Repliforce VTOL <Razor>

========================== Repliforce VTOL <Razor> ===========================

You are in a Repliforce VTOL's Cockpit. Flight stick, controls, and other devices await your command.

====================== Type 'vhelp' for a command list. ======================
Contents:
Ten

Outside> Quick Man suddenly stops the boat and dives into the water with a loud splash the probably everyone can hear. After a long, uncomfortable silence like in the movies, he burst through the surface of the water, wrestling a huge alligator. "Crikey! This 'ere's a biggun, I reckon! Look at the soize of it!" Oh great, now he's shouting out like the Crocodile Hunter. Looks like the lack of being around Tron has finally gotten to him.

Outside> Blast Hornet nods to Firestorm, and giggles as her wasp drone buzz away all the swarming insect from around her. "Well, that's good ta 'hear." She replies, still keeping with her southern accent. "I guess I'll be giving mah new drones a real field testin' now."

Outside> Wildfire Phoenix sighs a little, takes the hand, then starts to get up before she quickly clenches her brother's wrist and gives a hard yank! "Not funny when yer wet!" she says cheerfully.

Outside> Repliforce VTOL <Razor> is carefully guided toward the bayou area. However, the pilot chooses to land outside the bayou, hoping to avoid having the vehicle attract attention. It's just a hop, skip, and jump to the main bayou from where it lands. The pilot doesn't want to miss the action, but would rather the vehicle miss it.

Outside> Alloy is still island hopping. For the record. Dunno how he hasn't run into someone with all this racket going on though.

Outside> Maverick Hunter VTOL <Vorpal> makes its way to descend towards the bayou. Likewise the Repliforce VTOL, it lands outside to a safe spot so no one will be able to find or steal it. However, it is at a different section from Razor. The jet slowly runs out, then it descends to the ground. Clear for exit now.

Outside> A Master speaking like Steve Irwin, and a Sidhe dressed like one. At least Sonic is singing SOMETHING About the Bayou.

"But I learned how t'ae swim, an' I learned who I was, a lot about livin' and a little 'bout love!! Well we fogged up tha' winders in me old Chevy, I was willin' but she wasn't ready! So I settled f'ar a burger an' a grape snow cone, drop'ter off early but I didn't go home! Down by tha' River on a Friday night, A pyramid O' cans in the pale moonlight, talkin' bout cars an' dreamin' bout women. Never had a plan, just a livin' f'ar tha' minute! Yeah, way down Yonder.."

Fluffy continues to sleep through the audatious doggarel.

Outside> Firestorm Phoenix knows is sister and is well prepared for her yank. Spreading his wings quickly, the thrusters hidden with in them come to life and counter the forces excerted on him by Wildfire, "Ha, you can't get me that easily." He then pulls Wildfire completely out and sets her upon more sollid ground. "Hmm, now the quiestion is, do we sit here and wait, or do we wonder around and take in the sights?"

Outside> Fashionable Feline parks his hoverbike on a small land, deciding to take a small break.

Outside> Shield changes into his Armored armor.

Flare Feline hmms as he takes off his headset, or whatever a co-pilot would wear in that thing "All set? What do you think we'll find this time?"

Outside> Alex Reinfield drops Axle.

Outside> Arafina hops out of the Vorpal, peering about quietly.

Outside> Shield marches down the ramp, already in his battle armor just in case.

Outside> Wildfire Phoenix thbts at Firestorm with that beak somehow before she stands up, "Hmph," she dusts herself off a little, (drowns Axle. ;> ) and just glances around, "I'd say wait..."

Outside> The irony of the situation is not lost on Shadow Man... When he makes every effort to conceal himself, it seems the enemy can't find him fast enough, and yet here he is on a fire-engine-red hoverbike, ruthlessly murdering innocent swamp wildlife, and no one could care yes. Perhaps there is some wisdom in the proverb, 'Hide where everyone can you see you, and you will not be seen'.

Outside> Maverick Hoverbike <Muon> is still floating along, By the by, with Sonic in a cargo wagon hitched to be back, Fluffy down the front of her shirt asleep, while she fishes for gators.

Outside> Blast Hornet floats above the ground, not wanting to even touch the soggy turf. It'll wrech her polish! "We can wait here, and Ih can send out lil' Jim-Bob here to scout around, and send back a video feed." She says to Firestorm and Wildfire.

Outside> Job presses down on the accelrator and speeds up the hoverbike. A plume of water is thrown up in the craf's wake as it skimms over swamps riling up the local wildlife.

Outside> From the north, the sound of burning thrusters can be heard long before the Talon comes jetting along just over the treeline. Branches, leaves, and water is thrown in every direction from the force of it's flight which seems to be alittle to fast and reckless. The jetchopper swerves left and right, coming dangerously close to crashing several times. The pilot is either drunk, crazy, or knows what they're doing.

Outside> Rust Ghoul continues to sit idylically in his tree, in harmony with nature. Or some crap like that.

Outside> And Rednecks. Sonic is also fishing for Rednecks. But the bait for the Rednecks is paacked away in the Muon's saddle bags, while the rest of it has a kitten sleeping between the two.. Partitions. . *coff*
Outside> Quick Man suddenly hears the hoverbike and the singing, and leaps back out of the swamp and onto the boat, the alligator forgotten. "Croikey! Sounds like an animal in payne! I'd best have a look!

Outside> Quick Man suddenly hears the hoverbike and the singing, and leaps back out of the swamp and onto the boat, the alligator forgotten. "Croikey! Sounds like an animal in payne! I'd best have a look!" And so he follows the singing.

Ten shrugs. As she speaks, her tone has become serious and determined. "I don't know what we will find, but it should be obvious soon enough." In an effort to stay optimistic, she cheerfuly adds, "But I hope it's pretty!" Then she giggles, although it sounds a little forced.

Outside> Exiting from the Vorpal, before entering the Bayou is Alex Reinfield. He is out of the Drill Armor and into the Blitz Armor, mostly used for wrestling. However, he ponders to himself of the situation, remembering that if this place calls for, he'll switch back to the original armor.

Who's this with him? It's the great, its the all might Met, Axle! Yes, the met that the Maverick, Wildfire, had a hard time. Sad thing is that she is unaware of the metool's prescence. The creature leaps to Alex's arms and he says, "Nice place..." He shrugs, narrowing the optics to look around.

Outside> Arafina is, of course, also with Alex...specifically, just in front of him, carrying a pair of cylinders in her left hand. "So, Alex, which way?" she inquires, peering around. "Or just here?"

Outside> Firestorm Phoenix nods, "Well that works." He then grins at his sister, "Oh don't be like that."

Outside> Shield wasn't asked, but he answers Fina anyways. "I was planning on waiting for a storm to start and head for its center."

Outside> Wildfire Phoenix just smirks at Firestorm. "like what?" she asks with a wink before she continues to look around... "hrm... what a weird place..."

Outside> Ring Redwing perches upon the Razor, since it can only hold a maximum of two individuals. From up here, she can see the surroundings stretch for miles, whee!

Flare Feline chuckles "Well if it's a pendent like all the others, it probably will be. ...just don't push yourself too hard, alright? Be careful, we were nearly killed last time." He begins to head out "I think we should stick together, it's a large bayou and we don't want to get seperated too much. Chances are there'll be other 'forcers here too."

Outside> Alloy isn't destroying any part of the wildlife at all! He's trying to make as little impression in the swampy delta as he can. However, far off, he can hear what seems to be about half a dozen bikes and and hovercraft zooming through the place. Wonderful. .oO(Looks like it's gonna be crowded in here) he thinks morosely to himself as he continues, floating up to about ten feet off the ground and continuing. He doesn't want to get run over by someone who's got nothing but glory and power in their eyes chasing after the next pendant.

Outside> Shadow Man likewise eventually detects the sound on the edge of hearing, even over the roar of his hoverbike - and alters his course to head straight for it, leaving both Robot Masters now converging on Sonic Banshee.

Outside> Fusion Phoenix arrives from the Louisiana.

Outside> Alex Reinfield nods to Shield, "I think that'd be a good idea.." He then sighs, deciding to switch to Delta Armor. "Great...." He then presses the button to his Arm Cannon, he then begins to shimmer into a bright color, converting to the Armored form. The Drill-Arm is flared out, ready to deal with anything in the way.

Unlike Alloy, Axle peers towards one of the plants around, "DIE DIE DIE!!" *ZAP ZAP ZAP*

Alex peers at Axle, "Was that necessary?" He then puts the hardhat on as a helmet.

Outside> Well, you didn't expect Sonic to go to The Little Ole' South an' not go fishin' for some down home boys, now didja?! Sonic pauses in her fishing to change the tune playing in her internal MP3 player. From Chatahooche we go do.. Live Laugh Love! Woooohaw!

Sonic pauses to reach up and unbotton her shirt slightly with a sigh. "Sure is bloody hot in tha'se parts," She drawls to the kitten, as she tugs on her fishing line lazily and then flings it back out again.
Outside> Blast Hornet nods to one of her wasp-drones, presumable 'Jim-Bob'. "Go on now, and see what you can find!" She says quietly, and the little drones buzzes happily, then flies off. It buzzes along, almost as if it were just a natural little bug here. Except it's a foot long and made of metal. Blast Hornet pulls out a small black and white TV screen, and streches out the thin antenna. "Ih really ought to get cable on this thing..." She mumbles, and watches the wasps-eye viw of the bayou.

Outside> Arafina nods to Shield as well. "Works for me. It ain't like I have a better idea." And, so, in her punk gear, she just stands with arms crossed to wait for...something...to happen. Anything, really. And in the meantime: "I need a hobby.)

Ten follows Flare. "Nearly being killed is all a part of what we do. You are absolutely correct, we do need to stick together. If we do so, I know we can survive. I think we have already proved that the two of us are a force not easily taken down. Or up, or left, or right, or in any direction we don't want to go." Another slight chuckle.
Flare Feline nods "Heh, you're right. Let's go."

Bayou

While most people think of New Orleans when they hear 'Louisiana', not the heavy bayou that covers a large part of the delta. Small islands and strips of land are scattered about, providing specks of shelter from hip-deep waters. Alligators, water moccasins, and billions on billions of insects populate this inhospitable place, where no human (aside from the occasional insane, inbred hermit) lives. The plants here grow thick and wild, with no control and only their own insane order.

Fusion Phoenix [Armored] [RF]
Ring Redwing [Normal] [RF]
Axle
Alex Reinfield [Blitz] [MH]
Arafina [Jeans] [MH]
Shield [Armored] [MH]
Fashionable Feline [Sorta_normal] [RF]
TalonZX98 Jetchopper [C]
Shadow Man [Armor] [RM]
Maverick Hunter VTOL <Vorpal> [MH]
Repliforce VTOL <Razor> [RF]
Serena Gilbert [C]
One section of the Bayou.
Blast Hornet [M]
Firestorm Phoenix [Flight] [M]
Job [C]
Wildfire Phoenix [Default] [M]
Quick Man [Derek] [RM]
Repliforce Hoverbike <Alpha> [RF]
Alloy [Standard] [MH]
Maverick Hoverbike <Muon> [M]
[Stealthed] Rust Ghoul [C]

Obvious exits:
Out <O> leads to Louisiana.

Ten has arrived.

TalonZX98 Jetchopper grows closer to the other groups of people, it's over-accelerated roar growing louder by the second. Inside, the pilot hmms as she looks over the display panel. Then a voice, familiar to some as the Shadow Hunter Mem can be heard over a loudspeaker. Whether she meant for that to happen or not can't be told.

"...at's this blinking red dot mean?" She peers intently, taking her focus off driving. "It looks like it's getting closer..." And indeed, the Talon begins to draw near the Repliforce ship, still barreling along at full throttle. This could start the night off with a flare.

Flare Feline steps out of the Razor, along with Ten, and takes a look around. Ick, damp. Oh well. He begins to start taking a look around, thankfully he has keen eyesight, and can maneauver quite well in thick foliage...

