Frost IC

[Rhunhildr]

Where are the others?

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Arizona sprinted towards the archway, as cracking fissures snaked their way after him, emitting hissing streamers into the air. He had checked Jones pulse not one second ago, only to realize that the man was dead. His face and armor were completely melted away, leaving not but a horrendous memory etched in Arizona's mind. He had left the man behind.Damn it, where are others? His head swam as he breathed in acid, and reactive tears blurred his vision.

Throbbing rocks bucked. Chunks of rock fell from the ceiling. In the distance, the rattling sound of heavy artillery erupted bringing him to a halt. Adam, what part of run don't you understand? Arizona squinted through the fog in time to see the Titan - a flashing halo against the patterned gunfire. Next to the rearing beast, it looked but a toy. It only dawned on him then what the robot was doing. He was sacrificing himself, so that they could get away.

Not on my watch.

Licking his lips, Arizona nocked an arrow to his bow and aimed. The tip of his arrow was unorthodoxly blunt and cylindrical, appearing more like a petard than an arrowhead. The acid made his eyes bleary, and his throat was stinging, but he released, and the bolt flew true, hitting the strip of rock directly behind the worm. The explosion was intense, and whole chamber groaned under the threat of a cave in. The worm roared.

Arizona yelled at Adam, but a glowing orb suddenly caught him from above, landing with a sickening crunch. As Arizona fell forward, his throat caught and he faded out of consciousness. He's knocked out

[m0ckingbird]

Mika Matsumoto, chief of communications- You have been denied access to the Eden Shuttle system a clear feminine voice intoned.

"Yeah yeah, lady, we'll see," Mika muttered cracking her knuckles. She quickly connected her laptop to the shuttle mainframe and deactivated the warning system. Only a few people had access to the shuttles, and Mika was not one of them. The only thing she could do now was scour the crew database for an access code.

As the secret-illegal database software loaded up results, Mika looked over her shoulder at the docks. It would take only a few minutes for the guards to find out what she had done and come to drag her into custody, she needed to work fast.

"C'mon, c'mon," Mika said gripping the laptop. Eventually the passcode popped up and she entered it. The vehicle came to life!

"Wooo. Mika scores yet again! Take that!!" Mika cheered and gripped the wheel. But then her face fell when remembered that she had no idea how to pilot the thing. meanwhile ten guards darted out into the docks at a full sprint. Mika screamed and hit the firs button she could find. A big red one with an arrow on it.

Autopilot engaged, please state your destination.

[Konica]

Eve was in awe when the worm appeared with a dramatic entrance. It reminded her of all those Kaiju movies she saw, except it was smaller. And if she learned anything from those movies, its that running is the only option. As she fled with the others, Eve pulled her pistol out and pointed it upwards. "FLARES" On voice command, the weapon ejected three flares to light the path and guide the others.

Unfortunately even with her multicore processor, she couldn't see what was coming. A fissure spurting acid caught her by surprise and sent her tumbling to the ground. She tore off what was left of her acid soaked sleeve to see the artificial skin on her left arm peeled off. Luckily it still functioned.

As she continued her escape she noticed Arizona taking an inappropriately timed nap. She ran over to him and struggled pick him up on her back. "Arizona is down, I could use back up here!" she radioed in while working her way back as fast as possible.

[Rhunhildr]

Artemis walked down the main hall of Jonas Short’s private apartments. Agents wearing the Blackrose company insignia shuffled out of her way and bowed to her as she passed, but she did not respond. She ignored them, and fixed her eyes on the heavy golden door straight ahead. She had been summoned at Jonas' request- and she knew why.

She pushed open the door and went in without knocking.

The inner office of the Jonas Short’s chambers was brightly lit and windowless. The outer walls were adorned with tapestries and rare art objects. An intricately carved snake-wood table stood directly in the center of the room. Right behind it, a five-star bar was built into an armoire on the wall. To the side of the bar a serving-man was pouring Jonas a fresh glass of wine. Artemis watched the ruby liquid ripple into the glass, and her lips twitched with suppressed irritation. Look at the old fool, he celebrates before he is sure that a victory has been achieved.

“Ahh, Artemis-” Jonas said looking up. He studied her with a frown, “I see you have worn your face today?!”

