tragedy)
Before Rick could answer you, sounds of explosions reach your ears from a forest not far from the retired Digger's house. When you return your eyes to Rick, he emerges from the house in a light-gray POW suit.
"Hey kid, why don't you head inside and get some rest. I'll handle this." Rick says to you before putting on a dark-brown cowboy before jogging towards the forest.

To follow your orders or not, is completely up to you.

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
Making your way north, you come upon some dense shrubbery and a few trees but a clear trail helped you stay course.

However, a few steps further and something suddenly flies right towards your face. You barely dodged it and getting a good look, it was a worm-like Reaverbot you know very well. It was a Mirumijee and since one attacked you, surely there are many more lurking on the shrubs.

Scrapmaster
"Well it's not really a deep reason." Neil started on his answer. "I mean sure it's a dangerous course but somebody has to step up and bring these guys to justice."

"Speaking of those guys, what do you think of them? Those 'Family' guys(lol) I mean like where'd they come from? Why are they doing this?" he begins another topic for the conversation.

[Rezeed]

I quickly check my buster gun and firmly secure everything on that general area. I slowly get closer to the source of the explosion while making sure to stay clear of the forest. Once I was close enough to see the forest, I take a good moment to see what's going from a distance. I think to myself, "If there are just field reaverbots, I'll just head to bed". I wanted to keep a distance from the forest so if the explosions were just field reaverbots, I can sorta just snipe them from where I am if any comes out of the forest. If anything else, I can just see head back to town and warn them if it's something to really be concerned about. Being from a set distance can also let me get away the moment there's trouble and I can just try to sorta aim backwards to give myself some cover fire. With that in mind, I quietly observe the forest with my buster gun aimed in that general direction.

[Oersted]

After nearly getting a Mirumijee to the face Lloyd quickly aimed his buster gun at it and fired a few shots while keeping an eye on his surroundings, since he presumed that if there was one there's probably a bunch more around. But to be honest it was a welcome change of pace for Lloyd, he was starting to get pretty bored.

[Scrapmaster]

@Killmoves

Dex kept silent and listened to Neil's answer, "thats some motivation" he said with a surprised tone as he then heard Neil's question, "Well, I don't really have an opinion on them, they're monsters, thats for sure, but I need to know why they did that in the competition before I can judge, although a slaughter like that cannot be forgiven, there's always a motive behind everything" he said honestly, he hated them, but he was never one to hate, he always looked for motives and reasons before judging someone.

[KillMoves]

Rezeed (The Retired Digger's Tragedy)
The thickness of the forest and the darkness of the night prevented you from seeing anything besides the green shrubbery of the forest. However, a few moments later you see some lights from small explosions going off in the forest.

The sounds and the flashing lights continued for a while before something emerged from the forest. It was a human wearing what seems to be Medieval-era armor. You see him run off into the distance with surprising speed despite the armor.

The standoff in the forest raged still but soon you see Rick emerge from the forest and ducking to evade a fireball. Following him were four red Zakobons. Two of them fire their projectiles at the veteran Digger which he rolls away from while the other two continued to close the distance between them and Rick.

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
The Mirumijee you shot was destroyed and dropped a really small refractor probably worth 10 zennies. As you continued through the trail, numerous rustling of the bushes indicated the huge presence of Mirumijee or probably something else. Fortunately they don't seem to see you nor notice you for now.

Amongst the rustling, you see a dead tree in the middle of the dense and healthy bushes and trees. It was unusual as it was the only area where there were no rustling at all while the other parts of the shrubbery surrounding rustled every now and then.

Could there be something of interest there or is it simply a trap?

Scrapmaster
"A motive huh?" Neil put his hand on his chin. "Mm. I guess you're right."

The next few moments was filled with silence before Neil breaks the silence again. "Hey Dex, what kind of Engineer should we look for? I bet you'd want someone with... big assets if you know what I mean. Hrmhrm." Neil amuses himself with his shameless questions. "Or do you prefer something like the flatness of an iron? I heard the flatter they are, the 'hotter' their 'touch' will be. Ehehe." the Spotter rains down the euphemisms.

"Goodness, I suck at these." he puts a palm on his face in shame.

[Rezeed]

(Fun fact. Zakobons and a few smaller reaverbots are one of the few kinds of reaverbots that you can not only just take them out with a buster gun, you can actually beat them by kicking them. The Legends games have it so it takes about 6-9 kicks for a Zakobon to be dead. Not going to have Seth do it. Just sharing that little factoid that's uncommon knowledge. As a reminder Seth has a C rank Power and Range for his buster gun.)