Quick Man's boat roars down the river, closing in on the Banshee's hoverbike. He then spots the fishing line in the water, and follows it up to the bike overhead. "Crikey! Looks like a poacher! I'll show them not to mess with..." Dramatic pause. "The CROCODILE MASTER! BANZAI!" He then leaps from the boat, and grabs the fishing line! He's gone insane.

Fusion Phoenix is in an unusual place for a fire bird, in the waters of the swamp itself. Acosional bubbles of gas float up from his position.

Firestorm Phoenix smiles back at Wildfire and then looks to Blast with a chuckle, "Now that would be useful, to pass those long minutes before repliforce or the hunters show up to ruin our missions?"

Alloy just happens to be passing over that part of the river as Quick Man kamikazes after Sonic. Just eyeing Quick as he passes, Alloy remains still, covered by the foliage, and waits for him to pass. It's not as if he'd be noticed by the crazed Irwin-wannabe anyway.

WHAMMO!! Sonic Blinks as the Fishing-line is grabbed, and her bike starts to tug downwards slightly. "Croikey," She mimics, "I've got a reet bugger on me line, Fluffums!" She announces. The kitten opens his eye, then closes it with a yawn. Sonic narrows her eyes, reels a moment or two, and then snorts.

"T'heck with this. I got anather rod in tha' front of the bike!"

With that, Quick Man's current grasp is released, adn the Muon bobs back into the air, disturbing the sleeping cat again.
Jim-Bob, the wasp drone Blast Hornet sent out for surveilance, buzzes around the bayou, pretty much at random. "Well, ah've got the antennae already." She says with a chuckle, and wiggles the appendages on her head."

Wildfire Phoenix just nods a little and folds her arms, "All we can do is waith then..." she says glancing around a little more. "... Hopefully something'll happen soon.

Ether Skunk arrives from the Louisiana.
Ether Skunk has arrived.

Shield mentally sighs. "Actually, I was hoping you /did/ have a better plan. I'm not positive a storm will appear."

Fashionable Feline keeps leaning against his hover bike.

Ten immediately finds that she does not like the bayou! She hates water, and finds that it is everywhere. Moreover, all the trees and stuff prevent her from properly flapping her wings. Ten sounds rather irritated as she says, "Gosh, I already hate this place!"

Firestorm Phoenix nods, "Yup, sit and wait and hope no stupid forcers or hunters decide to try and run us off."

Alex Reinfield shakes his head a bit, "I suggest we head down the path. I'm sure that if we look around and listen, we'll find some sort of sign that weill lead us to the next pendant. Then we'll have to destroy it.."

Axle frowns, "But but.."

Alex peers at Axle, "No." He pats the hardhat, and he grins.

Flare Feline looks back at Ten "Try and stick close to me, I don't much like it either, but we have to examine this place. Try to keep your wings down, they'd likely be prone to be caught in vines and stuff," He draws his claws, and slashes at a few hanging vines that get in his way, as he trudges deeper into the bayou "I wonder how many others are already in here madly searching this place out..."

Fusion Phoenix bubbles as he swims through the swamp... Blup...
Arafina shrugs. "I don't got any ideas. I /never/ have any ideas," she points out. "I'll just follow you guys, 'kay?"

Shield looks to Alex, "Destroy it? That seems very unwise. And I believe Rock ordered us to contain it, not eliminate it."

Quick Man falls into the water with a splash, but luckily, he had his boat set on auto pilot! He turns around, and reaches out to catch the boat. Unfortunately, he ends up slamming his face into the bow, leaving a Quick Man shaped dent in it. Luckily, he gets back onto the boat. He looks up at the hovercycle and yells out. "YE CAN'T ESCAPE THAT EASILY, DAGUMMIT!" HE then guns the moto and speeds off after the hoverbike.

Alex Reinfield sighs a bit, then he nods, "Oh yeah...that's right..Well, do you have any sort of container on you?"

Alloy sighs and decides to settle himself into the crook of a tree nearby, about a dozen feet up from the ground. Maybe if he waits for a while they'll get tired and just go somewhere else.
Blast Hornet watches her drone's eye view on her little black and white screen. Rather boring so far. "They can try Firestorm, but ah've got a new surprise in store to keep 'em off my tail."

Arafina shakes her head. "I ken pick it up on my knife if it would help..."

With an earsplitting ROAR to those near the Razor, the Talon jetchopper rips past only a couple feet away. Then it seems to take a dive straight into the trees and disappears. The engines die out as the transport splashes down and sinks into the water just deep enough to leave an inch or two protruding in the air. There are a few airbubbles nearby moments later and Mem splashes to the surface, burbling and sputtering. "Ack! Coughgurpbleh! Ew! This water is disgusting!"

High above the swamp, a blazing purple shooting star cuts its way across the sky, visible wherever the thick canopy of the swampy trees clears enough to allow view of the sky.

Sonic arches her brows lazily at the yelling, and sighs, shaking her head. She lifts an arm, pops the synthflesh covered console lid, and then taps something out. IN seconds, she shimmers out of view. Kids these days. She resumes 'Sunning' herself, lifting another hand to pop a short button. Lucky for her, she's got her Bikini-Armor on underneath.

Ten draws her naginata, and helps Flare hack away at the vines. "I would imagine quite alot of people will be here. I hope there are many who are on our side."

Shield pulls what looks to be no more than a large foot wide ziplock bag. "I borrowed this from the science labs, it's supposed to have the best protection available for sealing hazardous materials while being portable. I have a suspicion that a portable energy containment system won't work."

Blade Raven flaps along, since he's been doing that for damn near forever, just never bothered to pose as such, but he's doing it. He wishes Solar were out here..

Fusion Phoenixnoticing the light from above, looks up momentairly to track the passing of the purple ball...

Arafina grins. "Good. You carry it," she says, cheerfully. "I'll just chop up stuff for ya, 'kay? It's easier on me."

Shadow Man for one is oblivious to any astronomical phenomenon, since when one is moving at extreme velocity, it's usually a good idea to keep one's eyes on where one is going - and in this case that logic proves correct indeed, as he just narrowly avoids a collision with both the Muon and Quick Man's boat.

Ring Redwing stands guard over the Razor, no one is going to steal this Repliforce jet! Got to make sure that the others will have a ride back when it's all over. Even though she can't pilot it or anything.

Flare Feline's attention is caught first by the Talon, and then by the streak of purple across the sky "Hm, we should keep our guard up. Who knows what we'll find... but for now I think we should follow that... whatever it was that just flew overheard. It's our only lead in this mess of growth right now..."

Alloy looks up for a moment and just happens to spot the trail of lavender light passing over the trees. Curious, he floats out of the small hollow and pokes his head up just above the canopy, being cautious not to reveal himself too much, and takes a closer look. Ahh, he recognises that purple star now. It's Ether.

Job is starting to pick up some contacts on the bike's magscanners. "Looks like I'm not the only one who is searching the swamps for the pendant. Well this should be interesting." Job weaves out of the way of a tree and speeds on through the swamps.

Ten nods to Flare. "Sounds good to me. We shall head toward the purple light!" A slight giggle. "I'll be sure to keep my guard up." Ten keeps her wings folded tightly against her back, and continues to help hack away at any overgrowth that gets in the way.

Alloy sends a radio transmission to Ether Skunk.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission.

Wildfire Phoenix nods a bit at her bro, "Yeah send it-.. out.." she says as she peers upward, catching something through the canopy though she can't tell what. "Hrm... someone's here...

Alex Reinfield nods towards Shield and Arafina, "Okay guys, let's move out!" He walks forward, then he pats the Drill-Arm. The blade is already out to pierce anything that gets in the way. He walks through the marshes, while moving his arms to move the bushes away.

Mem mutters some more as she squishes up onto the metal outcropping of her jet and stares up at the hole it left in the canopy of trees. "Maybe that was the wrong button..." She blinks and narrows her eyes, staring for a moment longer. Yep, she sees a shiny purple thing. "Ooo, pretty." The girl smiles up at the sky for a few moments longer, then suddenly falls over for no reason, back into the water. "Aaa! Slippery!" Actually she forgot to stop leaning back, but we won't tell her that.

Arafina turns on both of her energy knives, one teal blade in each hand, and goes merrily a'slicin' through the bushes, whistling. "See? This gets us through quicker."

Rust Ghoul sits in his tree, leaning back against a branch. o O ( This is boring. Maybe I ought to light a fire or something. )

Shield pauses at the light. "Well, that's no storm, but it looks like it's our first clue. Let's follow it," he says, making his way as quickly through the bayou as he can on foot.

Firestorm Phoenix chuckles a bit at Blast, "Oh, I'm not worried about such things, its just hard to hunt for artifacts imbued with the power of stardroids and beat up forcers at the same time..." He then nods to Wildfire, "From what I can tell, theres quite a few people around."

Flare Feline continues onward, in the direction he last saw the light go. He easily shreds vines out of his way, and nimbly maneuavers the terrain. Flare may not like the dampness, but this type of overgrown environment is just what Flare is made to handle. He breezes through it mostly, of course pausing so Ten doesn't fall behind, and so he can scout the area in the meantime.

The glimmering purple streak in the sky shoots off into the distance, but doesn't burn out for but a second- it must not be a shooting star after all. As if that weren't proof enough, it curves back around and shoots back towards the scene, dropping elevation quickly. Soon enough, it disappears into the swampland, and a brief, silent flash later, the light is gone. Yep, for those few who recognized it, it's Ether- for anybody else who isn't familiar with the skunk, it's pretty!

As he leaves the majority of the other searchers behind, Shadow Man pulls his stolen hoverbike hard around and begins to head back in the general direction he came in, patrolling in something like a wide but fairly variant circuit.

Ether Skunk sends a radio transmission.
Alloy receives a radio transmission.

Fusion Phoenix looks back down from the purple light, contimuing to search the murky waters. Still, the only thing he has found was a fishing hook, which he took the bait off of, tied the line to a tree root, and tugged twice. .oO(*snicker)Oo.

Quick Man continues following the hoverbike and stuff. His player doesn't know anything about what's going on with Sonic, since he seems to keep missing things. So he's just following, and spouting Steve Irwin-isms.

Alex Reinfield noticing the light, he nods at Shield, "Okay." He then smiles, then he glances around a bit. He then continues to follow the Hunter, hoping that this 'light' will take them off somewhere.

Wildfire Phoenix nods a bit, "Yeah probably... it'd be so much simpler if those Stardroids would just let us have the vision, no one else, I mean why should they get anything?" she asks as she continues to peer about.

Arafina squints up at the light - then watches it double back. "Sorry, that ain't no star," she says, watch Ether approach. "Look, see?"
Ring Redwing continues guarding the Razor. Nuns shall pass! I mean none shall pass!

Sonic Banshee crosses her legs, leaning back in her chair, confident in her invisibility to diinterest whatever it is that's shouting about alligators below. Because as everyone knows, there are no crocodiles in North America, unless in Zoos. Sonic smiles lazily. And really hopes she doesn't have to smack anyone. It would just -ruin- the evening..

Blade Raven spots Ether. Whoo. Of course, he's glad that it's another Hunter besides himself. He didn't want to be out here alone, as he'd rather a Hunter stand a chance of getting this item. He swoops towards where Ether landed at..

Alloy sends a radio transmission.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission from Alloy.

Ten suddenly realizes something. "Hey, that loud noise sounded like it could have been somebody crashing! Somebody might need our help! I think it was nearby!" Ten tries to figure out exactly which direction the vehicle crashed in.

Ether Skunk tromps forward through the swamp, at something of a distance from most anybody else here- and as she remains grounded, she makes no more shiney purple light to astound and confuse those on the lookout for signs of the divine. Sorry. She grumbles slightly as her feet sink into the muck of the swamp, as she tucks into her radio and chatters over it...

Alex Reinfield binks, noticing that it is Ether. He then spots Raven as well. He dashes over towards the two, "Hey guys!" He then turns to Shield and Arafina, "Come on." He says rather happily while heading to the other Hunter. "Glad to see you guys."

