The rocky bits, Saturday night
[Continued from here.]
The armless mummy wasted no time and rushed at Aeryn while she was dealing with what was left of its arms. It let off an unearthly scream as it launched itself at her.
Aeryn stands her ground, shooting and not moving until the very last second. Only then does she try to dodge it, stepping hopefully far outside its reach.
After Aeryn dodged, Peter made a charge toward the mummy. "I usually have a rule about hitting unarmed mothers, but you're one mummy I'll make an exception for," he said, aiming a leaping kick at the mummy's head.
If Aeryn didn't know better, she could swear she could still hear Peter talking.
The head of the mummy snaps off with a sickening noise. Leaving only a shot up torso with legs.
Which promptly falls over not ever to move again.
With the victory, yes, Peter was still talking. "Okay, bad joke, I admit it, but my heart's in the right place. Not preserved in a jar like some people I've kicked today. Not that it matters much since that certain someone isn't, you know, moving anymore."
"Are you ever quiet?" Aeryn asks Peter, looking to see where she's needed now.
"Sometimes when I'm sleeping. But I do snore most nights," Peter answered. He looked down at the headless mummy. "If you had been man enough to take one more hit, I could have followed up with an I Left My Heart in San Francisco ref, but noooo. Loser."
He then set off after Aeryn to see where he could lend a hand. Or foot, as the case may be.
Alec took aim on one of the approaching mummies, firing off a blast from the pulse rifle that hit it in the chest. He was grinning a bit -- these weren't people, so he could actually enjoy himself.
The mummy was thrown back by the blast, landing on its rear, bandages smoking. It moaned and began dragging itself towards Alec.
Wrinkling his nose, he adjusted his aim and fired at its head. Hopefully between the two vital spots, one of them would put it down for good.
The mummy's head flew off its neck and bounced against the rocks, but that didn't stop the mummy from continuing to drag itself forward, moaning.
Alec continued shooting as it crawled over the rock, aiming for its hands first. He figured it couldn't exactly keep coming if there was nothing left with which to move itself.
The mummy slowed, and eventually stilled. There was an occasional twitch, though.
There's a moment of silence in which everything looks to have quieted down, though Aeryn still hasn't put down her weapon. In fact, she's only pausing to check the charge on her pulse pistol.
"I think things are going to be getting pretty bad soon," Peter said. It wasn't just a hunch.
Sam gave Peter as dirty a look as he could muster."Okay, that is exactly the sort of thing you don't say at a time like this, because then? It ends up being true."
"In fandom?" D smirked as she joined them,"everything ends up being true."
"Very true," Peter said, looking around, waiting for it.
"If there is something else coming, I just wish it'd hurry up and get here," Dean said, eyes constantly in motion as he scanned the shadows around them."I hate waiting around."
"Okay, that might just be worse than saying 'Things are going to get really bad,'" Sam said to Dean."Maybe there's nothing else out there?"
That would be when another mummy groaned from the left of them. This one did not seem happy.
Callisto glanced briefly in the direction of the mummy before throwing round spinny death at it.
The mummy had round spinny death in its chest now, but kept coming. Faster now, and meaner.
Peter dove off to the side and tried to web the feet of this mummy like he did the last one. It was worth a shot, at least.
It only got one foot. Now the mummy was further irritated, and headed Peter's way.
It was one tough mummy.
Callisto stared at the flaming mummy somewaht longer than necessary, before turning back towards the group. She blinked and pointed.
"Guys...you might want to..."
Aeryn turns around, and she doesn't even know what that thing is, but she starts shooting anyway.
"Well, that's what the big buzzing was about," Peter muttered to himself.
"No chance you'll accept that you have an arachnid brother here and give up, is there?" He didn't want to have to get close, so he grabbed a nearby big rock and chucked it at the scorpion.
The scorpion made whatever noise giant scorpions make when they've been hit in the head with a rock. And then it started skittering towards the group, tail swinging.
Sam had started lighting an arrow while Peter was trying to be rational and talky, and he fired it at the scorpion as it started coming closer.
The arrow just missed, as the scorpion stopped short, swinging its tail towards Sam.
Swearing, Sam backed up, but not enough to keep from getting hit by the tail and knocked to the ground with a hard thud.
Running towards the scorpion, Buffy also took the hit.
Seeing an opening, Peter rushed over toward the scorpion and fired a web net at the tail when he got close enough. He hoped this would stick the tail to the rocks, limiting its mobility. He also hoped that he didn't get too close to the scorpion.
The scorpion may have been stuck to the rocks, but that didn't stop it from clamping a claw down on Peter's left arm.
Anyone not concentrating on the giant scorpion might have noticed something vaguely humanoid coming towards them from a particularly craggy area.
Peter screamed in pain. When that didn't help, he tried to pry the claw off with his free hand. That wasn't working.
