[ismilealot]

@ Arc & Yelena  The significance of E3 hits Arc then. E3 is the closest sensor to the ritual. And then it pings. E3's sensor message. And you see the witch come forward and climb out of the sewer a couple of grendels following her. The time stamp is 19 minutes ago. DAMN THE LAG!!!

[SgtBoomCloud]

The little human was a flurry of words, pacing back and forth and gesticulating wildly with her hands as she spoke.

" that magey dude Feathers is working his ritual to draw in Ok' Smiley right now with a buncha other mojos, Rave, and that trog Lash.  If she is awake that means Smiley's awake too and that means it'll he going after Raven by now which means it likely is at the ritual site now which means it knows and what it knows she probably knows which means she knows a ritual is gonna try to take Smiley down and the two are deadliest together and she is out now...FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGG WE GOTTA CATCH HER FIRST!!!!"

Then the sensor pinged...19 minutes late.  Arc knew one thing had to happen first..

<<Channel Bravo>>
" All teams, this is Arc.  Get your hoops to the ritual site pronto. The witch and two grendels are crashing the party, so they need us twenty minutes ago!"

<<Channel Charlie (Arc, Lash)>>
"Lash, witch and friends coming your way and fast, watch your hoop.  Drek, this thing tore through three trogs like paper, we are on the way"

With that she dashed and leapt into the Scorpion, waiting for Yelena.  "We're fragging out of time.  Major Drek just hit the turbofan"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena races to the bike and slings the rifle across her back before helping to stand it up.  She climbs on after Arc and whispers, "Get us there in time, Tessa.  Get us there in time.  Get me my shot."

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc paused a bit, her teeth bared at hearing the elf's whispers, not used to hearing her birth name in any context.  The memories, what little she had of them, of her family and her life before the fire, before the gangs, before she lost her green eyes, flooded into her mind.  A lone tear trailed down her cheek as she fired up the engine, turning her turmoil into resolve

"...Hold on.."

Gunning the throttle, Arc tore off, using the nav systems in passing to direct her to the ritual site, but even that was having trouble keeping up.  She was practically redlining the engine as the buildings whizzed by at a blinding pace.  The human's goggles were down over her eyes, blocking the wind that assaulted them as the ritual site drew nearer and nearer...it was a hope that they would catch the witch in time...

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena holds onto the human, molding herself to Arc so that they are almost one body as the bike is pushed to near its limit.  She puts her head against Arc's back and leans with her into the curves.  She recognizes the driving skill of the human in front of her is considerably better than her own and is glad she had made the decision to let her new friend drive. 

Yelena Petrovna took advantage of the time to settle her breathing.  The emotions of the past few minutes had shaken her.  First the bugs, then Arc doing the strangest thing by saving her, and finally seeing the bodies of the dead gangers that had brought the buried memories back so vividly.  At that point she might not have been able to hit the building across the street.  The drive to the ritual site was a blur as she settled herself back into the emotionless machine she needed to be.. 

[SgtBoomCloud]

As tense as her gritted teeth and jaw were, Arc's body was relaxed and fluid, an extension of the machine beneath the two of them as they rounded a corner.  The little human knew that the distance covered would take some time...Thanks to winter construction a number of roads were blocked off.  Or ARE they...

She felt the elf behind her holding on close as an idea crossed her mind, the main blockage up ahead.  "Hang on" was all she flatly uttered before shifting into high gear, kicking the bike up onto the sidewalk.  Hitting a ramp, the pair rode up atop and over the barricade, bouncing on a crate, followed by a couple large pipes before coming down on either side, easily shaving off a few precious moments.  "...Huh, that actually fraggin worked..."

[ismilealot]

@ Arc & Yelena  The buildings fly past. Arc using sidewalks, construction materials and once a fire escape onto a Stuffer Shack roof, onto a catwalk, back onto a sidewalk shaves precious minutes off the time. Finally they're almost within sight of the ritual. End of this street,  take a right, one block ahead and still they haven't seen her. Wait? That shadow is moving! Is that her? without light it's impossile to tell. But at this speed you'll be on top of her in less than a minute.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc gritted her teeth as she hopped off the catwalk onto the road, rounding the corner again and catching the shadow.  With a nod, she switched her goggles to thermographic mode, hoping that will compensate for the lighting and spot their target.  Turning on her microtransceiver, she contacted the elf sitting against her.