Flare Feline glances back at Ten "You're probably right... I think it was that way..." Flare heads in some other direction, clearing the path towards where the Talon crashed...

Ether Skunk sends a radio transmission.
Alloy receives a radio transmission from Ether Skunk.
Ring Redwing has reconnected.
Alloy sends a radio transmission to Ether Skunk.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission from Alloy.

Out of boredom, Rust pulls a small orb from a hook on his armor - no trenchcoat tonight, not in this muck - and taps a few buttons. He flickers out of stealth for a moment, as he gives it a big lob. However, already camoflagued, and hidden by the natural cloak of night, it'd be hard to spot him.

Shield sighs aloud at this. Once again, Ether Skunk manages to...nevermind. "False alarm then. But at least there's more eyes searching now. He consoles himself with that thought as he joins the newly arrived hunters.

Quick Man is too far gone off the deep end to be disinterested. Also, he's on a new mission now: To keep those ruddy thieves away from some pendant, so he can donate it to a museum! He's MAD, I tell you, MAD!

Axle pops out of the hardhat, then he glances over at Ether. He winks, then he hides back in his hardhat. "Hello." He says while the hollowness of the shell travels.

Carefully getting to her feet, wary of the slipperiness, Mem sighs holds her arms up to get a good look at herself. "I'm all wet and icky and it smells out here and my plane crashed and I wanna go home!" But ofcourse that would defeat the purpose of coming out here. So whimpering abit, she wringes out her hair and clothes best she can before looking all about her. Now comes a familiar question. Which way?

Blast Hornet watches as a bright streak descends on her little black and white screen, and hopes it's the pendant... No, it appears to be a reploid skunk. Jim-Bob, the camera wasp drone, hides up in the trees, and watches Ether Skunk. "Hey, one'a you fiyah-birds... Look at this." Blast says, and holds out her little screen. "You guys recognize who it is?" Blast asks, and the little screen shots Ether Skunk and her surroundings. It's black and white, but it's a skunk, so it's easy to see.

Derek Vasquez has arrived.
Rigger has arrived.

Arafina rather cheerlessly slaps a bug on her shoulder. Mmm, bugs. And she's just showing enough synthetic flesh to attract them - apparently /they/ can't tell the difference without landing, and every time they do, /swat/. She follows Alex and Axle. "I /hate/ swamps now."

Alloy grins slightly as his suspicions are confirmed. It was Ether, which means there's another Hunter here, adding to their chances. Ducking back down below the canopy, he heads in Ether's direction, keeping in amongst the foliage to minimise his chances of being spotted. Hopefully he'll meet up with her and they'll be able to search together. Two pairs of eyes aer certainy far better than one.

Alia has arrived.

Derek Vasquez takes One section of the Bayou..

Ten keeps helping to clear the path using her naginata. "Oh, I do hope we aren't too late! Hmmm, I think I can find a safe place to fly up, and see if I can manage to spot the vehicle from the air. It's risky, but if a person needs our help, I have to do all that I can."

The orb lands in a cyprus tree, remaining there for at least a minute.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rings out from the tree, splinters of wood flying in all directions as the top of the tree bursts into flames.

Wildfire Phoenix snorts, "I fought her a while back... she's nothing to worry about I think..." Wildfire responds. Even if she did get covered in fuel and got lit up... she still beat Ether! Then, of all things, an explosion and fire. Lots of fire. "Eeerr... This could be a bad thing..."

Fusion Phoenix swims slowly through the swamp... bubble... suddenly a tree nearby blows up. . o O (What was that?)

Flare Feline nods at Ten "Alright, I'll keep heading there on foot, watch it. It'll be tricky to fly through all that going up and down..."
Blink blink. Alex urks a bit as he draws his attention out. "What the!?" He hears a loud explosion, then he start to look around towards the direction of where it came from. "Guys! Let's check it out!"

Rust Ghoul sits back down his own cyprus tree, snickering to himself. o O ( Hug a tree, smeggers. )

Firestorm Phoenix shrugs at Wildfire, "I don't know, but I hope we get the remainder." He then eyes the screen and nods, "Yeah, I've seen her before, don't know her name though, she's a hunter I believe." Firestorm looks up as an explosion takes place, "... Blast, send one of your drones in the direction of that explosion, see whats going on."

"Well, who is it then, Wildfire?" Blast Hornet asks, and lets her drone buzz away from Ether Skunk, going on deeper into the dense flora on the bayou. Blast then nods, and sends the other drone she's got buzzing around her head to go check out the direction of the explosion. Bzz!
Job keeps speeding through the swamp, oO(So far nothing... yet..)

Mem continues to look about her frantically, finally throwing her arms up. "Waaaaaaaaa! I'm lost again!" Nevermind that she's never been here before. Rather than let it get to her, the girl does what she usually does. Balancing carefully on one foot she leans to the side and... SPINS. Twirltwirltwirl...thump. When she finally falls over from dizziness, Mem makes sure to check which direction her body points in. "Weee...ahhaha...woah.. Okay, I go that way."

Ether Skunk looks up as Alloy, Blade, and the other HUnters, offering a slight smile to them all... though like Florida, she came out here hoping, just vaguely hoping she'd be on her own this time. The skunk gives them all a little wave of her tail and bounces in her knee-high swampmuck. *splish splash* "Seen anything neato yet, people?"

Fusion Phoenix quickly reaches the blasted tree. Finding nothing supsious THERE, he continues his spiral search patterns.

And, thus, out of one particular section of the swamp.. comes a small boat. A boat thats drifting lazily along, almost casually. Paddled with an air of ease that can be little matched. Three figures aboard, there sits, on in back while two up front. A small, tiny little lamp is attached to the prow of this shallow swamp boat, to keep it from being too lost in the dark and misty bayou of the Mississippi delta...

Arafina reverses her grip on her knife and /swings/ the energy blade at something in the water, by her feet. THen she pulls up the headless corpse of a water moccassin. "Score," she says cheerfully, throwing it over her shoulder before turning to Ether. "No."

Wildfire Phoenix continues to glance at the screen, "Don't know her name..." she says before blinking and glaring at the screen, someone else in the picture.. ".... I know that metool.." she growls a little before she glances away from the screen. "Well either way, keep those drones looking around Blast.. something's bound to show up.

Shield snaps his head around towards the direction of the sound. It's a bit distant, but he can still hear with with his above average hearing. "Looks like we have something else to check out," he says, turning to walk towards the explosion. Unfortunately, it's on the other side of a deeper section of the swamp. "Although this could prove to be a problem," he muses.

Rust Ghoul blinks, noticing the small boat, and the lamp. o O ( A will o' wisp. ) He rolls out of the tree, cloaking tech disengaging as he sinks into the muck. After all, before he was a bounty hunter, he was a guerilla, and scout, with merc groups. His yellow optics attuned to the night, he follows towards the boat with the top half of his head barely visible. That distraction worked well.

Alex Reinfield blinks, then he shakes his head a bit, "No...change that..." He then gazes up towards the small boat that is approaching. He takes a glimpse towards the three figures, and the small lamp. ".........What on eartth?"

Ring Redwing spies the lamp from her vantage point above the Razor and with a quick radio to the other Repliforcer's in the area, flies off towards it, soaring over the swampy vegetation.

Ten finds a clearing where she has plenty of room to spread her wings. Then she flies up to see if she can spot the crashed vehicle from the air. As she said, it's risky, but she still thinks a person might need her help. Just then, she hears a scream. "Huh? Uh oh, sounds like somebody is in trouble!" She calls down to Flare, "I just heard a scream! I'm going to see if I can find where it came from!"

Alloy touches down lightly, his boots are already well-mudded from his earlier trekking. Looking around, he murmurs. "Nothing that's actually relevant to our search..."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "I see a light floating along the river. Might be a distress signal or something, I'm going to go check it out."

Blade Raven continues to flap along, looking for any signs of one of the other Hunters he knows is out here, besides Ether, since he's seen her already.

Fusion Phoenix is startled as the boat goes over his head. This being the only other intelegent life he has seen, he follows it silently.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Aerial Division Commander Ten transmits, "Be careful, girl! Be sure to radio if you need any help."

Job starts to slow down the speed of his hover cycle as he keeps up his search for any hint to where the first of the trials for the current pendant will be. oO(Well where to look... it could take ages to search all this place...) Then off in the distance Job spys a light. oO(What do we have here.) Job slows down the speed of his hover cycle and heads for the light shortly he is able to make out the boat and three figures on it. "Looks like found something."

Flare Feline waves up at Ten, and climbs a tree himself to get a good view of the area. He sees various people he can't make out, Ten, Ring, three guys and a lamp... wait a minute... He narrows his eyes trying to look closer "Now what's that..." Hearing Red's radio message, he decides to head closer himself. Who knows what it is.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Lieutenant Flare Feline transmits, "I'm heading in that direction too. It looks suspicious. Ten, watch yourself."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "I'm a bit closer, and it /looks/ to be a boat. I am folowing it."

Ether Skunk sighs softly, turning in a slow circle, looking around the swamp slowly. She keeps her tail arched as high as she can, as it'll just... _SUCK_ if that big floofly length falls into the muck and slime below. She supposes she sees the light of the approaching boat in the distance, being on the edge of the swamp herself... but doesn't recognize it at first, and doesn't pay it much more heed than the light of every other one present.

Firestorm Phoenix blinks and eyes his Sister, then shrugs, "Blast, you see anything yet with those bugs of yours?"

Mem just lies on her side in the water, one arm stretched above her head to keep her chosen direction pointed out. She's still dizzy from that spin so she remains still, trying to get her vision to clear.

Arafina swats some more bugs (with the blade /off/) as she sludges through the swamp, sticking toward Ether once she /locates/ the poor skunk. No need to leave the sleepyhead by herself. And as such, the boat goes ignored.

Quick Man is following the theiving Banshee, gunning his motor. "CROIKEY! He's a fast one 'e is, but I'll- Oooh, shiny." He spies the lantern and turns his boat in it's direction, closing fast. "Shiny gooooooood..."

Sonic remains unseen upon her 'Flying Boat', the Muon's cargo wagon settling in after the near collision, first, with Shadowman, and then after the.. Rather bolluxing perdicament with Quick Man, whom hasn't posed in some time, or else I missed in all this spam. She sighs, as she leans back, lifting her glasses lazily.. Until she takes note. A light in the fog of the swamp. She lifts a hand to draw down her shades, and peers at the Lamplight as the boat that owns it comes slowly drifting down along the river.

As for not singing anyone else, Sonic, like her kitten, is a master in the art of ignorance.

Slowly lifting her arm, she unstealths, and phases into view with a shimmer, then hmms, standing up slowly, and turning to make for the front of her wagon and bike setup. As she barely makes the bike.. Quick Man's boat rams into the hovering vehicle, and takes off the wagon. Sonic turns, and stares. And then groans, slumping into a sit atop her bike.

oO( Vile's going to KILL ME for losing that wagon!)

Fashionable Feline idly stands on his little island in the bayou leaning against the Repliforce hoverbike he borrowed.

Ten looks about for the source of the scream. Finally, she spots Mem. "Huh? Uh oh! Looks like the crash victim is in trouble!" Ten quickly flies down toward Mem.

Blast Hornet watches the tree show up on her screen, and it's a good thing she can control up to 6 of these little wasp drones. "Well, the tree's scortched, but nothing else is there. "Well, someone toasted a tree. Think that could be a sign or something?" Blast asks, and swites back to view the other wasp drone's view(the ther drone that was near Ether she made her flashy entrance) "And I see some crummy old boat. What kinda sign should I be lookin' for? We already saw a shooting star that was just that Hunter ya'll know."

Ether Skunk doesn't look sleepy, actually. She's quite bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the literal sense of the term- one must wonder just how she managed to make up a four-day sleep deficit in so many hours. She smiles brightly to Arafina and Alloy, before tromping in the general direction of the lights. "Well, come on. If there's somethin' worth notice, the crowd'll see it. We'll find something better if we stick with everybody else... or at least watch everybody else."