Artemis had to reach up a metallic hand and touch her prosthetic face to remind her that it was there. She had tried it on earlier in the day and she had remembered feeling satisfied with the aesthetic beauty it gave her. Eyes, nose and mouth -every feature of it was perfectly proportioned and beautiful. unbeknownst to Jonas, however, she did not wear it to please humans. She wore it to better control them. Already she had sensed the confusion it caused- particularly among the men within the base. They had always feared her, but now they also desired her. It was a perfect combination, suitable for maximum control. The key to power, She thought. Admiration and fear.

“Surely, You did not call me here to fuss over my looks. What is the status of our plan?” She asked, but inwardly she scoffed: 'Our plan'? why do I caress this fool’s ego. There is no way he could have helped me devise this brilliant scheme- he is only a human after all. Jonas’ face split into a hideous smile at her question, and his elation returned.

“Arizona Zhang is dead! The trap we arranged for him could not have worked more potently.”

“It was within the realm of calculation,” She agreed, “but how can we know for sure?”

Jonas leaned back in his chair and sniffed at the wine in his glass. For a while he swirled it in his palm as if to savor the taste of victory. She stared at him expectantly.

“I saw him fall. Through the dreaming eyes of Eran Yearban- that upstart who decided to waltz into the frost without knowing the full range of control we had over his equipment,” Jonas said silkily. “He played his part well; still, I am surprised those two treacherous androids were gullible enough to follow Arizona to his doom.” At the mention of the androids, Jonas’ lip curled. It was clear that he had never quite gotten over their 'betrayal'.

“There was only one person who could have stopped him from leading them into that cave,” Artemis said with note of triumph in her tone. Jonas nodded.

“Yes, the environmentalist, Dr. Mary Bohers… Only she wasn't really with them was she? That poor impostor you sent in her stead wouldn't have seen the obvious signs of the worm cave.” He smiled thinly, "Sometimes I forget how cunning you are Artemis. Good work."

With relish, Artemis produced a tablet from her side. She keyed in a small code and the system suddenly updated. The active status of fifteen crewmen suddenly changed from alive to deceased.

[Potatrobot]

The guns of Adam's Titan pounded like the drums of war as they sent round after round hurtling into the ice worm's tough, rugged hide. An entire lifetime of boring through solid ice and rock had conditioned it to withstand even the most punishing of blows. At the very most, Adam was able to keep the monster at bay, but he wasn't doing a lick of lasting damage. The worm's seemingly-unending body arched high above where Adam stood in his enormous exo-suit, filling the cave. Lit from above by the glowing orbs, and below by Adam's headlights, surrounded by steam and with no stone walls in sight, it was something out of a thriller -- a demonic terror from the uncharted depths of the planet.

The continuous stream of metal shells eventually came to a halt as the feed of ammunition went dry, necessitating a reload. The worm felt the ceasefire, and though blind, swooped down to attack the source of the pelting it had endured. Snake-like tendrils writhed through its porous face, and its enormous tusks were bared. They could skewer Adam's Titan where it stood.

Its lunge was intercepted by a grenade launched from Adam's left arm, striking it on the outer edge of its mouth and causing it to recoil and turn what could feasibly pass for its head. Adam held his right arm back while internal mechanics whirred and clunked to deliver the next container of ammunition to its weapons. Through his rear view display he saw Eve retreating with Arizona over her shoulder, along with the last few members of the team to retreat back towards the convoy. He had held the line, and everybody who could be saved had been. Now it was just a matter of giving the convoy enough time to reverse out of the cave, all the while keeping himself alive.

"Everyone back at the convoy yet?" He called out over the comm, raising his right arm and letting loose another flurry of hot lead, while he reloaded his left arm. Be began to slowly back into the tunnel.

[Zakari Kazunite]

Vance rubbed his head helping a couple soldiers onto vehicles then climbing in one to use the radio as he heard adam speak he looked outside briefly caught a glimpse of Eve carrying someone, he couldn't see anyone else he went back inside and looked at the several soldiers who were wounded "there's room" he said "GODAMNIT!" he yelled as he jumped out of the hatch and sprinted towards Eve the acidity was affecting his body slowly while not as violent as getting it erupt on him he felt his skin tingle as if it were going numb He helped Eve with Arizona "COME ON WE'VE GOt TO GO!!" he yelled over the loud crashes of rocks hitting the floors and the rumble of the cave

They swiftly made it into one of the vehicles at which point he grabbed the radio "WE'RE CLEAR!! Everyone is onboard and we're pulling OUT!! That Includes You!" he said as the vehicles were already reversing and Vance could barely make out the figure of adam's titan "We will die someday but today is NOT that DAY!" he said taking the wheel from a nervous soldier.