"Crap," he said, wincing. He was more or less stuck.
Dean had moved over to cover Sammy when he went down and now pulled his pistol, aiming carefully and firing where the claw that was in Peter met the scorpion's body.
The scorpion was getting really irritated with the shots being fired at it, and let go of Peter just so it could try to get its tail free and come after the rest of them.
Meanwhile, the mummy was getting closer.
Z noticed something moving."Guys? Guys, mummy!" She started shooting at it.
Aeryn reacts to the shooting more than the words. She's probably the closest, so she hits the mummy in the face with the barrel of her pulse pistol before stepping away from it, attempting to shoot.
Callisto started to circle the mummy, hoping to ambush it while it was focused on Z and Aeryn.
That this might also put her into Aeryn's line of fire had not missed her notice.
Aeryn stops shooting immediately, ordering Z to stop quickly. Still keeping an eye on Callisto just in case, Aeryn turns most of her attention on the scorpion, which is still trying to get free.
The mummy lunged for Callisto.
Z stopped shooting, also not really wanting to shoot Callisto. And she didn't think her sidearm was doing much anyway. Maybe it was broken."Dammit!"
Callisto pulled out her lighter again, possibly intending on another mummy flambe.
Alas, the fluid seemed to have run out.
The mummy stepped forward quickly and reached to grab Callisto by the arms.
Since her arms were trapped, Callisto attempted to headbutt the mummy instead.
The mummy let go of her, stumbling backwards and trying to shake it off.
Aeryn gets closer, partially to attack the mummy, and partially to keep the apparently suicidal one from doing something else apparently suicidal. She goes to fire point blank, and realizes she should have changed cartridges before. She reaches for her other pulse pistol instead.
The mummy shook his head, and in doing so caught Aeryn from the corner of his eye. Fleeing the headbutter, he turned and charged at Aeryn.
Aeryn forgets the pulse pistol, instead bracing herself for the charge. She keeps her hands up, attempting to catch him by the shoulders before he can hit.
Since he had stopped worrying about finesse a few thousand years ago, the mummy lowered his shoulder in an attempt to knock Aeryn down with the charge.
Aeryn actually lets it happen, catching him by the shoulders. When she goes down, she tries to use the movement and her own weight to flip the mummy over her.
The mummy was temporarily airborn. Thousands of years buried and suddenly he was flying. And then he was on the ground again. He started to get up, trying to shake it off.
As the mummy rose, Z hauled back and pistol-whipped him upside the head."Take that!"
A small part of the mummy's skull caved in with the hit. He was stunned for a moment, then began to rise again with an unholy grunt.
Which is when Callisto finally got her lighter to start working again and threw flaming torch at the mummy.
The mummy howled as it burned. Some fire made its way into his collapsed skull, too. It wasn't pleasant. The mummy would be done for soon enough.
"That? Was kind of cool," Anakin said with a slightly wicked smile, then turned around."Next?" he said, raising an eyebrow at the scorpion.
Now Aeryn's going for that other cartridge, changing it out quickly so she has ammo again.
As if on cue, the scorpion was finally able to pull its tail free. That was some strong webbing there. It paused for a moment before rushing towards the group.
"Um, LC?" Anakin said, activating the comm unit again."This is Firecracker. The mummies are all taken care of and we're going up against a giant...bug...thing. We'll be back soon."
Yes, this was Anakin's idea of reassuring communcation.
Alec stepped up and aimed the pulse rifle, taking a shot at where its face - if it had a face - would be."Anyone have any idea where scorpions have a weak spot?"
All right, the giant thing has a name."Head and heart are always a good start," Aeryn says, not that she knows where the heart is on this thing, where it is, or how many it has. So she aims for the eyes on the scorpion.
"Maybe we should try and concentrate our fire," Dean said, suiting action to word and aiming his own gun at the scorpion's head and its eyes like Aeryn had."Even if it can withstand one gun, it might not be able to withstand three."
Z also fired at the giant freaking scorpion, even though she found her sidearm was more useful as a blunt object.
Callisto threw her chakram at the scorpion's head.
Now that Sam had caught his breath and his head had stopped spinning, he followed suit with the crossbow.
Even a big tough scorpion has to be hurt by several people firing weapons at one spot on its head. Therefore, it should be no surprise that it finally collapses in front of them, dead like a dead thing.
Anakin walked cautiously over to the big dead smoking thing.
Then whacked off what was left of its head with his lightsaber, just in case.
"Better," he said with a small smile.
Aeryn might not look impressed, but that's battle mode. She really kind of is. "Let them know we're headed back?"
"Will do," he said, clicking the comm back on. "LC, DP, this is Firecracker. The scorpion's taken care of--Peter's got a problem with his left arm, but other than that we're pretty unscathed. We're heading home now."
[OOC: Preplayed, no interaction possible, OOC comments welcome. Post 2 of 2.]