The lone boat's light bobbles lightly as the water ripples slightly, the late day's mist and fog making the small boat and its three occumants seem almost ghostlike. It might seem surprising when one of the three figures in the boat leans slightly to the side, and makes a grab at something in the water..

Rust Ghoul pulls a small launching device from subspace, apparently proofed against the muck Rust wallows in. As he swim/crawls stealthily towards the boat, he angles it upwards, and pulls the trigger. With a whisp of smoke following it, he arcs and spirals randomly, nigh-invisible in the night sky. However, after it has gone a good distance, it explodes in a bright flash of color and light, several more bright flashes and loud booms continuing from it. Fireworks. Rust continues towards the boat. False herrings.

Ring Redwing slows as she nears the boat, stopping beside Fusion who is tailing the boat. "Can you make out any of the details of the three individuals on-board?" she asks the Field Medic.

The Shadow Hunter girl remains still now, except for the rythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. No she's not human, but oddly she's programmed to act like one. As for Mem, she's now taking a nap! Yep, the ground was so comfortable that she just sorta dozed off there.
Arafina nods to Ether. "Sure," she says, cheerfully, following the skunk. "You wan' my help?" she inquires. "Like, need a lift or anythin' like that? I will, if you need it - you're still on medleave, y'know."

Flare Feline continues to tear through the foliage. He's a nible feline, thankfully. The claws on his hands and feet make quick work of any vines that get in his way. As he runs and leaps through the trees he slows and lands near Ring and Fusion himself "Hey you two. You're tailing this thing also?"

Job follows the boat on his hovercycle hoping he will not get Prened again like with Florida. The hovercycle now moves slowly over the waters leaving only a small ripple in its wake.

Firestorm Phoenix shurgs, "Mmm, it doesn't feel right, we'll know when the right time comes..."

Wildfire Phoenix nods a bit at her brother, "Yeah really, keep those drones moving Blast. Something will turn up.

Alexis Hastings arrives from the Louisiana.
Alexis Hastings has arrived.

A grumble, as Sonic is then forced to turn, rev up her bike, and then start dribving it. The lights of the people in the boat are a beacon, and she starts that way slowly, driving her hoverbike towards the boat and the people, while all about her otherwise appear to be going absolutely nuts. As for the fireworks, SOnic ponders them a moment, then mutters, "Darned Mardi Gras an' tha' humans celebrating it!" Before she slowly starts dipping the bike downwards towards the boat and the three travellers, murmuring,. " The fates be they, on Charon's barge, floating the Styx for nary a charge.."

Alex Reinfield blinks towards Shield, "I guess we continue to search, ready?" He then turns to both Arafina and Ether, and then he blinks.
Alloy shrugs slightly and follows after the two female Hunters. He chuckles slightly at Arafina's question. "Don't worry Ara, Ether can handle herself." he says as they trudge along. Frowning slightly at their less than stellar progress, he says, "Actually, do -you- want to be carried, Fina? Ether and I could hold you up, I'm sure.

Blast Hornet's second drone pick up more explosions and bright lights, while the first displays the crummy little boat. "Well, Ih've got two different things here. A boat with a lamp, and a bunch of explosions. Think either one might be it? I could /try/ to go for a third camera drone, but when they're outta mah sight, it gets hard to control 'em."

Fusion Phoenix softly replies to Redwing, his head the only thing above water. "Looks like three people, one gut grabed somthing from the water... or droped it into the water... I'll go look."
With that he submerges once more.

Quick Man heads towards the boat with the lamp.

Wildfire Phoenix shakes her head a little, "It wouldn't be explosions..." she says first. "Hrm... keep an eye on that boat Blast... just in case..."

Arafina flicks a finger at Alloy, continuing to sludge through the swamp on her own - slow or not. "Feck no. Go run ahead, if you're so anxious. /Nobody/ carries me."

Alexis Hastings enters the Louisiana.
Alexis Hastings has left.
Serena Gilbert has connected.

Ten descends toward Mem, placing her naginata back into the straps on her back between her wings. The phoenix allows herself to stand in the shallow water, even though she hates doing so. Ten kneels down, and tries to gently shake the girl. With some desperation in her voice, she asks, "Are you okay? Can you here me?"

Ring Redwing's yellow optics glow like headlights, as she tries to pierce the gloom. Cue Superman-esque X-ray vision like special effects. "Okay," she replies to Fusion "Think you can keep up, Flare?" she asks the cat bounding along beside.

Firestorm Phoenix nods, "What Wildfire said."

Ether Skunk glances back towards the others with a blazingly cheerful smile. "I feel great, miss Arafina ma'am!" she chirps. "Thanks again, but I'll be fine." She squints towards the lights and continues trudging, though after a few moments she floats just above the waterline and continues on in a hover. She wonders why she didn't just do this before...

Alloy shrugs slightly. "Just suggesting something. Strength in numbers though, especially with the number of people who seem to be crawling through this place."

Shield nods. "I don't see anything so far that indicates stardroid involvement." Ok, so maybe he's a bit miffed at being so easily fooled by Ether's entrance.

The tiny, creaky little boat rocks a bit as the second figure leans over to grab something. As she straightens up, the 'pilot' pauses to keep it balanced. Then continues his lazy, slow paddling through the misty bayou. A face, hidden in the shade of a night falling, glances back. A flicker of light in the darkness, somewhere beneath dark clothes. And it turns back around, a faint whisper to it's companions.
"I believe.. we are being followed..." And nothing more.

Axle blinks, then he ponders at Alloy. "Well, I say we sink the Mavericks and the Robot Masters down here for the alligators."

Rust Ghoul follows along after the boat, slowly gaining ground. The sly guerilla remains out of sight, however, safely hidden within the swamp's murky waters, and the night fog.

Quick Man then gets a brilliant idea! He reaches into a compartment in his boat, and heaves out a floodlight. You know, one of those giant lights they use to see through fog? Anyways, he then fiddles with the giant bulb, and turns it on, aiming piercing beam of light towards the boad and the three passengers.

Flare Feline chuckles at Red "Don't worry about me, I can maneauver these trees easily enough. You had better be careful yourself, that you don't get tangled in all the vines and stuff." Flare resumes following after the boat from the shore, slicing through the foliage like string.

The shaking motion causes Mem hair to shift around and a large lock slips onto her face. As the back and forth continues, her nose gets tickled and finally a tiny high-pitched sneeze drags her out of her doze. Blinking a couple times, the girl tries to figure things out. "Ara? Where am I? Why am I wet? Ptoie! Why is my hair in my face?" She suddenly notices the hand on her body and the large shadow overhead. Slowly she tilts her gaze upwards, along Ten's body and to her face. Mem blinks again a couple times, takes a deeep breath then SCREAMS. The sound would probably shatter glass.

Blade Raven finally spots the other group of Hunters, and swoops down towards them, not landing, but hovering a bit, "Hrm." He says, "Find anything guys?"

Arafina snaps, "Well hell, I'm not gonna get /carried/. I /walk/." She stands up on tip-toes to try to look around, then goes back to wading. "What's there?"

Alloy looks around at the suprise appearance of Alex nearby. Or maybe there's been some pose discontinuity. Anyway, he replies to Alex's suggestion, "Sounds like a nice idea, but we outta cripple first. Even these gators wouldn't be able to mince 'em without some help."

Fusion Phoenix scours the riverbed for any thing out of place, but suddenly, he must belch up some waste gas. He trys to keep it down, but it erups to the surface near the boat with a sound much like "Pren!"

Job keeps following the boat at a distance.

The light on the small, ghostly shadow of a boat flickers as it bobs with the currents of the water. The figure furtest back stands as one of the three leans down toward the water. The figure stands solemn, statuesque, as a voice rises in a low humming murmer. The words are drowned by the lapping of water along the sides of the boat though the harsh tone carried is evident. A command issued to the others.

"Continue. We have our task to fullfill."

Firestorm Phoenix continues to sit and wait for a real sign, one that he is unmistaken in. "We shall keep waiting, we'll see if any thing concrete turns up."

Ether Skunk squints quietly, pausing briefly, then pointing forward. "Look," she murmurs, indicating the floodlight that Quick Man shines. "There's, ah... more light." She huffs, squinting, before looking up, then reaching back and beckoning for the others to follow still. "Well, damn. Come one, I'm sure we'll see something neat sooner or later..."

Ring Redwing has an easier time maneuvering, since she's much smaller than the other Repliforcers who are also here to hunt. Those vines that do get in her way are parted by her Ring Barrier. She catches a glimpse of hoods and shadows with her Superman-like laser-vision. "They're trying to look like ghosts, whoever they are."

Quick Man continues aiming the large, glaring light at the figures on the boat, trying to see who they are.

Ten's hands immediately shoot to the sides of her head, desperately covering her sounds receptors. She waits for the scream to pass, then speaks in a gentle, reassuring tone of voice. "Easy there, girl. I'm here to help. It looks to me like you were in a crash of some sort. You might need some help."

Shadow Man is, at the moment, nowhere near anyone, including the ghost boat. He's patrolling the Mississippi delta on a stolen hoverbike, going way too fast, with total disregard for the sanctity of the local ecosystem. Occasionally he runs over things, but doesn't seem too worried about it.

Rust Ghoul reaches down to his thigh as me moves seamlessly through the muck, drawing his two-foot long serrated blade. He increases his pace as he moves through the swamp. Scene poser, feel free to judge how close I'm getting to the boat.

Sonic keeps to the air. She heard about the incident in Florida. Like heck she's going to get attacked by alligator people. What is with those three people.. She tilts her head, and hmms, before reaching down. She pops the lflap of a saddle bag to her left, and pulls out a pair of Binoculars, trying to get a closer look at the three on their boat, murmuring to the kitten still asleep in her.. Paticulars..., "Fluffums, I dinn'ae like this. I swear, iffen a vampire leaps out o' tha' quagmire an' says, 'I am going t'ae give yae tha' choice I never had', I'm gonnae -KNOW- this is a bad movie scene.."

"Well, alright then." Blast Hornet replies, and keeps her eyes glued to the screen. The ghostly boat is still there, and the other wander around, and finds no more bright explosions. "I don't see anything new yet. Ih'll tell ya'll when Ih do."

Arafina quite easily jumps about eight feet up, landing back down with a splash. Then another bounce. "I don't see much," she says unhelpfully, legs splattered with swamp gunk.

Unfortunatly, the light.. strikes nothing more than a tree, the boat having just barely managed to slip behind it. Avoiding Quick Man's beam of light, by accident.. or design. Either way, thepilot merely nods it's head as the third - obviously the commander - speaks. And quietly.. begins to paddle a little harder. The tiny boat starting to skim across the water. Trying, of course, to loose that follow...
"As you wish.."

Rust Ghoul narrows his optics as they paddle faster. o O ( A chase, is it? ) Diving under the water, he extends his wrist, and a grapple pierces through the water, blade on the end aimed for the back of the boat. The vampire in the quagmire can't be shaken so easily.

Flare Feline moves at a steady pace along the shore, keeping an eye on the boat just ahead of him. oO(I wonder what their deal is? And where could they be headed? What's down this river?) He shrugs, and keeps moving. There's nothing for him to do right now but follow, until something happens.

Ether Skunk narrows her eyes and squints. "OKay, something is definitely up," she murmurs. "See all of those lights? They're coming together... and following that one." She points to the dim light cast by the lamp of the boat. "I think we just found our heavenly sign. Let's go follow the herd, eh?" The skunk picks up the pace with which she hovers, skimming easily over the water, at a pace fast enough to catch up with the crowd inch by inch and hopefully not yet lose sight of the boat.

Blade Raven enters the Louisiana.
Blade Raven has left.
Job enters the Louisiana.
Job has left.
Job arrives from the Louisiana.
Job has arrived.

Fusion Phoenix notices the hook rushing though the water, and pauses in his persuit, to get closer to the other person aquaticly following the boat...

Ring Redwing sends a radio transmission.