<<Channel Alpha (Wanderer, Arc)>>
"Think I see something.  Be ready"

Gunning the throttle, she rounded onto the center of the road, taking a deep breath and relaxing her muscles for what was to come.  If the elf couldn't land the shot, the human might have to make one of her own...and the last she checked, bike tires tend to hurt at the speed they were going...

[Imveros]

Johnny has the wind knocked out of him as the tentacle slams into his midsection. Under a normal situation he would have thanked his stars and patted his armor vest for good luck, but this was not normal. The rage was slowly seeping into his veins. THIS THING IS TRYING TO TAKE IT ALL FROM ME, FROM US, I'M GOING TO TARE IT APART! Johnny shakes his head back and forth trying to shake some sense into it. His muscles stop quivering, his gun stops creaking under the strain , and a little focus returns to his eyes. Wait I'm not hear to kill this thing. I'm here to save her. Gotta keep my drek together if we want to see the sun rise one last time

<<Channel Charlie (Arc, Lash)>>
"Lash, witch and friends coming your way and fast, watch your hoop.  Drek, this thing tore through three trogs like paper, we are on the way"

Good just have to stall this thing for a little longer. Then maybe we can either lose it in the confusion or this damn ritual will finally be done With a flourish Johnny holsters his pistol, grabs for the whip, and yells as damn near 10 feet oh hardened leather flies towards the monster at incredible speed. I THINK YOU GOT SOMETHIN THAT DON'T BELONG TO YOU DREK HEAD

[ismilealot]

@ Arc  As your vision switches to thermo you see some things far more clearly. You were right! The shadow was moving and it was a body. A scrawny witch's body! You've got her! And then . .  .you lose her! Frag! That dark shadow must be a dumpster. And it's right next to a building! No matter, you'll be there in a moment! And then she won't stand a chance!

@ Johnny & Masquerade  Your whip sails through the air and wraps around Raven's waist and pulls her out of the monsters grasp. "HA! Take that!" You think as Ravens unconscious body is pulled out of it's grasp and goes hurtiling to the ground as its jerked toward you. "Wow, she's kinda in bad shape isn't she."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena realizes that she may not get a chance with the rifle.  She takes one arm from around the human in front of her and slides the Predator's familiar gecko grip into her hand.  She almost laughs as she says, "Old school and short range, Arc.  Just like in prison.  Get close and spin-stop to let Yelena off.  I see you on other side some day if fail."  She relaxes her body and prepares for the sudden stop so she can get off the bike and try to earn her pay.

[ismilealot]

With a palpable wave of anger the creature lashes out and grabs Masquerade again and pulls him towards itself. Tentacles flailing it smashes through Lance, Two-Bit and Tom. And then the high pitched scream of a young girls voice "NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! " 

[Triskavanski]

Masqurade manages to keep herself from taking another direct hit from the beasty, Her current mental reprogramming of a heartless killer paying off pretty well, though her body really isn't trained for this sort of combat.

"Load flares. Kill it with fire." she says in a deadpanned emotionless tone.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena waits for Arc to slow down enough and slips off the bike, bringing the Predator up for a shot.  <Thank you for dropping here.  Now rev out and make pass in case you need to ram her.>  Her low-light vision and the electronics on the large pistol bring the fragging Keeb mage into sharp focus.  The grip of the weapon she has used and practiced with for years is familiar to her and gives her comfort as she lines up the shot and squeezes the trigger.

[SgtBoomCloud]

The cry out from the little horror grid elf witch was more than Arc needed to pinpoint a location.  Gritting her teeth, the human rounded the dumpster, the thermal spectrum of her goggles flaring at the sight of their target.  With a nod to Yelena, Arc hit the brakes, spinning around in a full 360, slowing down just enough to allow for a safe disembark before flaring the throttle again. "Got it." was all Arc could say before the Russian went into action. The Scorpion roared as its rider sped off a handful of meters before doing a full u-turn, revving for an impending plan B...