Mack attack: Fayren invasion! [Action]

[evilsanta]

It was just another ordinary, peaceful day on the cobbled streets of Fayren. Fantastic races greeted each other amicably, merchants hawked their handmade wares, and so on.

Everything changed when the shysters attacked.

It happened too fast for sense. Mysterious, red-robed figures in white masks came bounding from seemingly all directions. Their sudden omnipresence masked their origins, hailing largely from the north of the city. Yet some poured from residences, while others seemed like they had always been there, waiting for a chance to spring.

And spring they did! A jiggling sproing sproing heralded their presence as they jumped everywhere on their dagger-shaped pogo sticks. Knights and magical dolls engaged many, but their were many more, who terrorized the citizenry at once.

"Woohoo!" they'd shout. Their delight was the city's dread; they enjoyed bouncing after and on whomever they could, taking special animus for any who did not love to hop up and down as much as they did.

"Flee! Run for your lives! Go to your homes and board all entrances! Save yours--". The town crier's words were cut short as a shyster threatened to bounce on his skull, sending him screaming away while the metallic menace followed in pogo-pursuit.

The king and queen were safe, for now, and no casualties were mentioned. Yet a dark pallor hung over the city, as though the sun itself were afraid. Who would save the city from this masked menace?

[OOC: Here's Smithy's big debut! Or Mack's, specifically. Feel free to pick a prompt and bop some bad guys. You can also put your own character out there to be terrorized and rescued, in that order. NOTE: Mack, the boss, can only be engaged by three people at most. Get with me in mail or Plurk (JudgeCF) to make sure. Other than that, have fun.]

A: City Streets
These shysters weren't very shy, eschewing subtlety in favor of public menace. Most of them were bouncing around in full view of the city streets, openly defiant of authority. If they're not harassing a pedestrian and hounding their every step with a pogo-stick, they're hopping up and down in front of a terrified onlooker, too scared to move. Some love the chase; others love a captive audience. Deprive them of either, and you'll have a scrap on your hands.

B: Homewrecker
One house in particular was forced to reluctantly entertain a naughty shyster, breaking all their dishes as he hopped up and down on a table. It was fun and it didn't look to be stopping any time soon. The mother, father, and daughter could only tremble in terror as they watched their furniture suffer abuse from the creature. This is, however, a family of four. Where's their only son? Why do they hear bouncing upstairs? Good heavens!

 C: The barn, the barn, the barn is on fire
Bouncing wasn't all the Shyster menace was capable of. They also had a little bit of sorcery up their sleeves. When they came across a stable, they weren't impressed. To them, horses seemed ponderous, dull-witted creatures with not an ounce of pep in their step. The beasts were spooked easily, giving in to panic and creating chaos in their escape. It didn't help matters when one Shyster cast 'Drain', sending a fireball into the hay bales with predictable results. In moments, an inferno built, putting the horses and the citizenry in danger. Not like the shysters cared, bouncing in plain view of the pyrotechnics. Horses were scared out of their wits while flames threatened to consume the stable. 

D: House arrest
"If I could just...could you please stop! Agh!"
A shyster bounced back and forth off the door of one unlucky homeowner. He tried to find escape, only to have the door smacked into his face as the shyster enjoyed his unending rebound.

"No way! I could do this ALL day!" With machine-like endurance, that's exactly what he did. The man resolved to wait out his imprisonment, feeling the walls shake with every jump. He couldn't tell what trembled harder, his house, or himself? 

E: Fawn's Forge Mack's new hangout!
The enemy had a particular animus for Fawn's Forge, for Smithy was proud and didn't much like competition. Who better to demonstrate the true purpose of weapon than a bunch of weapons themselves? Fawn, the rumored giantess, put up a valiant fight, but eventually faltered under the assault of so many shysters. Once she were good and unconscious, Mack and his merry band of machines had their way with the place.

Anyone brave enough to wander near would hear jumping and vibration enough to register on a seismograph. Mack himself, the leader and the largest of their group, contributed the most noise.

"PAR-TAY! I like this place, gang! Let's show these serfs that WE'RE in charge now! Let's bounce the day away!"

A resounding cascade of cheers followed, before they wrecked the place, scattering all the tools and trappings of a blacksmith to who knows where.