Fusion Phoenix receives a radio transmission from Ring Redwing.

Alloy listens in silence to Ether's speculation. "Hold on a moment." he calls out quietly as Ether makes to follow after the other lights. "Don't approach them too closly. If those lights are Masters or Mavericks, we'll have a full-blown fight in the delta. Just keep back a bit, ok?"

The wailing shriek finally dies out and Mem sits taking deep breaths for a moment. At Ten's calming words, she blinks and looks up at her again. "What? Crash? I dunno what you're talking about." The girl rolls backwards and pushes up with her hands, flippling easily to her feet and getting incredibly wet in the process. Not like she was dry before. "Ickickick!" She combs at her long raven hair and wrings it out again before throwing it all over her shoulders. "Um, well I'll be seeing ya." She waves to Ten, turns and walks right into a tree. Stumbling back, Mem acks and holds her face. Grinning, she glances at Ten as she moves around the tree, "No problem! I'm okay." Then she just seems to disappear, instead of coming out around the other side of the trunk. Spooky.

Wildfire Phoenix simply continues to wait... "hrm.... c'mon...."

Fusion Phoenix sends a radio transmission.
Ring Redwing receives a radio transmission.

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] Alloy transmits, "Repliforce? You got some people out here as well?"

Ether Skunk glances back at Alloy and nods, calling out a quick okay before she turns back to the busy busy business of follow follow following. As Alloy suggested, she adopts a pace balanced enough to follow the crowd of folks following the boat, more than the boat itself- trying as best she can to keep sight of both puruers and pursued, however.

"..." a pause as a hint of what was said on the boat reaches her ears. Sonic looks to Fluffy in her shirt.

"As you Wish?" Mutters the Sidhe. "I was wrong. T'is a bad remak o' a love story they're makin' 'ere.." She complains.. Yet continues following. As a loud wailing shriek arises and then dies somewhere amidst the swamp, she remarks, "Sounds like some gators're eatin' good t'night."

Blast Hornet watches as her little drone follows the boat, probaly out of sight to it's occupant. "The three people in the boat seem to be talking, but I can't make out what they're sayin'." She says to Wildfire. "Well, we can either stay here and watch, or try actually going to meet the boat if that's the thing we'r lookin' for. The explosions stopped, and my other drone hasn't seen anything else."

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] RF Lieutenant Fusion Phoenix transmits, "Yes, and are any other Allied personel following the boat in the water?"

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] Skunkgrunt Ether Skunk transmits, "... maybe."

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] Flare Feline transmits, "I'm following it along the shoreline."

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] Alloy transmits, "Ether's floating along behind it, but four of us are still on foot and trailing. I don't know about the others."

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] Serena Gilbert transmits, "Ah'll be sugah... Assumin' Ah'll get through this swamp."

[Radio: (C) RF/Hunter-Com] RF Lieutenant Fusion Phoenix transmits, "Was it one of ours that just shot a hook at the boat?"

Ten shakes her head, and sighs. "Looks like a red herring. And now I don't know where Flare and the others are. I don't think there's much I can do for that girl. I don't think there's much anybody can do. Well, I'd better try to find the others." Ten wings it again, hoping to find her friends.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "Well, I'm going to call out and ask them if they need help or anything. From their raggedy clothing they look like poor folk who might be in need. And if they turn out to be hostile I'm sure the three of us can take 'em."

Alas. Rust Ghoul's anchoring hooks.. skim along the bottom of the boat. Causing it to creak even further, but JUST missing actually latching on. No matter, though. The pilot continues to paddle hard, quickly approaching a certain sect of land. The vehicle appears to have NO intentions of slowing down, not now. To run aground, then... or something else? The soft glow of the lantern on front swaying haphazardly.

"Prepare yourselves.." Comes the soft whisper of the pilot to its companions.

Shadow Man actually notices the boat now - and its many followers. But he himself does not care about poachers, even if they are Cyan poachers, and ignores it in favor of continuing his patrols around the area, throwing up great wave crests behind him.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "Go right ahead Corporal. I'm here to back you up."

Arafina goes back to slicing up innocent bushes with her beam knives. SLice slice slice. She gets a mosquito one time with a bug-zapper hissing. Good aim, or sheer luck; either one. "I see the light now," she says to Ether, speeding up a bit with some sloshy noises.

Job keeps slows down slightly from the boat wondering what is up. oO(Humm something is not right.)

Rust Ghoul growls as his hook misses, retracting it as he continues to swim along. They've lost him for now...But he'll have to cut their throats when he catches up. And if they're Reploids, he may just eat some brane, too.

Shield hears something on the radio. "Boat? What boat?" He wades out a bit further into the swamp. "Oh, that boat. Doesn't seem particularly important."

Flare Feline narrows his eyes as he hears them talk among themselves, though he can't make out what it is they're saying. oO(I wonder what they're doing... aside from that, I had better let Ten know where I am...) He speaks into his radio as he continues pursuit

Wildfire Phoenix hrms, then nods at Blast, "I say we go after it then.. may as well, I don't want to just stand around here all day...

Ten receives a radio transmission from Flare Feline.

[Radio] You send Ten a direct message: "Ten? You ok? I'm following a suspicious boat down the river shore. It's not too hard to spot, you should be able to catch up."

Alex Reinfield blinks towards Shield, then he grins. He then shakes his head with a distraught expression. "Something tells me that this has been a wild goose chase."

Quick Man suddenly spots something in the water. His eyes widen with glee, and he spots the /BIGGEST/ alligator he's ever seen. "CRIKEY!" He then turns his boat and heads towards it. Upon reaching it, he dives into the water. Cue dramatic pause. Suddenly, a MASSIVE alligator head explodes out of the water, with Quick Man's arms and legs wrapped around it's snout! "DANGER DANGER DANGER! CROIKEY! CALM DOWN GIRL!" Quick Man continues wrestling with the alligator, while on the boat, a red hardhat with a boomerang on the helmet climbs out of a storage compartment dragging a belt of darts. Loading one into it's mouth, it begins firing darts at the giant alligator.

Ten sends a radio transmission.
Ten sends you a tightbeam radio transmission: "Um, well, I've finished looking around at the crash scene. I'll try to find you. Um, which direction did you go in after we split up?"

Serena Gilbert is here, twisting through the swamp... or trying to, as she is stuck every so often. She finally gives up and looks at the White Assistbot in her arms. "...Are we clear, sugah?"

The Assistbot scans the region carefully just in case someone is coming up behind Serena... or just in front of her...

Ether Skunk speeds up the pace with which she follows, throwing a small degree of caution to the wind as she zips along, buzzing over the surface of the water and casting up a muddy wake- that purple glow returns, and anybody who has an eye behind them would notice the bright purple light coming in fast from behind. She begins to lift into the trees, zipping in between the various trunks, biting her lower lip... doing her best to keep an eye on the object of everyone's obsession, even if she can't quite see what it is just yet.

Ring Redwing calls out to the 3 individuals on the boat, piercing the sudden silence that seems to have fallen upon the river. "Hello out there! Are you three stranded or something? If you need any assistance, I'd be happy to help out! Although I don't know my direction around these parts but if there's something you folks are looking for or anything else like that, maybe I could help?"

Blast Hornet nods, and lifts a bit higher off the ground. So far, he hasn't gotten a speck of dirt or muck or anything on her armor. "We'll have to move quickly, Wildfire. The boat looks like it's landing on a small island." Blast says, and then buzzes off as quickly as she can in the general direction of her initial wasp-drone, which remains at the scene.

Alloy shakes his head as the chase seems to be gathering pace. "I'll take a flanking point." he mutters to Fina and whoever else might be with them, activating his gravity wells and floating up out of the muddy slush. He picks up some speed and swings out, some distance from teh shore, but still keeping a careful eye on Ether and whatever it is they're pursuing.

Fusion Phoenix approaches the sourse of the grapple, confindent that it is not a friend. . o O (Ok, who is this?) O o .

Wildfire Phoenix nods simply and waves for her brother to follow as Blast leaves, "Lead on, you know the way i'd hope.

Arafina makes odd jumps and hops to try to keep up with Alloy and Ether. The pair of gravity systems kicking in, though, makes her hover startlingly for a few seconds, drifting forward in their wake before landing and making another odd, hovering bounce. "I feel sick."

Somewhere off in the swamp, not too far away, Mem steps out from behind a patch of vines and peers around. "No nothing here..." and keeps going.

Firestorm Phoenix shrugs and follows Blast and Wildfire, "Might as well, I was getting bored anyways."

Shield is a bit slower than the rest...ok, alot slower. He has to trudge through everything, rather than fly over it. Cheeters.

Alex Reinfield follows after Shield, then he yawns a bit.

The metool grumbles, "This is boring..."
And as Sonic continues going, she begins to murmur out something to the cat still sleeping in her 'shirt'. Oh, yes, one feels the need to remention.. she's dressed like Steve Irwin, if he was a New York Street Girl. (isn't Sonic SPEYshull?) Hovering above the boat and it's contents, still following slowly..

"There's na earthly way O' knowing, wither we are going, is it raining, is it snowing, is a hurricane a blowin'.."

Rust Ghoul continues to swim along, unaware of Fusion. After all, he can't see through murky, thick waters, in the dead of night. His seamless black form continues to make its way through the swamp, as the Phoenix somehow spots him and gets the jump on the bounty hunter.

"Do you have it? Make sure it's secure, and safe. It will be time soon."

So speaks the third figure that still stands proudly on the stern of the boat, allowing the others to do their own tasks. The dim light glints off the metal form of this figure, dull, age-old metal that has lost the luster it once held. It's just enough to hint at the individual's form, without revealing much at all. Even the light seems to tease and taunt on this darkened river.

Fusion Phoenix didn't see Rust, he just followed tho hook back in a strait line. But sensing somone close, he speaks through the water. "Ok, who are you?

Rust Ghoul creeps towards the shore as his boots reach mucky bottom, staying low. As his head surfaces, barely visible through the mist, mud clings to his green face, blade still gripped in hand. However, he still has a good amount of distance to cover between the shallows and the shore. He'll let another go in first. As someone nearby speaks, he freezes in place, stopping his movement.

Ring Redwing scratches her hair, "Humm, maybe they didn't hear me or something, but sound should carry over very well on the water and stuff. Maybe we should get closer though." Pouring some more juice, Redwing moves ahead to intercept the small craft and try asking the individuals if they need help again.

Ether Skunk gets a better look of the figures this time around, her collection of glimpses and distant views coming together into something of a fuzzy image. She doesn't speed up, though, continuing on in her moderately swift pace. Any faster, and not only would she run the risk of crashing into a tree trunk, but she might overshoot the croud following the boat. That would be bad- it'd put her in the weapon sights of each and every Maverick, Master, and hunter-hating Repliforcer here. So for now, she hangs back, watching quietly, curiously... eagerly...

The Assistbot beeps at Serena: No one coming. Serena smiles briefly... then...

"Shinka! Muisca Guard! Bluegrass!"

And the White Guard rockets upwards and onwards towards the boat...

Serena Gilbert initiates a gestalt merge.

Bluegrass has arrived.
Serena Gilbert has left.

Shadow Man begins to wonder if he made the right decision, and he high-tails it back to the boat. Quick Man's boat, that is. His fire-engine-red hoverbike rapidly approaches the wrestling pair, quickly coming within visual distance. As it turns out, that's the biggest alligator Shadow Man has ever seen, too.

Quick Man continues wrestling with the alligator, while his hardhat continues shooting tranquilizer darts into it. The beast's struggles are slowly lessening. That is, until Quick Man loses his grip. Immediately, the gator's jaws snap around Quick Man, and it swings him around like a rag doll. "CRIIIIIIKEEEEEEEEYYY!!!!"

Arafina keeps bounding along, dragged in the wake of Ether and Alloy. "I'm gonna hurl," she mutters, physical impossibility aside. She /hates/ being near gravity generators, and that's why. "Can we land? Please?"