My "hand" immediately vanishes and shot one of the red Zakobons that was close to Rick once. I run towards the reaverbot I shot then quickly turn to Circle-strafe it.(A useful technique to take down most basic reaverbots for various reasons. Basically, you keep within your firing range and circle around the reaverbot as you fire your buster gun at it until it's dead. Reaverbots like the Zakobon have a slow firing rate and can only aim straight. With this techinque they never hurt you, and you can take them down fast enough without a problem.) As I make one lap around it, I fire two more shots in a slow and steady rate. Glad that Rick seems at the very least alright, I continue to use this techinque and continue lap around it while making sure it's around my buster gun's range.

As I continue trying to pick off the Zakobons near him(via Circle-strafing), I speak up. "Sorry for ignoring your orders, but I thought you'd want some sort of back up or to see if what was in the forest needs to be alerted to the people in town. Are you by any chance alright? My buster gun is equipped with Power Raiser and Range Booster so I should be able to take out these Zakobons near you safely. In anycase, do you think you can handle the other two Zakobons or are you too rusty to handle a couple of Zakobons.", say calmly at first, but teasingly at the end.

[Oersted]

Pleased at the Mirumijee's destruction Lloyd pocketed the loot and moved on, the rustling bushes keeping on edge as he continued walking until he came upon something pretty odd, among all the healthy trees and bushes there was one very dead looking tree that stuck out, strangely there wasn't any rustling close to it... This warranted a closer look and so Lloyd approached the dead tree warily.

[Scrapmaster]

Dex was surprised Neil would mention such topic, but quickly frowned as he went down the shameless path through it, but smiled as the latter said he sucked at doing that, "You'll get better, as for the topic you mentioned, I don't know...haven't really though about it much, although I would prefer a normal female engineer, no big 'assets' or 'hot touch', just normal is good, as long as she knows how to work as an engineer, although as you said, a pretty one would be welcome..." he said smiling as he did.
"you know any place we can start looking when we get there?" he asked Neil

[KillMoves]

(A useful technique to take down most basic reaverbots for various reasons. Basically, you keep within your firing range and circle around the reaverbot as you fire your buster gun at it until it's dead. Reaverbots like the Zakobon have a slow firing rate and can only aim straight. With this techinque they never hurt you, and you can take them down fast enough without a problem.)

(Ah but we're in KillMoves-land where realism (and general dickiness of yours truly) is a much bigger factor.)

Rezeed (The Retired Digger's Tragedy)
Your shots hit the Zakobon which shifts its attention to you. However, the two red Zakobons who didn't give chase fired their fiery projectiles at you and preventing you from catching the attention of the other one.

Fortunately Rick rolled out of the way of his incoming attacker and fires six shots from his Buster which destroys the red Zakobon.

After a fireball that whizzes inches from your face, you stop dead in your tracks. Rick then uses this moment to get beside you. "It's okay kid. I'd tell you off but then I'd be a hypocrite." he accepts your apology.
The three remaining red Zakobons all regroup and face you and your trainer.
"Rusty? Boy don't be underestimatin' these old bones." Rick replies to your tease. "Sure kid. I'll take two of them for ya."

He then fires his Buster at the red Zakobons which they surprisingly evade and two of them go after the old Digger while the remaining fired its fireballs at you.

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
Approaching the Mirumijee-devoid tree, you come upon a human skeleton leaning on the dead plant. There doesn't seem to be anything else in the area though you feel like that someone or something is actually watching you.

Returning to the trail while the feeling of being watched intact, you see some three Mirumijees lumbering around on the trail and blocking your way. They don't see you though so you may able to go around them through the shrubbery but who knows what could be in there.

Scrapmaster
"Well there's gonna be a lot in the capital Swan City that's for sure though I'm pretty sure we'd find an Engineer in any city or town." Neil answers your question.

After a few moments of dead silence, your Spotter looks at his watch. "Whoa. It's getting pretty late. You getting tired? 'Cause I can shut up so you can get some shuteye." he offers.

[Oersted]

Admittedly Lloyd wasn't sure what to think of the eerie scene before him, the fact he felt like someone or something was watching him didn't help. After a moment he decided it would be best if he didn't stay there too long and went to return on the trail only to see the way blocked by a few Mirumijees, while he could attempt to bypass them by going through the shrubbery he didn't trust it on account of it rustling since earlier, instead, Lloyd decided to do it the old fashioned way, in other words by blowing the Mirumijees into bits. That said he started firing at the reaverbots.

