My Body Is A Cage

Odd's ears twitched at the crackling of stone, he looked around him, then turned around completley to see what was behind them. He couldn't spot anything with his eyes, but he could hear something. With a look of excitement on his face he turned forwards, walking with the rest of the group.

He walked up to Yumi, a smirk on his face, "Hear that?" He wasn't sure how well they could hear it, but it was as loud as thunder to his sensitive ears. He was waiting for something to happen, they had been here too long. He knew that the world had changed, but he knew there was something abput.

Yumi blinked - hear what?

"Guys." She said sternly, trying to keep her voice down but hard enough to be heard; she would hear it indeed - the slight metallic scuffle over stone. Something was following after them and it took them this long to notice? She pulled her fan free once more, spreading the petals at the end and pulling it back over her shoulder, eyes narrowed; she flung her fan out blindly, not wanting to risk it taking advantage of her pause.

((Sorry this is so late; got kind of distracted. XD))

They had been trailed? And no one had noticed until now? Not even Jeremie? Aelita found herself most unnerved, but her orbs and eyes were at the ready. Yumi's impulsive attack told her to be ready for anything, that much was for sure.

((Guess I have to apologize for the delay too. XD; Been crazy-busy over the last few days.))

As fate would have it, Yumi's shot hit its mark. It only grazed the Mandrill's heads, but it was enough to set off sparks that made the lanky creature painfully obvious to those who just moments before had no idea it had been there at all. "So...they intend to fight after all...." Pyrrus chuckled within the creature's mind. "Very well then. Show them what they have to fear, my pet."

Leaping up like a rocket into the air, the Mandrill obeyed, the many spikes protruding from its body gleaming in the light....

They'd been followed? Pyrrus probably had his eyes out this whole time...! He shouldn't be surprised, but the sudden confrontation made his ears and tail go straight up. He leaped backwards, stricken with terror - he had no idea how to use any offensive or defensive powers he might have; he leaped back behind a tall stone, practically gluing his back to it.

"U-uh, I'm... g-gonna try to get a scan on that thing!" He pulled out his wrist and tapped at his computer-link as fast as he could. "I have no idea what that is!"

"That is one ugly monster" William commented, bracing himself for battle. It was best to let Jeremie finish the scan before attacking since they had no idea what this thing could do or where it's weak points were. William learned the hard way to think before rushing into a fight

Ulrich was at Yumi's side immediately, both blades drawn as the creature landed. It proved a miscalculation on his part, however, as the landing monster saw him and took a clear, powerful swipe that knocked the young man half-way across the path. Grunting with pain, he tried to recover and get back into it, but found it surprisingly difficult...his earlier disorientation was resurfacing in the worst way, at the worst time...!

Odd looked at it, then snarled. He put his his hand on the other, in a defense stance. He looked to his friend as he fell to his face. With a laugh he shot an arrow. He intentionally missed, hoping it would distract it long enough for someone to get a decent hit in. He patted Ulrich's back a big smile on his face.

[[ Posting is now resuming - expect a blog update in the next few days. Sorry for the delay, the GM and the owner have had family over, so we took an extended break while I plot the next arcs as well. Things are now rearing to go! ]]

Yumi wasn't waiting for a scan - she lifted her hand and called her fan back to her without breaking 'eye' contact with the beast, lowering herself; the moment Ulrich went flying she threw herself between the monster and the downed warrior. "Jeremie, hurry that scan!" She barked; instead of throwing another fan, she took advantage of the rocky terrain, lifting a fistful of head-sized stones, sweeping her hand across her front in a clawing motion, sending the round rocks hurdling toward the beast.

"William, make yourself useful, for once!" She readied her fan for the beasts retaliation.

"Keep it busy, Yumi, I'll protect Jeremie so he can make the Scan!" Aelita told her friend, hoping that the fewer people Yumi had to worry about, the better she'd be able to focus on the Monster.

Sliding over to Jeremie, she used her Orbs to raise a circle of Stone around him; he could still see the Monster to scan it, but at least now it'd have to work to get to him. "How's it going, Jeremie?" she asked, trying not to pressure him but hoping a polite question would be more helpful to him than Yumi's barked orders.

Odd's strategy proved effective; the Mandrill's momentary distraction let Yumi score a good hit with her thrown stones. Leaping back from the blow, it quickly re-calibrated, slinking onto all fours and scampering around the path in wild, sharp motions. Its "eye" turned from member to member before it leaped back into the air, this time baring down on William like a corkscrew.

Watching it all unfold from his servant's point of view, Pyrrus watched the fight with bemusement and fascination. "They seem a bit rusty," he said to himself with a chuckle, "but even then they still work together as naturally as if they were a single organism. Most intriguing. I can see how they gave my Father such trouble."

It was obvious Jeremie wasn't used to this - he was flinching at every loud sound of combat, constantly looking over his shoulder before resigning back to his wrist; after a few minutes of resistance, the holo-screen slid out and extended, revealing a three-dimensional model of the mandrill along with its file names and different properties. He stared intently as information was picked up.

"This is so much slower than the Super Computer," he grumbled a bit, eyes lighting up as the information came in. His eyes narrowed as he tried to focus, but the noise around him wasn't helping; he was nervous and above all? He was... scared, and before he could stop himself he felt his shoulder brushing against Aelita's, looking at her apologetically. "... I-I'm sorry, uh!"

