A Tail for Tales

[Wolfie]

"I'll do you one better and show your ass just what was in there I found the other night." With that said, Genesis walked over to Topaz One and stopped.

  He sighed to himself before prying open the back again revealing the purple banded barrels and the tarp covered object within. Genesis stepped inside and grabbed the tarp, pulling it clean off. What was under that tarp could be described as menacing. It was robotic to say the least, but complex, tubes ran from the limbs to the torso, the head resembled that of a certain Metal Head. The mechanism was off, low to the ground, but still looked like it could do a ton of damage on its own.

"This pile of circuits, nuts, bolts and metal was what you guys were escorting. Just looking at it gives me the chills." Genesis spoke, keeping his gaze locked on this... robot.

[Darkjak87]

Well, it's definitely not pretty, Zrion thought. His face was carefully blank as he considered what was in front of him. It was clearly meant to resemble Genesis, although it wasn't doing a particularly good job of it yet. If Zrion had to guess, it was a crude prototype that needed further modification to be effective, which is why they were transporting it to the Weapons Lab.

"Thompson," Zrion said tonelessly, looking at his medic. "Take a look at that thing, see what you can tell us about it." Thompson might have only been a field medic, but he was certainly more academically inclined than anyone else on hand.

The medic obeyed wordlessly, moving over to the Metal Head and pulling a few odds and ends from his satchel. The men watched quietly for a few moments as he worked, carefully examining the various bits and pieces of the machine, muttering to himself all the while.

When he stood back up, Zrion gave him an expectant look. The medic seemed hesitant, but he spoke up regardless. "Well, sir, I'm just a field medic. Not a scientist, or an expert in robotics, but I'll tell you what I can."

"Please do," Zrion encouraged. He had yet to formulate an opinion about all this. While it was certainly strange, and he could see why it was cause for concern for Genesis, he wasn't about to abandon their mission without knowing more.

"Well, from what I can tell, it's basically just a robotic Metal Head, modeled after him," Thompson began, thumbing Genesis. "I'm not sure what the purpose is, unless it's supposed to be some kind of countermeasure to fight him in battle, but if that's all it was, why would they make it look like him?"

"Why indeed..." Zrion mused. "Any other ideas? Maybe it's supposed to be an infiltrator or something?"

"Maybe..." Thompson allowed. "But it's definitely not complete, whatever it's for. I'm not sure if it would even fool a Metal Head, they might have means other than visual to identify one another. It might not work at all, even if the physical appearance was perfected."

"Anything else?" Zrion inquired.

Thompson shook his head. "I can't find out more, I'm just a field medic sir, I don't have anything resembling the proper equipment to analyze this thing any better."

That said, Zrion then turned to Genesis. "Alright, I've been honest with you so far, so let's see if you'll repay the favor. If I had to guess, I'd say that looking like you isn't enough to fool any Metal Heads. Am I right?"

[Wolfie]

"Hell, even I'd see this thing coming a mile away." Genesis stepped forward into a puddle.

   The puddle consisted of the same dark purple liquid from the first night, but this time it was leading to the cybernetic Metal Head. Genesis watched the puddles flow deeper into the robot. He knew something, this strange eco was warning him, something in his head was telling him to run.

"Zrion...." Genesis spoke in fear, "... I think we should run..."

[Darkjak87]

"What?" Zrion asked irritably. "Why?"

"Commander!" Thompson said urgently, getting Zrion's attention. "That thing, it's powered by Dark Eco. If it's supposed to imitate Genesis, it probably replicates his powers too somehow."

Frowning, Zrion looked back at the construct, and was alarmed to see that dark eco leaking from the barrels was pooling underneath it. Worse, the machine seemed to be absorbing it. He could  hear a hum, and faint sounds of whirring as the machine seemed to power up.

"Dammit! Get back! Get the hell out of here!" Zrion shouted. His squad immediately shuffled out of the transport, falling back and putting some distance between them and Topaz One.

"Fan out! Field of fire on the door! If that thing attacks us, put it down!" he ordered.

His men did as he said, spreading out and kneeling down, aiming their assault rifles toward the transport.

[Wolfie]

   With the machine whirring to life, Genesis tried to step out of the transport only for him to be smacked back by this thing's tail. Nearly knocking him unconscious, the machine broke free from it's bonds that held it down, gears whirring and the hum of different machinery going to work.

"Mecha Head Alpha. ONLINE!" The machine spoke in a low, deep, computerized tone as it lifted itself from the floor. "Targets have been acquired, unknown armored enemies in the vicinity, preparing to eliminate hostiles."

   The beast's tail was shown along with it barring it's spinning teeth. A blade tip shot out from the end of the tail and started to increase it's spin velocity before jumping out of the transport, it's scanners lock on one person only. That person being Zrion. Genesis on the other hand, curled his claw into a ball and thrust it against the inside of Topaz One. His own purple lightninn emitting from his fist as he started to growl.

[Darkjak87]

"Target confirmed hostile! Angel Team, fire at will!" Zrion barked.

All four of the commandos opened fire simultaneously, firing in short bursts. However, the shots simply bounced off Mecha-Genesis' armored chassis, sending the shots flying in random directions.