[Gamergirl64]

(Finally, got something posted. Now it's time to continue where I left off)

@Killmoves:
Kaila landed the sparrow on cemetery island. "Alright Rosie, we're here." She said, turning to the Android standing behind her. "I'll monitor your surroundings from here, so I'll tell you if there's any trouble nearby."

"Ok. Time to find the merchant!" R.O.S.I.E. said enthusiastically, then started to go down to the exit. Once she got to the bottom floor, she opened a door on the far left, causing some stairs to automatically lower to the ground. When she got down the stairs, she looked around at her surroundings, then started to move forward.

...................................

Aria looked at the 12 servbots she decided to bring with her. She didn't want too big of an amount, because it would be quite a risk losing all of them. Making each and every one of the servbots by herself took quite a bit of time, and remaking them wouldn't really be very fun. I guess those lessons from my engineering sister did pay off. She thought to herself. "I want six of you on tanks, five of you in carry mechs, and one in a drache."

11 of the servbots marched into the weapons room to prepare.

Aria looked at the last one standing. This servbot is quite reliable, and is usually by her side during every adventure they go on. While it's no different from the others who work in the HQ with her, Aria has grown quite attached to this specific servbot. Other than the body, which is a slightly lighter purple than the rest, this servbot looks no different than the others. The servbot looked up at Aria, curious of what order she will give the little robot.

"And you are coming with me. Just like any other search for the refractor." Aria said with a smile. The servbot smiled back at Aria, glad to hear what it heard. Aria headed towards the weapons room, with the servbot following, to see that everyone was ready to head out. "Ok guys. Here's the plan. Two tanks and two carriers will stand guard at the gate. The three tanks and carriers will move forward first, and I'll follow close behind. If anything goes terribly wrong..." Aria looked at the servbot standing next to the drache. "You pick us up." She said, 'us' referring to her and the servbot accompanying her. "And the other three carriers will have to carry the tanks out, since carry mechs are faster." She looked around at the all of them. "Does everyone understand?"

There was a collision of sounds coming from the servbots, and the mechs they were controlling, indicating that everyone understood and were ready.

Aria smiled confidently at the group. "Alright then. Let's move out!"

With that said, they all got off the ship and moved forward.

[KillMoves]

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
The Mirumijees didn't stand a chance against your Buster shots which nets the latter some 30 zennies.

Continuing on the trail, you see a building in the distance. No more worm Reaverbots stand in your way and the rustling in the bushes grow weaker and weaker as you start to leave the shrubbery.

You then reach your destination, a chapel with what seems to be a cemetery on its left side. It is clear that this is Seth's Chapel but it looked deserted. It's time to start searching for this Peter person.

GamerGirl (Old Merchant Blues)/(Azgalor the Plague Champion)
R.O.S.I.E. finds herself inside a wide, rocky valley under the night sky. Two mountain ranges surround the android and a patch of rocks and only a few bushes. Fortunately for R.O.S.I.E., there is a rather obscure trail she could follow.

Following the trail for a quite a while, she found that there are no Reaverbots making their appearance yet despite the reports telling there should be. Only rocks, bushes and more rocks appear on the android's sight. Soon R.O.S.I.E. finds a wrecked wagon near a stone formation with a man in what appears to be a tuxedo and a top hat lying on the ground. R.O.S.I.E. recognizes the man as Dirk Willsbury as no one else would wear that combination of clothes.

------------

The subgate Aria entered had a... weird appearance. Its doors were rusted and there seems to be flesh attached to it. Certainly not the usual subgate doors.

As Aria and her Servbot party continued on the dark hallway, somebody suddenly contacted Aria in her radio.
"Well if it isn't my dear little Aria." the voice said, a voice Aria knows all too well. This voice belonged to Randall "Randy" Svenson. "Didn't expect to run into you here." he continues. He should've since he appears to run into Aria a little too often. It was almost like he was following her.

"Well you should give up now 'cause--" he was cut off when one of his Servbots calls for him.
"Mister Svenson. We found... something." his Servbots says.
"Found what?"
"It looks like a human but it's not."
"What? Let me see..." Randy ends his communications with Aria.

The Pirate girl couldn't help but wonder what he found.