Flare Feline looks suspiciously at the people in the boat "Well they're certainly up to something, though I won't be able to see what until they make a move..."

Blast Hornet buzzes along, moving as quickly as she can through the dense growth of the area. Which isn't all that fast, considering how fast she'd be able to go in a straight line. "Wildfire, we'd better hurry. Look's liks something's happening." She says as she briefly glances at her screen, seeing that the main figure is glinting like metal?

All of a sudden, the bayou waters tremble as an earth shattering roar fills the air. It sounds like... well, a dinosaur, more or less, or what people would think one might sound like. A biologist might be able to identify it, but whatever it is, it's loud. So loud that the water ripples. Birds fly from the swamp in droves as the reverberations of the voice echo through the area.

Wildfire Phoenix freezes in the air, following after Blast still, but that roar makes her come to a stop, her booster array holding her aloft. "The heck was that?!"

Fusion Phoenix pokes his head above the water just as the massive voice lets out. Ignoring the reploid in front of him he spins to find the source.

Job slows down as he tracks the boat up ahead. oO(What are they doing now...)

The boat lands, the pilot quietly stepping out of it...

JUST in time to hear the roar. Derek Vasquez, taking his attention off the small alligator they caught, glances back towards the swamp. And all the pretty people following. ".. Err... Alia? Rigger? Know how to swim?"

This here beast has some beautiful chompers!" *chomp* "...And sharp too! Look at it as it chews my arm off!"

Rust Ghoul o O ( Holy Jesus. ) He better get out of the water. Whatever it is, it sounds pissed. He begins making his way towards shore, muddy black form slowly emerging as he nears the island, like a wraith emerging from the swamp fogs.

The earth slowly shatters, accompanied by the shattering roar. Alex blinks a few times. "What on earth?!" He then growls, dholding the Drill-Arm.

The metool blinks a few times, sweatdropping.

The immediate response from Alex is that he grabs to the radio. "<<Hunters, stay together, Immediately! Now!"

Sudden loud noises + Mem = facevault. The sound causes her nearly jump out her skin and as a result throws her offbalance. The girl teeters over and lands square on her face in the mucky water. Burbling, she pushes up again coughing. How many times will she get wet tonite? Keep track and get a cookie!

Ten flies in the direction she believes her friends to be in. Her usual smile is absent, replaced with a look of worry. "Gosh, I hope I can find Flare and the others soon!" Once she hears the roar, she thinks she has a good idea of which direction to fly in. "Oh no! I need to hurry!" (Player's Note: No, I don't know how a bird can smile. Trust me, she can, though.)

Alloy looks back at the figure of Arafina, bouncing up and down disconcertingly. "Hey, you don't have to fly. You can slog along on the ground if you want. It's up to you." Oh yes, revenge for her comment earlier. As the reverberations begin though, he looks around wildly. "What on earth's going on now?"

Ring Redwing is splashed with Bayou water suddenly as the waters roil about and around as she flies to intercept the boat. Wiping moisture from her body, she tries to keep track of her target while the dinosaur-like belt fills the air.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "Looks like one of the three people on the boat is getting off here. But what was that noise?"

Sonic's eyes flash open wide at the earth shattering road, and she suddenly revs the bike too fast, and nearly goes shooting down into the water. OI! What a problem that would have been! .. Even Fluffy seems to have been brought to stir by the noise. Sonic slowly motors her airial ride upwards, trying to steer away from the water, for she does NOT Like water things, let alone water (and that swimming lesson earlier in this tirade with the wailing boat was enough for her, thankyouverymuch!), and then remarks, "Is that th' grisley reaper mowing? Yes! Tha' danger must be growing, f'ar tha' rowers keep on rowing! An' they cert6ainly are nawt showing, any sign of slowing!"

Alia glances up from tying an elastic around a two-foot long alligator's mouth at Derek's words, jumping at the roar. "...Uh .. yeah, I can swim.. If this is another one of your jokes, I'm feeding you to this gator when it grows up." She peers back at all the people that were following their boat, literally seeing them for the first time. "..Quite a crowd."

"What the heck was that?!" Blast Hornet asks out loud, at the same as Wildfire asks. Blast blinks, and says, "I dunno. I can't see anything with my drones... But someone in the boat is stepping off. So we've seen a shooting star, exploding trees, a ghostly boat, and a big loud noise? What's goin' on?"

Ether Skunk drops back into the water with a splash at the sudden roar, dropping back into a run, her pace certainly slowed. That's.... that's odd. Slicking her ears back as the sound reverberates throughout the swamp, the skunk soon rises into the air once more and resumes following, biting her lower lip.... well, at least it wasn't a water-rippling earth-shaking "PREN" that got roared. She slows on seeing that the boat has landed, still, quiet....

Firestorm Phoenix stops dead right behind his sister. Blinking he brings him self upright, "... Now -that- is a sign. Alright head for that sound, but fly low and slow." Firestorm then lowers himself, the tips of his claws just barely touching the water and he begins to move in the direction of the roar.

Arafina falls when Ether does. "Thank you," she calls cheerfully, jogging off after her with one energy knife (no, she still hasn't put them away) near her head.

Quick Man suddenly remembers the pendant. He then clasps his fist together and brings them down on the gator's skull, knocking it unconcious. Quickly tying it to the boat, he instructs his hardhat to take it back to wherever he came from. Then he hears the roar. "Crikey! Another! Sounds even bigger, too! I've got to check it out!" With that, he leaps into a tree, and tries to determine which direction the roar came from.

Shield sighs at the roar. "I don't know what it is, but somehow I doubt it's a stardroid either." Nevertheless, he continues trying to catch up with his fellow hunters.

Flare Feline's attention turns away from the boat for now, and over towards the sound of the roar "What in the name of... what on earth was that?" He almost losesh is balance from his perch, but no time to stop now. He continues to move forward in the direction of the roar, something like that isn't natural for here, and as a Repliforcer, he has to discover what it is...

Shadow Man pulls to a stop just in front of Quick Man and his newfound friend, throwing out a huges sheet of water as its turns against the water to slow itself. Shadow Man then simply... faceplams. "Quick San," he says, readying a Shadow Blade with a horrific sound to assist his brother, "that's the biggest damn swamp monster I've ever..." Suddenly, the rumbling behind him starts, and he looks over his shoulder, catching sight of the monstrosity.

"I stand corrected."

Wildfire Phoenix shakes her head, glad she wasn't at the boat, "Forget the boat," she growls, "Find the source of that like quick if you can..." she says still hovering.

Wildfire Phoenix then decides to listen to her brother and follows, "Erm, ya, what he said, but still keep looking with those drones," she calls.

Rigger shifts her gaze back toward Derek, as she'd been staring over her shoulder toward the sound of the roar. She nods quickly however, in reply to the question. "I can swim, though..." Frowning slightly she looks down at the ancient battlesuit she wears. "Might be a bit slow."

Rust Ghoul approaches the trio at the boat. Covered in mud, the ghoul bursts from the fog, blade in hand, yellow optics aglow, and his monstrous maw hanging wide open. "Hand over the pendant!" Oops.

Blast Hornet watches her screen, and flies her second deployed drone around. "I can't see anything yet... You'd think anything big enough to make that noise would be easy to spot? All I can see is wildlife goin' all over the place."

Derek nods his head once, and gestures back towards the old boat he'd 'borrowed'. Glancing aside to Alia and Rigger, preparing to mention something along the lines of 'lets get back to the water' ... moments before Rust Ghoul busts out of the water like a frigging zombie. There is a hiss, and a loud orange glow from behind Derek's back as he holds onto something...
Coin Spinner glowing hot.

The roars fade, their source unknown to all. The only thing that is for certain that they come from further into the swamp, deep in the darkest Lou'siana bayou.

Fusion Phoenix abandons any pretense of being stealthy and launches himself into the air, where he hovers has he shifts into his aerial form

Alex Reinfield blinks a few times, then he shakes his head. ".....Uh huh....A roar....If this turns out like Jarassic Park 200, I'm out of here..." The metool grins at Alex, "Scared?" Alex then nods, "Uh..Yes. Of being chomped down." "Never stopped us before.." ...."...True."

Rust Ghoul staggers backwards several steps as bright, fiery blade comes out. With his night-vision on, it hurts. Shielding his eyes, the 'zombie' staggers backwards, hissing. "Auuuguh, briiiight, briiiight..."

Firestorm Phoenix nods, "Right, Blast, send your drones out ahead, and lets continue in the direction that the sound came from, I think we've finally found the sign we were looking for."

Alia never even had a chance to get out of the boat, still holding onto the baby alligator, which twitches and chirps in her careful grip, glancing back at Derek when he pulls out the Coinspinner. And simply -STARES- at Rust Ghoul. Someone already did that to her today. "...Get back in the boat."

Blast Hornet reaches near the location of the boat, after follow the direction her drone went that was following the boat('cause it looked kinda wierd, and might have been improtant) and peers through the mist at it and the people who had stepped off. "Still can't see any source of the roar, but there's the boat." Blast says quietly, not wanting anyone to here her. Lots of others ought to be nearby. Blast mentally sends her two drone off in what she thinks is the direction of the roars.

Bluegrass flies after the boat... but halts in midair as she hears the roar. A pretty damn HUGE roar. //What the...?// Torn between following the boat and finding out what the roar was about... //Ah hope it's just a cat with a megaphone...// And hurries after the boat...

Wildfire Phoenix nods to her brother, "Good idea... Send the drones thataway," she motions toward where ever Blast was leading them, that being the boat, "And lets just head for the roar... I'd put my money on that. There was a Phoenix at Vesuvius, i've heard, so they're might be a dinosaur or something for this one. Let's go!" she says beofre flying toward the roar.

Rigger shifts her weight once more, moving toard the back of the boat as she looks over her shoulder toward the other two. She'd never exited, and thus, that leaves her in the end of the boat that's still hanging out over the water. "Uh, guys..." she remarks sounding rather unsure, "Time to get going. Leave the gator already, Alia."

Derek waves the glowing Coinspinner.. aka, Fire Cipher... in Rust's face a few more times. Evil! And surprising. He wasn't expecting that. When he gets enough room - he sprints to the boat. Pushing it, and the companions, back into the water and slipping into the boat itself. Paddling hard, for the sound of the roar. And grinning like the devil.If you can't feel alive NOW, you never will!"

Shadow Man pauses for a moment, waiting for a second roar, or to make sure that he actually saw what he thought he did, 'cause there's nothing there now. Nothing seems to be coming... But he was able to tell what general direction they came from, even if only accurate to subcardinal. Pushing less thrust behind his bike than before, so as not to run into anything too unexpectedly, he proceeds towards... He's nowhere near any island whatsoever at the moment, although if he comes to one, he'd just as likely take his bike right over it as go around.

Alex Reinfield blinks towards Shield and the others, he then grabs to the radio, frowning. "I'll be back at the Vorpal.." He then shakes his head, heading back.

Ten would have found her friends by now, but the swamy bayou is difficult for her to navigate through. Even so, she should be hearing the various noises any second now. The Burning Bird of Justice is on the way!

Rust Ghoul grips his eyes. As the boat paddles off, he staggers after it, claw reaching out as he hisses, "The pendaaaaaaaaaant!"

Ring Redwing goes land on the boat, waving rather cheerfully to the occupants on board, "Hello there! Can I help you with anything?" let's see them ignore her now.

Now.. That island looks fishy. And that roar scares the living See-are-ay-pee out of her. But Sonic does not falter. Instead, she begins to whistle a familiar tune heard at the beginning of a certain trilogy fo Dinosaur-Island-Movies involving raptors and all kinds of evil ickle beasties. Fluffy rolls its eyes, crawls out from between her you-know-whats, and climbs to the top of her head, where it can see for goodness knows, all around. Sonic starts a slow descent upon the island.. And ponders resetting her stealth again so she can't be seen.

Flare Feline watches the ones in the boat paddle off in the direction of the roar. And he does the same. On the shore and in the trees anyway. Flare is fast and nible enough to clear a way through the foliage without trouble, and any vines he can't dodge, his claws take care of. That roar has him worried, it was deafening, it just wasn't right.