F. Damsel in Distress (Sonico)

Before the invasion properly got underway and the shysters were just beginning their advance, one spotted a pink-haired girl minding her own business. That's bad enough, but she was walking. Are these people insane? Oh, they'll fix her. "Hey!" A shyster approaches. "Bounce with me!" Helpfully, he pogo sticked in place to show her how it was done. There's an implied threat there, but hey, maybe she was one of the good ones.

Comments

[notquitedracula]

[What Soma pulled out of his coat at this point was patently not Kaladbolg. At nearly double the length (and certainly more than three times the width), this blade was to Kaladbolg pretty much what Mack was to the Shysters. And it was glowing with its own inner light. ...Did I mention he's holding it one-handed?]

This is only about the twentieth weirdest-looking thing I've ever seen. And lay off the kid, his hair's fine. [...No, Soma, I think they were talking about you that time.]

[When the enemy group bounced en masse, Soma was ready. Their modus operandi hasn't changed - so their weakness probably hasn't, either. Chain lightning is the order of the moment, the first spark directed at Mack. Just as quickly as it leaves his hand, though, he's grabbing Tony's shoulder and back-dashing, taking the kid along for the short ride. They leave a pair of afterimages in their wake.]

[yoyoboy]

[As they entered the forge, Tony is expecting for those creatures to give up. Instead, a different creature riding a bigger knife-shaped pogo stick stepped in and gave it a rousing speech (he can't tell if it was a speech or an order) to the small pogo-stick-riding creatures.

As they fired up thanks to it, they started to give taunts to him and the young man beside him. Of course, he isn't happy at the taunts involving his spy suit.]

Really? Now they are just annoying us.

[Thankfully, his ally is a little fazed at their taunts, yet he is impressed at the size of the sword.

As the enemies then charged (or bounced) to their opponents, Tony is about to throw his Freez Discs. That is until the young man grabbed his shoulder and back-dashing away from the enemies, pulling (or dragging) him away in the process..]

H-Hey! What gives?!

[However, he failed to see that a pair of afterimages were left in their wake as they back dash.]

[evilsanta]

[Zap zap zap! Mack is STUNNED! As in, not moving. An inauspicious start.

Meanwhile, the rest of his bodyguards are frazzled, but not out. They've forgone magic in favor of all-out bouncing, trying to clonk the heads of their enemies. Their poor boss just needs a little breather, that's all!]

[notquitedracula]

They were annoying right from the start. And I didn't think you'd enjoy the experience of a concussion, or being impaled. [Soma releases Tony's shoulder after making sure he isn't going to fall, and takes a broad swipe at the incoming Shysters. For all Claimh Solais' size, he swings it like it barely weighs more than a pound.]

Looks like the big one's stunned; aim for it while I take care of the small fry. [And with that, he readies another chain lightning bolt. These are pretty easy on the FP MP, but he's going to need a mana potion before too much longer at this rate. That, or he'll have to switch to pure melee while it regenerates.]

[yoyoboy]

[He really wants to shout at the man regarding the part of pulling him away from the creatures. But when he saw the lightning bolt that the man shot to the creature's boss, his annoyance turned into awe. Heck, when he released Tony's shoulder, he managed to land safely on the floor and watches the young man fighting against the creatures.

Of course, he snapped out of his amazement when he tells him to take care of the big guy in front of him, namely the one with a scary mask.]

Right back at you!

[He then charges to the big boss as he still holds his Freez Discs on hand.]

All right, you pogo-stick-loving monster! Get ready to be sliced!

[With that said, he throws both of his disc gadgets to the big creature, grinning that might hurt him a lot.]

[evilsanta]

[Chink chink! The stars do their damage, then bounce off. Looks like Mack's made of much sterner stuff than his lackeys.

Said lackeys all go for Soma's head, as they always have. They're fast, but their arc of attack is predictable: always from above. They'd all *paff* in due time.

Mack's fresh blows awaken him, and boy is he steamed! He bounces forward, springs forth his head, and invokes the mightiest magic yet: Flame Wall.

A roaring, crescent, inescapable wave of flames sweeps across the forge. Mack's control is so great that it would harm only his enemies, leaving the surroundings and his underlings intact. Everything else can feel the burn.]

[notquitedracula]

[The shysters posed no challenge at all; one or two hits was all it took, and he was much, much faster than them. But Mack is definitely a tougher nut - he gets off his spell before Soma can interrupt.]