[Scrapmaster]

@Killmoves

Dex smirked when Neil offered to let him sleep, "I'd like that, i haven't slept much lately...it might take a while to get there anyway" he said as he leaned back on his seat, you get yourself some sleep if you need to too, but thanks, wake me up when we get there" he said as he then closed his eyes and soon drifted to sleep.
(sorry for the late reply )

[Oersted]

Eventually Lloyd made it to the chapel, looking around it seemed like the whole place was deserted... Remembering he still had someone to find he started searching the area around the chapel first, taking care to avoid the cemetery, for now at least, those places always gave him the creep. Still, as he searched the place he couldn't shake off the eerie feeling he had since he saw that skeleton earlier, something about this whole thing just seemed...off somehow...

[Gamergirl64]

@Killmoves:

R.O.S.I.E. looked around. "Um... How does it look in the readings, Kaila?" She whispered through the transceiver that links the communication between her and her spotter.

Back at the Sparrow, Kaila checks the radar. "Yes. You should be able to see them."

"Well, I don't, at all. I don't hear any, either. Might need to take the ship back to the guild and see if the radar needs repairs." Just then, R.O.S.I.E. saw the crashed wagon, along with Dirk Willsbury. She immediately rushed over to the him, kneeled down and turned over the merchant, onto his back (assuming he was laying on his stomach). "Hey. Are you alright, sir?" She asked, shaking him gently to try and wake him up.

meanwhile... (I'm gonna pull a Great Alliance Killmoves style, here. )
"Well if it isn't my dear little Aria."
Aria sighed in annoyance upon hearing Randy's voice. "Oh. It's you..." She said bluntly.
"Didn't expect to run into you here." He continued.
"What are you talking about, you stalker? You totally knew I was after the refractor, didn't you?" Aria demanded.
"Well you should give up now 'cause--"
"Mister Svenson. We found... something." Randy's servbots interrupted.
"Found what?"
"It looks like a human, but it's not."
"What? Let me see..." Said Randy, before ending the communication.

"Something that looks human? Huh..." Aria wondered, before shrugging off what she heard. "If it's that girl..."
"What girl, Ms. Aria?" The servbot next to her asked.
"Just someone I know from way back. Let's just say that she definitely isn't human, despite how she looks." Aria replied, as they continued to move ahead.

[KillMoves]

Scrapmaster
(There is no such thing as late replies. )
"Hey...Hey..." You hear a voice tugging at you. When you groggily open your eyes, you see a bloodied Neil trying to wake you up. "Oh thank goodness you're alive." Neil sighs in relief.

"Look, someone or something attacked the Sky Taxi. I don't know where we are but I'm pretty sure it's not the Aeronautic Archipelago." He then hauls you out of the wrecked Sky Taxi into the sand under a dusk red sky. Neil helps you up and when you observe your surroundings, it appears you are on an island. One side is the ocean dyed reddish thanks to it reflecting the red sky. On one side is a jungle but you could see a bit of smoke inside the jungle.

If you look at the Sky Taxi, you see Neil emerging from it. "Tried to get the drivers, they didn't make it." he tells you.

Oersted (Let No Man Put Asunder)
(Not sure what year it is in the timeline, correct me if I'm wrong)
Entering the chapel, you see that there's no one there except dust and cobwebs. Still, it has the usual altar and pews all covered in dust.

Having nowhere else to explore but the cemetery, you go there. About a dozen tombstones stand erect there but one particular tombstone stands out as you approach it.

R.I.P.
PETER TURNER
2025-2050
"HE SHALL NEVER DANCE WITH ANOTHER AGAIN."

Last time you checked, it was the year 2100.

GamerGirl (Old Merchant Blues)/(Azgalor the Plague Champion)
"Do I look I'm alright?" he crankily answers you. "St. Peter, open those pearly gates... El Cero's coming home!" he shouts to the air while putting his hands up.

Meanwhile, Kaila's radar suddenly picks up dozens of dots all converging to R.O.S.I.E.'s position. One dot has managed to reach the android.

Back at the merchant, R.O.S.I.E. hears something over one of the rocks. She sees a man wearing a black, ragged outfit with pieces of metal covering some parts of his body. He is wearing a helmet with green eye sockets and he appears to be holding a gun of some sort.
"Here is the charlatan! Get him!" the man shouts. He aims his weapon at R.O.S.I.E. but before he could shoot, a blast from the merchant suddenly holding a revolver while still on the ground hits the man in the head.

(New enemy encountered: Renegades)

------

Aria's radio suddenly blares up again with Randy on the other side but he started it with panting. "Aria! Aria. They're here. Those Family bastards. Get out of here while you still can. Those guys. Those guys have a lot of tricks up their sleeve. Just... get out of here... plea--" the comms suddenly end.

Aria's Servbots soon detect several dots on their radars all heading towards them. Fight or flight, which will it be?