The armless mummy wasted no time and rushed at Aeryn while she was dealing with what was left of its arms. It let off an unearthly scream as it launched itself at her.
Aeryn stands her ground, shooting and not moving until the very last second. Only then does she try to dodge it, stepping hopefully far outside its reach.
After Aeryn dodged, Peter made a charge toward the mummy. "I usually have a rule about hitting unarmed mothers, but you're one mummy I'll make an exception for," he said, aiming a leaping kick at the mummy's head.
If Aeryn didn't know better, she could swear she could still hear Peter talking.
The head of the mummy snaps off with a sickening noise. Leaving only a shot up torso with legs.
Which promptly falls over not ever to move again.
With the victory, yes, Peter was still talking. "Okay, bad joke, I admit it, but my heart's in the right place. Not preserved in a jar like some people I've kicked today. Not that it matters much since that certain someone isn't, you know, moving anymore."
"Are you ever quiet?" Aeryn asks Peter, looking to see where she's needed now.
"Sometimes when I'm sleeping. But I do snore most nights," Peter answered. He looked down at the headless mummy. "If you had been man enough to take one more hit, I could have followed up with an I Left My Heart in San Francisco ref, but noooo. Loser."
He then set off after Aeryn to see where he could lend a hand. Or foot, as the case may be.
Alec took aim on one of the approaching mummies, firing off a blast from the pulse rifle that hit it in the chest. He was grinning a bit -- these weren't people, so he could actually enjoy himself.
The mummy was thrown back by the blast, landing on its rear, bandages smoking. It moaned and began dragging itself towards Alec.
Wrinkling his nose, he adjusted his aim and fired at its head. Hopefully between the two vital spots, one of them would put it down for good.
The mummy's head flew off its neck and bounced against the rocks, but that didn't stop the mummy from continuing to drag itself forward, moaning.
Alec continued shooting as it crawled over the rock, aiming for its hands first. He figured it couldn't exactly keep coming if there was nothing left with which to move itself.
The mummy slowed, and eventually stilled. There was an occasional twitch, though.
There's a moment of silence in which everything looks to have quieted down, though Aeryn still hasn't put down her weapon. In fact, she's only pausing to check the charge on her pulse pistol.
"I think things are going to be getting pretty bad soon," Peter said. It wasn't just a hunch.
Sam gave Peter as dirty a look as he could muster."Okay, that is exactly the sort of thing you don't say at a time like this, because then? It ends up being true."
"In fandom?" D smirked as she joined them,"everything ends up being true."
"Very true," Peter said, looking around, waiting for it.
"If there is something else coming, I just wish it'd hurry up and get here," Dean said, eyes constantly in motion as he scanned the shadows around them."I hate waiting around."
"Okay, that might just be worse than saying 'Things are going to get really bad,'" Sam said to Dean."Maybe there's nothing else out there?"
That would be when another mummy groaned from the left of them. This one did not seem happy.
Callisto glanced briefly in the direction of the mummy before throwing round spinny death at it.
The mummy had round spinny death in its chest now, but kept coming. Faster now, and meaner.
Peter dove off to the side and tried to web the feet of this mummy like he did the last one. It was worth a shot, at least.
It only got one foot. Now the mummy was further irritated, and headed Peter's way.
It was one tough mummy.
Callisto stared at the flaming mummy somewaht longer than necessary, before turning back towards the group. She blinked and pointed.
"Guys...you might want to..."
Aeryn turns around, and she doesn't even know what that thing is, but she starts shooting anyway.
"Well, that's what the big buzzing was about," Peter muttered to himself.
"No chance you'll accept that you have an arachnid brother here and give up, is there?" He didn't want to have to get close, so he grabbed a nearby big rock and chucked it at the scorpion.
The scorpion made whatever noise giant scorpions make when they've been hit in the head with a rock. And then it started skittering towards the group, tail swinging.
Sam had started lighting an arrow while Peter was trying to be rational and talky, and he fired it at the scorpion as it started coming closer.
The arrow just missed, as the scorpion stopped short, swinging its tail towards Sam.
Swearing, Sam backed up, but not enough to keep from getting hit by the tail and knocked to the ground with a hard thud.
Running towards the scorpion, Buffy also took the hit.
Seeing an opening, Peter rushed over toward the scorpion and fired a web net at the tail when he got close enough. He hoped this would stick the tail to the rocks, limiting its mobility. He also hoped that he didn't get too close to the scorpion.
The scorpion may have been stuck to the rocks, but that didn't stop it from clamping a claw down on Peter's left arm.
Anyone not concentrating on the giant scorpion might have noticed something vaguely humanoid coming towards them from a particularly craggy area.
Peter screamed in pain. When that didn't help, he tried to pry the claw off with his free hand. That wasn't working.
"Crap," he said, wincing. He was more or less stuck.