[Konica]

By the time Eve returned to the trucks frost had coated her hair and eyebrows. She was aware of and unaffected by the cold gripping the bare skin of her hands and head. Vance soon came to aid her, a move she found to be ill-advised due to his lack of an environmental suit. There was no time to argue though. After hopping back into the closest truck, she determined everyone was loaded and ready to go.

"We're clear! Evac now!" Despite their efficiency, the process of exiting felt like an eternity. The trucks took a good beating, scraping against the walls and enduring a barrage of falling stones.

[m0ckingbird]

"Please state your destination,"

"The coordinates of Eran's drone?" Mika said. She hoped the computer would somehow know who the heck she was talking about and where he was. She didn't know much about maps and stuff, but she knew that Arizona would be wherever Eran was.

"Destination confirmed Ms. Matsumoto. Please take your seat and prepare for launch," British lady intoned. the vehicle lurched forward and mika felt the belts tightening around her shoulders and torso.The air-shield lifted and loud sucking sounds replaced the shouting of soldiers. Everything that was not tethered down went out into space, and that included her shuttle.

"Wah!"

Mika shot out into the darkness, and for minute she was sure she was gonna die and blow up or something, but the vehicle quickly decelerated and banked right to avoid a large asteroid. Then it repeated the process several times before she cleared the field. She was dizzy and hair was frizzy and worst of all her new outfit was ruined.

"Hey autopilot lady, try not to kill me next time," Mika mumbled to herself not expecting a response. The belts suddenly released their pressure, and the A/C came on.

"Sorry Ms. Matsumoto," The computer intoned. "Mr Short uses that asteroid field to ensure that no one will escape The Aegis!"

"Well tell Mr. Short that he can take those asteroids and stick them up his... Hey wait you can talk?"

"Affirmative Ms Matsumoto!"

[Potatrobot]

The moment Eve's response came through the radio, Adam kicked his Titan back into the tunnel and began to run down its length -- backwards. Sparks kicked off the Titan's hulking frame as it grazed the edges of the tunnel, although they helped Adam guide the suit, since it was hard to keep focused on both the rear view screen and what was in front of him at the same time. The worm gave pursuit, barely fitting its head into the rocky opening, its massive tusks forced down to the ground due to the lack of space.

Adam raised both his Titan's arms and resumed the barrage of hot lead. This time, however, the worm's 'face' was his only target, and as he pelted it with high-calibre rounds, he noticed that they weren't just bouncing harmlessly off. Its fleshy, porous face sprayed flecks of blood, and it looked like the worm was trying to recoil from the gunfire, if only there was room to do so. Adam had found its soft spot.

The moment he knew this he fired a grenade at the worm's face. A ground-shaking burst of energy gave birth to a rolling ball of fire between Adam and the ice-boring monster. Fillets of singed flesh burst from the impact zone and clung to the walls and ceiling of the cave, and a few landing square on the Titan's forward cameras, obscuring Adam's view. He slowly brought his Titan to a halt and opened the cockpit to get a look at what he'd done. The worm had certainly stopped moving, although given the damage it could be forgiven. Where the its face used to be now played host to a massive, fleshy crater. Adam could see right down the middle of its body, through what he supposed was the creature's oesophagus; it was completely lined with a forest of writhing tendrils.

"I think I've killed it." Adam reported over the radio, although judging by the way its tendrils continued to squirm and wriggle like a nest of tapeworms gave him reason to doubt himself. He pulled out his lower right arm and armed his laser rifle, while keeping the Titan's weapons up with his upper arms. He experimentally fired a bright red beam into the creature's exposed interior, burning and severing several of the tendrils. A deep, booming moan emanated from the depths of the worm, and it slowly began to drag itself back through the cave. Adam wasn't really expecting it to have survived having its head blown up, but it was a worm; maybe it didn't need a head, or it could have two -- he didn't know.

"Scrap that." He corrected himself. "But it's retreating. Everyone just get clear of the cave for now."
With that, he turned his Titan around, crunching loose ice that had fallen from the ceiling under its feet, and followed the rest of the convoy out back into the bracing cold atmosphere.