Zrion's frustration turned to alarm when the construct charged directly toward him, a nasty blade springing from its tail. "Scatter!" Zrion yelled, diving to the side. His men did so as well, jumping or rolling out of the way. However, Braeburn wasn't so lucky, as the robot's blade sliced into his side, causing the soldier to shout in pain.

"Dammit! Thompson, take care of him! Mendoza, cover him!" Zrion shouted. He lined Mecha-Genesis up in his sights, and held his trigger down, keeping a firm grip on his rifle to control the muzzle climb. Most of the shots hit their mark, but had as little effect as the previous ones.

"Reloading! Cover me!" Zrion called out. Giving him a nod, Mendoza targeted the Mech and opened fire as well, aiming at different places in hopes of finding a weak spot, although without success.

"Commander!" Thompson shouted. "Braeburn's hurt, I can patch him up but he's down for the fight, and he needs help now or he could bleed out!"

"Do it! Get him out of here!" Zrion ordered.

"Need help! He's heavy!"

"Dammit! Mendoza, give him a hand! Keep them covered, I've got this bastard!" Zrion decided.

The grenadier seemed hesitant to leave Zrion by himself, but nodded and moved toward Thompson, helping the medic drag the wounded soldier away.

"Now then...Let the good times roll..." Zrion muttered darkly, bracing himself for the Mech's next move.

[Wolfie]

   Before the mech could pounce onto Zrion, a purple streak boomed out of Topaz One. The streak stopped infront of Zrion, but something was off, it appeared to be Genesis, but his coat was more of black crossed with a purple, spikes covered both sides of his plating on his spine, and horns where his ears were pushed down.

"Nobody... not even a damn replica of me... smacks me with my own tail and gets away with it!" Genesis snarled, his now purple eyes locking with the Mecha-Genesis.

   His size was also noticeably bigger by 10%, making him sleeker than before, but a lot more menacing now. With a demonic roar, Genesis charged, tackling the cybernetic to the ground with sand getting kicked up slightly. Their tail collided in a spark, but as the dust settled, Genesis was holding the spinning blade in place with his own barbs. An ear-piercing whine emitting from the tail of Mecha-Genesis.

"And here... we... go!" Genesis said more sadistically than he ever sounded, ripping the blade from its socket while still being attached to its wiring and gears.

[Darkjak87]

Scowling furiously at the Metal Head, Zrion's mind was racing as he considered his options.

Bullets don't work...I can't really use eco in front of the Guards...He thought quickly. The only option left for him was to lace his bullets with eco. It would definitely be hard to miss, but he didn't have much choice. I can bullshit my way out of it later, he decided.

Taking a breath, Zrion concentrated as best he could while keeping an eye on the machine, both his arms glowing red with eco, then spreading further to surround his assault rifle with a matching blood-red glow. Taking careful aim, Zrion fired six shots at Mecha-Genesis when he had the opportunity.

The shots certainly had more impact that time, knocking the mech backward and leaving deep dents in its armor, but unfortunately not doing any real damage. Zrion scowled. That was his main answer against armor. If that wasn't effective, he'd have to take it to the next level and use his other trump card, something he never liked doing.

Maybe it has weak points? he considered. Joints, maybe?

Taking aim at one of the construct's front legs, Zrion squeezed off a few rounds, the streaks of red eco hissing as they tore through the air toward their target.

[Wolfie]

   Genesis did a backflip, some of the eco bolts connecting him to the mecha as he lifted himself into the air and landed behind Zrion.

"Nice work with those bullets, what'd you do to them?" Genesis asked as he eyed the machine past his new-found ally.

   Mecha-Genesis was trying to recover from the red eco laced bullets tearing right through its leg. Letting loose a loud, mechanical roar, it foolishly charged only to be knocked back by Genesis, who slid back to Zrion's side.

"Dumbass tinkertoy. What's is it thinking that it can take us on?"

[Darkjak87]

"It's you." Zrion said bluntly. "Supposed to be, anyway. It's doing a good enough job being a pain in the ass, that's for sure."

Taking aim again, Zrion fired a long burst, emptying about half a clip at the recovering Mech, putting a few more dents in the chassis. Unfortunately, this didn't do much more than piss the Metal Head off. With a loud, earsplitting mechanical shriek, the beast charged at Zrion, covering a dozen meters in less than two seconds.

Cursing, Zrion dived to the side, one of the Metal Heads claws nicking his side, cutting through his armor like it wasn't even there. Thrown off by the injury, Zrion landed less than gracefully, as what was intended to be a smooth roll left him sprawled across the ground. He quickly ripped his pistol from it's holster, charging it up as he had his rifle and firing a trio of shots into the Metal Head's face, stunning it long enough for him to scramble to his feet.

Holstering his pistol, he scooped up his rifle and backed away quickly, keeping his distance as he had when fighting Genesis earlier. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several of the regulars taking aim at the creature. While he appreciated the sentiment, a bunch of soldiers opening fire from multiple directions while standing in a loose circle was not a good idea.

"No! All units, hold fire! If you shoot now, you'll hit each other! We'll take care if it!" Zrion called out. The soldiers seemed reluctant, but obeyed, settling for watching the perimeter instead.