He cleared his throat.

"Lifepoints are fourty-five; roughly half of a Krab! Twenty f..." His yell ceased as he looked at his data, his elven ears tucking. "... T-twenty five speed?" The data had changed over the years; different parameters were now possible. "The old limit was ten points of speed - this thing has twenty five! Keep on your guard - it has low defense, but I can't tell where to hit it! Watch out if it dives at you!"

"Nice warning Einstein" William growled throwing the monster off with his sword "super smoke!" The smoke curled around the Mandrill trapping it temporarily

(The RP finally resumes and I get sick! I'm on the mend though)

((Apologies for the delay; busy busy busy!))

Ulrich continued to struggle to stand, wincing a little as Yumi helped protect him from the monster. This thing was fast; he could barely keep up with it, and he was the fastest member of the team! Shaking off his disorientation as best he could, he darted to Yumi's side, then took off from where she stood to circle the creature. "Odd, Yumi, keep using your projectiles to pin it down!" he called out, readying his sword. "William, you're with me! Wait 'til Yumi and Odd coral it, then hit it with everything you've got, OK?"

Odd hoped they could take care of this monster relatively quickly, but knew that it's speed was a disadvantage for most of the team.With a quick nod, he sent out another few arrows which hit the monster face on, but didn't seem to do much damage. With a sigh he began to wonder if he had new abilities like the others, but he wasn't really looking for them.

"Roger!" Yumi took the order with a grain of salt; she unfolded her fans, eyes narrowed. "Clear!"

She released both fans in a counter-motion of one another line spinning blades, aiming them for the beast's head, as they entwined sparks flew.

After the release she was instantly on the offensive, using her powers to lift up pebbles and other rubble around her, pelting them at the beast - at best it was nothing but a deterrent as many of the shots bounced off of the creature's crest.

"Jeremie," Aelita said, "do you think you can take care of yourself now that the scan's done? If speed's so important to this thing, then disrupting the landscape could prove helpful, but I need my Orbs free to pull that off."

She kept her eyes on the fight as it proceeded, still holding the stone barrier around Jeremie just in case. This Mandrill...it seemed different somehow, from the other XANA Monsters she'd encountered. It was hard to place, but there was a sense about it that struck her as...off.

With Yumi's fans slicing the air on one side and Odd raining down arrows on the other, the Mandrill very quickly found itself with a slim window of opportunity to escape being trapped: William and Ulrich were moving in to take their positions but had not yet done so. Despite the weapons both brandished, the monster knew its best chance was to head toward one of them while it still could, hopefully avoiding their attack before it lost all dodging room.

With lightning speed, it made its choice, and dashed toward William with a frantic pace.

"I got it," Jeremie looked over his shoulder at the fight, giving Aelita a little smile as he crunched the numbers. "It's all going to be okay." He tried to keep a level head, his tail curling upon itself. He was scared, but he could do it, at the very least - he could keep his head level enough while he still had a moment to spare.

We're going to get Pyrrus, I'm going to live, and I'm going to shut Lyoko off again. It's all going to be okay.

William reacted quickly slicing at the fast Mandrill. It was just a blur so he wasn't sure if he'd hit it or not, but it felt like his sword had hit something. He recovered sliding into another stance trying to locate the monster in the confusion.

Ulrich moved in to finish what William had started: the Mandrill had been hit, and hit hard, by that attack.

Moving in fast, Ulrich took a good slash at the beast's midsection, sending it tumbling toward Odd.

"ODD! NOW!" he cried, hoping a bit more pressure would finish the job.

With a graceful jump, Odd landed ontop of the monster that was hurdling towards him. Odd placed his hand on the mandrills head, and with a quick move, an arrow was shot into the monsters head.

He jumped to his feet, and looked up at the sky. He thought he heard something, but it did sound faint. He shrugged it off, and assumed it was the monster he thought they had managed to kill.

"so...now what?" with a chuckle Odd looked around the group of friends.

(kinda did this fast, and didn't mean to assume it was dead lol. )

[[ OOC Admin Note: You can't assume something is dead - the Mandrill's player will state whether or not the mob is dead. ]]

Yumi sucked in a breath - that was rough; they obviously needed work. It'd been too long since they'd done this, and now they were up against straight hell - she began to second guess just how far in they were up to their necks. She put her fans away, approaching Jeremie in his position behind the rock.

"We need to talk." She said quietly.

Aelita gulped, stepping between Jeremie and Yumi as she approached. "Is everything OK, Yumi?" she asked. "Are you hurt too badly?"

She recalled her orbs, causing the barrier of ground to flatten out and return to normal. Admittedly, looking at Yumi's eyes and sensing the tension in them, she was half-way tempted to keep the wall up for Jeremie's sake, but better they have whatever this was out now and deal with it, she ultimately decided.

With Odd's killer blow, the Mandrill broke apart into wire-frames and bits of data that quickly dissipated into the air with a flash.

"Well well...." Pyrrus muttered from his fort, stroking his chin in thought. "A victory more of luck then of skill, but a victory nonetheless."

Slithering to his other Mandrills, he could not help but grin with sharp teeth and glaring eyes. "Very well, flesh-walkers," he chuckled, "Defiance is your choice. Let us see how far it leads you."