Dean had moved over to cover Sammy when he went down and now pulled his pistol, aiming carefully and firing where the claw that was in Peter met the scorpion's body.
The scorpion was getting really irritated with the shots being fired at it, and let go of Peter just so it could try to get its tail free and come after the rest of them.
Meanwhile, the mummy was getting closer.
Z noticed something moving."Guys? Guys, mummy!" She started shooting at it.
Aeryn reacts to the shooting more than the words. She's probably the closest, so she hits the mummy in the face with the barrel of her pulse pistol before stepping away from it, attempting to shoot.
Callisto started to circle the mummy, hoping to ambush it while it was focused on Z and Aeryn.
That this might also put her into Aeryn's line of fire had not missed her notice.
Aeryn stops shooting immediately, ordering Z to stop quickly. Still keeping an eye on Callisto just in case, Aeryn turns most of her attention on the scorpion, which is still trying to get free.
The mummy lunged for Callisto.
Z stopped shooting, also not really wanting to shoot Callisto. And she didn't think her sidearm was doing much anyway. Maybe it was broken."Dammit!"
Callisto pulled out her lighter again, possibly intending on another mummy flambe.
Alas, the fluid seemed to have run out.
The mummy stepped forward quickly and reached to grab Callisto by the arms.
Since her arms were trapped, Callisto attempted to headbutt the mummy instead.
The mummy let go of her, stumbling backwards and trying to shake it off.
Aeryn gets closer, partially to attack the mummy, and partially to keep the apparently suicidal one from doing something else apparently suicidal. She goes to fire point blank, and realizes she should have changed cartridges before. She reaches for her other pulse pistol instead.
The mummy shook his head, and in doing so caught Aeryn from the corner of his eye. Fleeing the headbutter, he turned and charged at Aeryn.
Aeryn forgets the pulse pistol, instead bracing herself for the charge. She keeps her hands up, attempting to catch him by the shoulders before he can hit.
Since he had stopped worrying about finesse a few thousand years ago, the mummy lowered his shoulder in an attempt to knock Aeryn down with the charge.
Aeryn actually lets it happen, catching him by the shoulders. When she goes down, she tries to use the movement and her own weight to flip the mummy over her.
The mummy was temporarily airborn. Thousands of years buried and suddenly he was flying. And then he was on the ground again. He started to get up, trying to shake it off.
As the mummy rose, Z hauled back and pistol-whipped him upside the head."Take that!"
A small part of the mummy's skull caved in with the hit. He was stunned for a moment, then began to rise again with an unholy grunt.
Which is when Callisto finally got her lighter to start working again and threw flaming torch at the mummy.
The mummy howled as it burned. Some fire made its way into his collapsed skull, too. It wasn't pleasant. The mummy would be done for soon enough.
"That? Was kind of cool," Anakin said with a slightly wicked smile, then turned around."Next?" he said, raising an eyebrow at the scorpion.
Now Aeryn's going for that other cartridge, changing it out quickly so she has ammo again.
As if on cue, the scorpion was finally able to pull its tail free. That was some strong webbing there. It paused for a moment before rushing towards the group.
"Um, LC?" Anakin said, activating the comm unit again."This is Firecracker. The mummies are all taken care of and we're going up against a giant...bug...thing. We'll be back soon."
Yes, this was Anakin's idea of reassuring communcation.
Alec stepped up and aimed the pulse rifle, taking a shot at where its face - if it had a face - would be."Anyone have any idea where scorpions have a weak spot?"
All right, the giant thing has a name."Head and heart are always a good start," Aeryn says, not that she knows where the heart is on this thing, where it is, or how many it has. So she aims for the eyes on the scorpion.
"Maybe we should try and concentrate our fire," Dean said, suiting action to word and aiming his own gun at the scorpion's head and its eyes like Aeryn had."Even if it can withstand one gun, it might not be able to withstand three."
Z also fired at the giant freaking scorpion, even though she found her sidearm was more useful as a blunt object.
Callisto threw her chakram at the scorpion's head.
Now that Sam had caught his breath and his head had stopped spinning, he followed suit with the crossbow.
Even a big tough scorpion has to be hurt by several people firing weapons at one spot on its head. Therefore, it should be no surprise that it finally collapses in front of them, dead like a dead thing.
Anakin walked cautiously over to the big dead smoking thing.
Then whacked off what was left of its head with his lightsaber, just in case.
"Better," he said with a small smile.
Aeryn might not look impressed, but that's battle mode. She really kind of is. "Let them know we're headed back?"
"Will do," he said, clicking the comm back on. "LC, DP, this is Firecracker. The scorpion's taken care of--Peter's got a problem with his left arm, but other than that we're pretty unscathed. We're heading home now."
[OOC: Preplayed, no interaction possible, OOC comments welcome. Post 2 of 2.]