Alia grabs a broken remains of an oar and flings it at Rust as they're suddenly launched away by Derek, drawing a delighted laugh from the Hunter. "We don't HAVE the pendant, you undead Army Of Darkness reject! Begone, else we exorsise thee!"

Quick Man spies the light of the cipher from his lofty vantage point, and leaps through the trees after it! Spider MAn, Spider Man, does the things a spider can...

Ether Skunk turns to squint in the direction of the roar, eyes narrowed, but she doesn't move... still hovering, inching towards the island, and at last touching down on its shore. Why? Only so she can stand without getting her feet wet. But... she IS on the island.

Fusion Phoenix folows behind the "zombie" figuring him to be the one who shot the hook at the boat, he aproaches him from behind. Putting a hand on the figure's shoulder he asks: "Just who are you?"

Axle has left.
Alex Reinfield takes Axle.
Rust Ghoul deactivates his stealth mode.
Alex Reinfield has left.

Rust Ghoul gets hit in the face by an oar. Thoroughly defeated, he drops to his knees, before crawling back towards the island. "Damn tourists."

Firestorm Phoenix continues to move in the general direction that the roar had come from, looking back every so often to make sure Wildfire and Blast are still in tow.

Wildfire Phoenix's new booster array was rather handy, she was able to keep up with Firestorm a lot better then she was able to before. She simply continues after him, waving a little as he looks back once.

Blast Hornet buzzes along, wondering what to expect in the near future. Whatever made that noise is probaly big, mean, and hungry. At least Blast has remained clean so far.

Alia peers at Redwing, before swatting at her with the rest of the broken oar. "Get off, you'll sink the boat!" Flail. "Get your own!"

Mem gets back to her feet and wipes some mud from her face and shirt. "Bleh! This place is so gross!" Putting her hands on her hips, the girl hmphs and looks around some more. And now she's actually close enough to see most of the others. Rust is the closest person and she calls out to him, "Hey th...ere.." her voice dies out as the creepy bounty hunter comes into full view. Mem just isn't going to get a break! First crashing, then the bird-thing, then mud, now a monster! Instead of running and screaming, the girl just ughs and throws her hands up disgustedly as she walks off in another direction.

Bluegrass continues to follow the boat, until she sees just a island ahead of the boat. //Transferring Weapons energies to rockets and dash jets... Let's go!// The White Guard *ROCKETS* ahead of the boat, determined in reaching it.

Fashionable Feline gets back on his hoverbike to search the bayou of this magical pendant thing. Hopefully he won't encounter Bayou Billy, man was he bad ass with his knife throwing and gator jumping and 4 wheel drive.

Rust Ghoul sits down on the island, tossing a small box infront of him. Flicking a switch, a small campfire rockets up, and he leans against a tree. "Still one more. And that's death's pendant. I better get that freaking thing."

Rigger pales almost visibly as she listens to her radio. A glance is shot toward Derek, before she grabs the radio from her ear and yanks it off once more. Crap. At the least her attention is shifted toward Redwing as Alia begins to scream at her. "Aliiiaaa..." In all her complaining about sinking it, she was doing a good job of rocking the boat literally.

Ring Redwing deflects the oar deftly with one of her rings, "Yow! I was just trying to see if you guys needed any help. No need to get violent about it." She steps back and off the ship quickly. Obviously not wanting to deal with the Psychotic Hunter.

Rust Ghoul glances over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. "Rust Ghoul. And who are you?" He tosses a small box down on the ground, using a boot to clear a ring out.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "Nuts. It's only the Maverick Hunters on the boat."

Derek scrambles to keep the tiny boat balanced as Ring Redwing inadvertantly attempts to sink it. Waving his hands, and panting softly - he IS rowing rather hard, and the boat is moving at a good clip - He just huffs: ".. Maybe.. later, armor... for now.. you're going to.. capsize.. my boat, gringo!"

There is a puff of relief when she gets off, the boat picking up speed once more.

Nothing prevents the intrepid explorers from moving further into the bayou. Except that roar. It happens again, louder than ever, the leaves in the trees shaking from the blast of primordial noise from the depths of the swamp. Something is definitely up in the Cajun jungle, no doubt about that.

Sonic Banshee takes pause in the air. Island, Roar, Island, Roar, Island, Roar. Island; a safe place she could probably rest at. Roar: Something hungry that probably eats Banshees and their iron underware for lunch. Island, where the next artifact probably is not. Roar. Where the next artifact probably is, and dangit, it's probably about Mister Hungry's neck. Sonic squints her eues, mutters a Mantra of, 'Dang you, Vile, and your orders to get this thing!', and.. Sigh, grudgingly, starts towards the sound of the roar, since the boaters seem to be heading that way, as well. As she goes, she mutters, sourly, "Iffen I git eaten, I'm gonn'ae come back fra'um tha' pile of Manure whatever t'is that eats me poops out, an' kick Sir Vile's royal derrierre.."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] RF XO, Colonel transmits, "Situation report, Corporal."

Wildfire Phoenix just gulps a little, pushing her boosters a bit to move up beside her brother. Scared? A little, big brothers are cool for being all protective and stuff. "Loud..." she says as they fly along...

Alloy sets down in disgust as he starts piecing together some clues from radio chatter. Ugh, they've been following their fellow Hunters all this time. Well that's one lead they can discard. But these roars that keep echoing through the swamp...well that might be something. At any rate, he floats up again and starts flying straight towards the river. Oh look, all sorts of people are coming out of the woodwork now. He yells out to the gathering in general from his position above the island shore. "Hands up all Stardroid-related entities!" Yes, he thinks they've been McGuffined again.

Arafina is busily swinging her blades near her own legs. Why? SNakes; she keeps missing. Thigh-deep in water, she's being harassed by mocassins for the simple reason that she's a target that's dumb enough to keep standing in the water. And, eventually, she slips in the muck and falls to one knee with some rather /loud/ swearing.

Fusion Phoenix snarls down at the smaller reploid. "Fusion Phoenix, of Repliforce. What are you doing out here in the middle of the swamp at this time of night?"

Quick Man looks up when the next roar comes, and his sense of adventure/stupidity kicks in. "Croikey! I've gotta check this out!" He then rockets through the trees at near sonic speeds, heading in the direction of the roar.

Job brings his hovercycle to halt as he hears the massive roar split thought the air. "Woah what was that!" Job looks about bot even bothering to bring up his bio scanners with all the life forms in the swamp it be useless. Job gets his act together once more and heads deeper into the swamp but is a slow pace.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "Sir, Captain Ten, Lieutenants Flare Feline and Fusion Phoenix, and myself are in the Liousiana Bayou searching for the next pendant sir. Captain Ten heard an explosive crash and went to assist. The other three of us were tailing a small boat with a lamp on it. Turns out it was just the Maverick Hunters, sir."

Rust Ghoul flicks a switch, a small campfire igniting from the box. He turns away, and gives Fusion the back of his head. "And what are /you/ doing out here?"

Flare Feline shudders once more. The roar is deafening. And certainly not natural. Which is exactly why Flare continues to pursue it. Continue down the riverbed, he tears a path through, claws going wildly ahead of him to clear away the vines and growth, he advances in the direction of the roar. Who knows what he'll come across deep in the Cajun wilderness. Just as long as it isn't Crush Crawfish with an upset stomach...

Shield sighs again. Purple glowing light was a false lead. Mysterious old boat was a false lead. Chances a stupid animal roaring will wind up the same? Quite good. "But, we have nothing better to do," he laments, heading towards the monster's approximate location whether Arafina is or not.

The second roar doesn't detur Firestorm, instead it only manages to reaffirm he's flying in the right direction, "Blast send a drone out ahead of us and recall the others. We might need them." He glances over at Wildfire and smiles softly, "Nothing we can't take care of together, whatever it may be."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "What do we know about a "Rust Ghoul?"

Ether Skunk needs no more convincing. Nothing is happening here, so the skunk rises into the air and begins to shoot into the direction of the roaring- once more rising to a swift pace, weaving in between the trees. Flying through the air, it's likely she glides over the heads of anybody still clustered around the boat, and outdistancing anybody who's slogging through the mud in pursuing the roaring as well- and this time, she seems unconcerned with the possible consequences of her speed. The zippy skunk makes a nice beacon in the air- a glimmering streak of purple shooting towards the direction of the roaring.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Lieutenant Flare Feline transmits, "Sir, I believe most of us are heading in the direction of a loud roar we heard. I was certainly unnatural."

Alia draws still again at Rigger's hiss, shooting an apologetic look back at the other Hunter, baby gator wiggling in her grip again. "Sorry, sorry.." She stays still for several minutes before glancing at Derek, and leaning forward a little. "Want me to do that?" Being a reploid did have its advantages.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] RF XO, Colonel transmits, "Understood, keep me advised of any further developments, and stay on your guard."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Corporal Ring Redwing transmits, "Roger."

Bluegrass *blinks* at that roar. //...Ah'm REALLY not likin' this...// The good ol' Country girl of the Musica Guard falls back to match speed with the boat as she lands on the boat... even as Ringy is chased off. //Ah don't want ta be chased off. Not when this suit needs ta recharge...// She sighs, "Defense Changer Mode Change: Stealth Mode." Bluegrass disappears from sight...

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Lieutenant Flare Feline transmits, "Yes sir!"

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Fashionable Feline transmits, "Even more unnatural than Frost Walrus' empty stomach."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Broadcast Ocelot transmits, "Rust Ghoul was an ex-Repliforce cadet dat didn't quite cut it."

Blast Hornet flies along, and covers her audials as the roar hits. A bunch of debris fly into her face, and she tumbles downward. Landing in the muck. "UGH!" She says, and forces herself free. "Now I'm all dirty! We had better get this thing, or I'm gonna blow someone up for that!" She says, and buzzes tp catchup to the Maverick Pheonix siblings. And of course, my 'we' she meant 'I'. She nods to Firestorm, and sends one drone on ahead. Iyt can move faster than her, being able to weave in and out of the dense trees far easier.

Arafina makes an annoyed sound, sitting on her rear in the muck and swinging her knife at a rather /large/ something that came to investigate. "Bloody 'ell, I'm outta here," she says, starting to worm her way back to the Vorpal, standing up and limping through the water.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "So he's a non-threat civilian?"

Sonic Banshee continues muttering various things about how she doesn't want to get eaten. Whyyyyy? Hmm, dunno, could it be because.. she doesn't want to get eaten? Wow, good guess! .. Still, she continues her travels towards whatever it is that keeps roaring, and, in a mutter, speaks to Fluffy. "Get ready t'ae haul arse t'ae retreatapalooza, Fluffums, if this thing's bigger than Burn Dinorex, Phenominal cosmic powers be demned."

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Broadcast Ocelot transmits, "He also has ties to the Mavericks. Last I heard, dat is."

Like Firestorm, Shadow Man was already headed towards the apparent source of the roar, and this second one serves merely to allow him to make a slight course adjustment, to be headed more directly for the epicenter. He currently knows exactly one thing for sure about it: It isn't a Robot Master. Therefor, as as his hoverbike picks up significant speed - after all, the master of the shadows has no trouble seeing and navigating in even complete darkness - he chucks the Shadow Blade prepared earlier to help Quick Man straight ahead of him, into the unknown distances and once again at the general direction of the source. Almost certainly the deadly blade will impact harmlessly against some gnarled old tree (well, harmlessly except for the tree), but one never knows for sure.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] Captain Phoebus transmits, "We have ties to the Mavericks, kind of. We shoot them, right?"

Ether Skunk enters the Bog Swamps.
Ether Skunk has left.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] RF XO, Colonel transmits, "If you see attempt, attempt to arrest him. He may be able to provide usfull information on Sigma's plans."