[So. Giant wall of flame, moving across the room. No time to shield the kid. No time to shield himself for that matter, but he's not so worried about that - he's taken worse hits than this and come up swinging. The fire doesn't even singe his clothes, though he does look like he's got a bit of a sunburn after it passes. No, it's Tony he worries about, because so far as he knows, the kid doesn't have any magic defenses at all. He readies a Hi Potion, and hands it to Tony (or pours it down his throat, if he's been knocked out), then turns his attention back to the threat. Mack. The pogosword riding, flamewall spewing boss.]

[And he's smiling. It's not a nice smile. His teeth have gone all pointy, and his eyes have a distinctly feline pupil, though they haven't yet turned blood-red. If his health bar were visible, it'd be down about 1/10th. And his mana bar? Half.]

You hurt. The kid. Do I need to tell you how big a mistake that was?

[Soul set: Rycuda, Death, Dead Crusader.]

[Scythes begin appearing around the room, each homing in on Mack; small damage for a field effect, but it adds up. And while that's going on, Soma's going to step up and swing that giant claymore at Mack.]

[yoyoboy]

[Tony's grin turned into a jaw drop as he sees that his Freez Discs can't even scratch a dent on the big creature. And before he can react more to this, the creature then fires some kind of a firewall.]

What the heck?!

[That what he can say before he got hit by the fire. While the fire didn't singe his spy suit, it causes him to fell on the floor, completely knocked out. Thankfully, it was a short period of unconsciousness as the Hi-Potion Soma poured into his throat managed to wake him up. However, he is unable to attack as he tries to stand up while enduring the injuries he just took.

For now, he is forced to see some scythes floating around his ally.]

[evilsanta]

[Oh, they left a scratch all right, which Mack is none too happy about. Hence, the flames.]

"If ya can't take the heat, stay outta the forge!"

[Soma seems intent on adding a few more scratches with the swinging scythes and an especially swingy sword. Ouch! OUCH!

All right, break time! Another quartet of shysters rushes from of behind as if from the ether, and once Soma winds up his next slash, he bounces. Very high.

So high, in fact, that it's debatable if he'll ever come back down again, becoming a mere pinpoint in the sky. In the meantime, there's shysters to deal with.

Oddly, if Soma had let Tony stay asleep, they'd have left him alone to focus on the remaining threat. As it is, two of them go to pounce on the grounded tween while the rest shoot some meager fireballs Soma's way. Mack will be back, don't you worry.]

[notquitedracula]

[Well, he already knows the Shysters are weak to lightning-type attacks, and Rycuda's chain lightning has been dealing with them fairly handily so far. He tanks the tiny fireballs (tink, tink, almost zero damage) and lets loose a pair of bolts at both pairs of Shysters. He won't be able to hit them before they get to Tony, though. Hope you're awake enough to dodge, kiddo.]

Get back down here, you overgrown reject from a bad flash game!

[yoyoboy]

[Fortunately thanks to the Hi-Potion he drank, Tony managed to recover most of his strength as he jumps away from the bolt where it's supposed to hit the Shysters. In fact, once he pass through the bitter taste, he feels that most of his strength returning as he feels the pain is disappearing.]

Wow! I don't know what's in that stuff, but thanks! Now to take care of these creepy jerks!

[Without any warning, Tony charges in to join in the battle once more, ignoring that they might be outnumbered.]

[evilsanta]

[Even if Mack could hear Soma's taunts, he still wouldn't know what he meant.

Like Lucifer, Mack falls from heaven upon the defeat of his last minion, for it is not good for protagonists to be alone. His landing is surprisingly light this time.

He observes that Tony's back up. How irritating! For that, the two get another Flame Wall. So nice he'll do it twice.]

[notquitedracula]

[This time, Soma does have time to shield Tony from the worst of it. Of course, he can only do so by basically wrapping the kid in his coat, while he's still wearing it, so hope you don't mind hugs!]

[When the wall passes, Soma tosses another Rycuda bolt at Mack, hoping to stun the boss a second time. Even if he can't, though, Soma's following that bolt instantly with a MASSIVE overhand swing of Claimh Solais, so fast that the air audibly POPs to get out of the way. Fueled by his last iota of mana, this swing has double the pain-causing potential of his regular slashes.]

[yoyoboy]

[Well, he does mind hugs as he became embarrassed when the man covered him with his coat. This time, however, he managed to avoid the firewall thanks to him. Because of this, he decided to let that hug slide for now.]

Thanks! I don't want to be a barbeque for a second time.

[As for the Mack that just returned to the ground, the young spy decides to confront the big creature head on as he charges in and attempts to give the big guy a big flying kick to the face.]

[evilsanta]

[Another bolt, another stun as he takes the full brunt of sparkling blade and spy boot. Grah!

Mack's on his last legs...springs? At any rate, he can't take much more of this. It's especially insolent that they'd use weapons against the weapon lieutenant. Concentrating that anger born from impudence, he conjured an orb of flame, denser and fiercer than the wall which spread it so casually, and lobbed it in an arc towards Soma. Hopefully to set his hair on fire.]

[notquitedracula]

You're welcome, kid.

[Soma takes the hit without flinching - that's what dead crusader does. He doesn't emerge unscathed, but it's going to take a whole lot more than that to take him down for the count. His health's at half, his mana at zero, and he is well and truly tired of this fight. Time to end it.]

[He takes a moment to down a mana potion - one of a stock of several - and walks right up to the giant-dagger-riding boss. Smiles. And launches the kind of uppercut you usually only see on 2D fighting games, complete with the fire and the full-circle twist. Doppelganger let him change his souls and equipment completely for that shot.]

[yoyoboy]

[Once he managed to strike the creature down with a flying kick, he then sees the dagger pogo-stick rider is somehow on its last legs. As he sees the man does an uppercut to the creature, Tony decides to join in for hopefully a final attack.

He might try to use his Freez Discs once more to finish the job, but his big ego gets the best of him as he charges in for another flying kick and an attempt to punch the creature's face.]

[evilsanta]

[The dagger's eyes go wide as both their fists crash into Mack, delivering the fatal blow.

The machine is losing solidity. A gentle whistling sound accompanies a gradual fading, before he vanishes completely leaving...

money! Gold coins spring and dance from where he bounced last, scattering to the four corners of the forge. Everything's done by bills, of course, so they aren't worth anything. They are, however, very shiny, and would make a fine souvenir.

With that, the duo had achieved victory, and secured peace for Fayren, at least for today. Mack's defeat meant the the retreat of the rest of the shyster's, who weren't finding Fayren as fun as they thought.

It was a time to celebrate, mend, and rejoice for hard-fought tranquility. Mostly. In an unguarded moment, one especially mischievous shyster would take it upon himself to bounce on Tony's head, then drag him off to persuade him on the finer points of Smithy's program...]

[notquitedracula]

[Soma must have been trying to assure someone that yes, the weird red-robed things were really gone, or that shyster never would have gotten away with stealing his erstwhile partner. As soon as Soma notices that Tony is missing, he starts searching - and when even he can't turn up any sign of where the (very distinctly dressed) young boy has gone, he starts to get worried. Even more so when he finds that no one seems to know where he went, and no few of them never saw him to start with. Though he cannot tear himself apart from the throng of people wishing to thank (or berate, because let's face it, his karma is terrible) him, he is definitely not going to forget - and as soon as he gets a chance, he's going to start searching in earnest.]

[yoyoboy]

[Well, that was completely weird to see a big monster turned into gold coins. But considering he sees most of those red-robed creatures running, he can guess that they won the battle.]

Oh yeah! Tony Clark and sword-wielding ally: 1! Red-robed bad guys: ze-

[That's the only thing he said right before one of the red-robed pogo-stick riders bonked him on the head, knocking him unconscious before it dragged him off somewhere, unknown what's going to happen with him.]

[evilsanta]

[Tony's gone for the better part of two hours as one of Smithy's mystics does their work with a hurried effort, lest they be caught out. Smithy's gang used Tony's unconsciousness to plant their own suggestions and meddle in his egg salad. The result is an otherwise normal youngster who, every so often, might be called back to Fayren to do mysterious, menial labor for their purposes. When the time is right, he'd even fight for the evil machines himself. But not yet.

Once the brainwashing's complete, they put Tony back where they found him, placing a boy in a yellow jump suit back on the streets of Fayren, albeit a bit more bedraggled and with a bumpier head. By appearances, it looked like he'd almost bit off more than he could chew, but fended off his attackers anyway. Mentally, there'd simply be a blank space with no accounting for the time lost.]