Wildfire Phoenix enters the Bog Swamps.
Wildfire Phoenix has left.
Shield enters the Bog Swamps.
Shield has left.
Quick Man enters the Bog Swamps.
Quick Man has left.
Blast Hornet enters the Bog Swamps.
Blast Hornet has left.
Derek Vasquez enters the Bog Swamps.
Derek Vasquez has left.

Ten manages to find the rather large gathering that is moving toward the roar. "Hmmm, looks like I'm missing some kind of party! Maybe I can find my friends somewhere in that crowd." Ten heads in the same direction as the others, all the while trying to spot her friends.

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "Understood."

Bog Swamps

Spanish moss hangs down from old oak trees. Thorny bushes stretch their branches out to cover what little land is left. The water now is deeper - neck deep for humans, and chest deep for large reploids. The water itself is brackish and rancid, almost acidic from the ooze and emitting a blood-curdling smell. Besides the leeches, there are no animals in this part of the swamp. They have avoided the stagnant waters, leaving this area over to the heartiest and toughest plants. Gnarled trees block out most of the sunlight with a canopy of leaves, with thick fungus growing in the patches of perpetual shade.

Mem [ShadowHunter] [C]
[Stealthed] Sonic Banshee [Armored] [M]
Derek Vasquez [Normal] [C]
Blast Hornet [M]
Quick Man [Derek] [RM]
Shield [Armored] [MH]
Wildfire Phoenix [Default] [M]
Ether Skunk [MH]

Obvious exits:
Back <B> leads to Bayou.
Ten arrives from the Bayou.
Ten has arrived.
Job arrives from the Bayou.
Job has arrived.
Shadow Man arrives from the Bayou.
Shadow Man has arrived.
Rigger arrives from the Bayou.
Rigger has arrived.
Alloy arrives from the Bayou.
Alloy has arrived.
Alia arrives from the Bayou.
Alia has arrived.
Ring Redwing arrives from the Bayou.
Ring Redwing has arrived.
Bluegrass arrives from the Bayou.
Bluegrass has arrived.
Firestorm Phoenix arrives from the Bayou.
Firestorm Phoenix has arrived.

Ether Skunk is indeed following the sound, approaching the roaring with just as much curiousity as anxiety. From a distance, her bright purple glow amidst all the tree trunks would resemble foxfire, or some similar swampy glow... mysterious. Ooh.

Quick Man leaps through the trees at supersonic speeds and stuff. Booyaka.

Alloy sends a radio transmission to Ether Skunk.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission.

Shield could be said to be following Ether, since he's heading in the same direction as her and coming from the same place of origin. However, he's not knowingly following, nor is he any longer in visual sight of her, having fallen back a little bit ago.

The Mexican Ninja blinks as someone ELSE lands on their boat. And immidiatly dissapears. Mmmhmmm... just idly shaking his head, and having neither the will or time to boot off the free loader, he just paddles. Not like it makes much of a difference, weightwise.

Though Derek does smile at Alia, and wink again: "What? and have a lovely lady, such as yourself, do this menial task? Hrmph. Don't insult me, love."

The boat does slow to a quick glide, though, as Derek pulls his paddle out of the water. Hearing the soft hiss. And blinking quietly. ".. I think we went and crossed the tracks. So to speak."

Job ugs as the stench. "Smells like I dunno what! Maybe Punk's gym socks..." Job's hovercyles hovers above the swamp waters and moves along at a fair speed deeper into the swamp keeping out of the muck below. "Show... your self my friend... on second thought maybe not."

Flare Feline continues deep into the bog. The growth is getting really thick, and hard to move through, even for him. He opts to slow down a bit, instead of rushing through, so he doesn't trip up in anything. Going face first into bogwater would NOT be nice...

Ether Skunk sends a radio transmission.
Alloy receives a radio transmission from Ether Skunk.

Mem is ofcourse, randomly wandering around, just happening to head in the same direction as everyone else. What a coincidence. Ether's light display catches her attention, "Oooo, pretty lights," and the girl begins to follow that now.

Firestorm Phoenix ughs and suddenly wishes he could turn off his ofactory senses, "I'm glad I don't have a gag reflex..." He continues to move in the general direction of the roar.

Sonic Banshee is still on the Muon. She just got tired of posing 'Do' all the darned time. So. Sonic steers the Muon towards the roaring, travelling even further into the swamps. Fluffy, atop her head, is getting unsettled by the noise. And when -FLUFFY- gets unsettled, then ya -KNOW- somethin's wrong. Thanks to the spanish moss and the trees, Sonic is forced to slowly maneuver the bike and it's hovering self lower. Despite this.. She still gets her fair share of additions to her Crocodile Hunter meets Buffy the Cheerleader outfit. "If I see any snakes tha' size of tha' bloody Osprey," mutters the Sidhe, "I'm out of here."

Wildfire Phoenix nods at her brother a little, coughing once or twice, "Gyuh... ewww.." she wimpers a bit before things begin to thicken, "I think we may have to start walking..." she says before coughing. "What a horrid place..."

Rigger clutches the edge of the boat with a hand, as her other lifts to clap over her face with a slight choke. Squinting as her eyes begin to water in reaction, she mutters, "I'm glad I skipped dinner now... Eyuck." Gulping in an effort to get the sickly feeling that was creeping up her throat back down. "Shoulda brought the helmet to this thing, I knew it."

Blast Hornet follows what she hopes is the direction of the roar, looking at the old moss-ridden trees. "Ugh... I hate this place. Too much mud. Why couldn't we go somewhere less digusting?" Blast Hornet says, and buzzes along with two phoenix's(phoenixii?), fitfully trying to remove some of the muck from her previous fall. Without success.

Alloy sends a radio transmission to Ether Skunk.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission from Alloy.

Ether Skunk sends a radio transmission.
Alloy receives a radio transmission from Ether Skunk.

Ring Redwing backs off the boat, but follows after the Strider and Maverick Hunter as they row deeper into the swamp. Unaware that she's lost track of her Repliforce Companions. She hesitates as they row into the Bog Swamps. The place does seem rather closed in and well.. smelly. Giving a shrug, she continues plowing on. Using her Ring Barrier to divert the sludge as best as possible.

The swamps here seem almost primordial. Trees and vines choke out all but a few river paths...you all, coincidentally, end up on the same path. Everything here looks alive, but the vibrant feeling of life that normally accompanies a swamp is stagnant here, the scent of death heavy in the air. It's possible that this place has never been explored... even in this late age.

Alloy sends a radio transmission.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission.

Alia waves the hand not holding the baby gator lightly. "And people say chivalry is lost!" But she quiets as the little reptile goes perfectly still, looking around quickly. "..God ...This place stinks. But that goes without saying.." From a pocket somewhere on her person is pulled.. a normal hanky, offered to Rigger, as she shuts off her own sensors that register scent. "Whoever the hell jumped on the boat, siddown. And please don't jump off suddenly.."

Bluegrass is suddenly glad she is wearing a facemask. The smell must be awful... She also notices the Boat slowing down. //It must be mah weight as Bluegrass... Best help speed this boat up...// "Musica Guard Power Down." The Stealth systems comes off as Parts rearranges into White Assistbot. Serena couches down and grabs the Assistbot, as she becomes... *naturally quiet* (not invisible. There is a difference)

Bluegrass demerges.
Serena Gilbert has arrived.
Bluegrass has left.
Serena Gilbert activates her stealth mode.

Ten finally manages to spot Flare Feline. She uses her radio to let him know that she is there. She also continues on toward whatever destination everybody is headed toward.

Ten sends a radio transmission to Flare Feline.
Ten sends you a tightbeam radio transmission: "I see you!"

"I'm gettin' this strange sense of Deja Vu," Comments Sonic, as she drives the bike even lower still, catching sight of the various people about her. "Except f'ar all tha' other folks around here this reminds me of.." "mew." EXACTLY!! Tha' first time me an' Hitsuke opened up all tha' boxes at tha' very back of the Maverick Kitchen's fridge that were dated '2001'!!" .... ....

[Radio: (A) Repliforce] MSE XO Fusion Phoenix transmits, "Crap, Rust is going leagl on me. On what grounds can I pull him in?"

Flare Feline takes the route of climbing through the trees for the most part. With his agility and claws on hands and feet he's able to avoid having to trudge through the putrid swamp. Flare unfortunatly can't shut his smell sensors off, but at least he's a feline based reploid, not a canine. He pauses at a radio transmission, looks back and waves at Ten, before continuing on. There's SOMETHING in this place...

Firestorm Phoenix frowns, "We'll keep flying as long as we can... Just remain low, try staying as close as you can to the water below and keep your wings tucked in as tight as your flight systems allow." He then notes others as they emerge from one channel into the main one, "And now the fun begins..."

Ether Skunk's swift pace slows as the foliage grows thicker, murkier... smellier... she drops back down to the ground, that bright purple light winking out briefly. She begins not so much flying, or walking, as she does hopping- flying through the air when she can, slogging through the mud when she must. The latter she's particularly unhappy about- getting her tail all soaking wet and such. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Yet still, the skunk perserveres... to where? She doesn't know. Without the roars to lead her, she's just plodding forward.

Alloy was following after Ether indeed, and flying along the river seems like the most sensible option. Yet...he doesn't see the boat that's carrying two of his allies for some strange reason. Oh well, at any rate, he's trying to catch up to Ether, but it isn't likely that he will.

Ten receives a radio transmission.
[Radio] You send Ten a direct message: "Good, I see you too. Be careful now."

Blast Hornet buzzes along, and peers around as the paths seem to merge into a single way to move ahead. Blast Hornet readies her weapons in case they become needed. "Guys...?" Blast asks to Firestorm and Wildfire. "We're not alone..." She says, and she looks around to see a few others.

Ether Skunk sends a radio transmission.
Alloy receives a radio transmission from Ether Skunk.

Shield doesn't smell the stench, his suit is airtight and his sense of smell dismal. Poor Shield continues to lag behind the people who can fly or took vehicles. He's condemmed to slowly fight for every foot of ground he takes.

Shadow Man ducks low to avoid the increasibly difficult branches, but continues on his hoverbike as far as he can... Actually passing the tree where his own blade is now stuck, he manages to yank it out on his way by. The need for speed forces him down the path of least resistance whenever there are few or no alternative routes, and soon he finds himself surrounded with some of the reploids he spotted before, not to mention a few more. Red eyes dart from one to the other, those not taking an extra effort to remain hidden at least, and the blade is heald at the ready, while his other hand retrieves something from his left pocket, just in case... "Damn Hunters," he mutters to himself, but clearly loudly enough to be overheard.

Job mutters. "This place smells as bad as Raccoon city did! What next more zombies?" Job glaces about at the mass of other seekers nearby. oO(Well this should prove to be a challenge.) Job checks the gear he brought with him and makes sure he has all his gear still. The hovercycle moves on making ripples in the water from its wake.

"Here, Alia. Take the paddle for a bit. I'll light our way.."

Comes Derek's quiet words, as he idly passes the paddle to the reploid. He'll need a free hand to act as lantern in this hellish dark place. Though.. his face does twist, at the smell. A hand dipping beneath his vest, to pull out a green scarf. And lightly toss it to Rigger. Casually stepping over the new woman-... new woman that appeared on his boat. Blink. "... Hola. Try not to rock the boat."

Thats all thats said to the woman's sudden appearance. Who says Derek can't cope? Either way, he moves to the prow of the shield. Slowly. And then? .. holds up Coinspinner. The fire cipher sparking a bit, then beginning to GLOW. Brightly. Little embers flickering away from it's edge, debris instantly incinerated by insane heat.

Alloy sends a radio transmission.
Ether Skunk receives a radio transmission.

Wildfire Phoenix nods a little, pulling in her wings though she stays quite near her brother, "Yeah okay.." she says giving her boosters a bit more gas as those wings fold back ever so slightly. The phoenix flies a few feet above the water, keeping her brother in full view as best she can. Idly she glances around the channel as they meet up in the main one with... others... "...Oh this is perfect..." she mutters.

Quick Man stops as the trees become too thick to jump through, and pulls out a small yellow cube with a string on it. Pulling the