"....oh great," Terrence grunted, looking at the greater mass of Banished Pantheon sitting ahead of them. While most might've focused on the
Earthquake and Death Shamans hiding behind piles of rotting puppets, the tank's eyes were drawn to a floating mask with a purplish aura.
Now, think, Terrence. The last thing you want to do is have to explain to Rhea and Lisa that I've got several more girls
wanting to bed on the couch and that I can't persuade them not to. That would be the bad thing. So. Tactics. Smash mask before they get there. Done that
often enough. I don't think those things can even touch me anymore. Now, to get them to accept it. I'm the tank. Shouldn't be hard. Smooth,
Terrence. Smooth and cool.
"Well, if you girls can just take a step back here and rest, I'll distract them. Then just hit them as hard as you can," he said, projecting cool
and confidence.
The way Net Sabre tilted her head at him was the warning gesture he'd realize afterward he should have noticed ahead of time.
"Now, Terr...." Net began and Terr was sure he heard at least one of the other Sabres giggling at her tone which immediately told him 'you're
in for a lecture, buster'. "I respect the fact that of all of us, you've been doing this the longest. Longer than me, longer than the other girls
here. In fact, I would not be surprised, given the stories, to find out you were on a first name basis with some of these Shamans. But..." she said,
gaining a wince. "..if you think that we're prissy little girls that need to be protected from the worst of this, you are sadly mistaken."
"Uh..."
"Well, Mirage needs protecting, admittedly," she said, rolling with it. "But that's because she's our support, not because she's a
girl. Nano?"
"Yes, ma'am?" the black and green Sabre quipped, coming to mock attention.
"Target something nearby, draw it to us. I want those shamans without the support of their zombies. Anyone, if the masks notice us, take them down
first. The rest of you, you know what to do."
A chorus of acknowledgments came over the comm as Terrence put a hand to his face. Smooth and cool, Terrence. Smooth and
cool, he thought, sarcastically. He looked up as Lady of the Peace floated past him, patting him on the shoulder. "Nice pep talk, Terr. Had them
riveted in their seats."
The resulting fight went remarkably well, admittedly. Nano's sniping and Mirage's illusions combined with the veterancy of the other fighters to
rapidly decimate the zombies as they came, though moans from more a distance away in the caves. Zombies burned, sizzled, shattered, or were devoured alive by
Nano's nannite blasts as the Riot Force strike force(and friend) dug their way through the Banished Pantheon's defenders. Terr was beginning to feel
pretty good about this mission, false start or not earlier there, when Nene cried out. He looked over, before his eyes widened in slight horror at seeing the
red Sabre flung off an upper ledge by a blast from the purple glowing mask which had snuck behind her. The team reacted with simple efficiency, the mask
exploding in short order as the rest of the group was mopped up. Terr breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped up to where Nene'd fallen onto another ledge,
halfway between the ceiling and the floor. He almost thanked whatever deity or geological process had made the cave
that way. Then he remembered the structures informally known by Paragon geologists as the "five layer cake" and took that opinion back.
"Are you alright, Net?" he asked, helping her up. The armored woman shook her head slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine...couldn't resist being the
big strong hero to come save little old me, could you?" she giggled. Terrence chuckled at the jibe....before she leaned against him. "It's enough
to make a girl's knees weak....as if that story about you saving the group from all those Lost wasn't inspiring enough."
"Ah...Net..." Terrence said as inwardly his mind started racing for the nearest enchanter he knew that could undo a mental curse. Heck, Gamma
could....no, not the best idea here.
"Oh, don't worry so much about it Terr...I mean, a big strong guy like you? If you can do all this and still survive two women at home, I'm sure
you wouldn't mind shouldering little old me as well," she purred, leaning up to him. Ifrit, who'd finally caught up, was treated to the very odd
sight of Nene curling around Terrence in full power armor. Given his expression, she decided to stay back in the shadows and see if she had to intervene.
"I know what you're thinking," Nene said as Terr tried to back out of her grasp. "It'd be too complicated. It'd never work.
What would the children look like?" That last comment got Terr stumbling as Nene giggled sultrily at him.
"Honestly Terr...I've one thing to confess," she said, leaning in close again. "You've always....been completely not my type," she
noted in the same exact tone, gaining a confused look from the tanker. Nene smiled in her helmet. "Sorry. I'm going to have to let you down," she
noted, poking him in the ribs with her finger and pushing slightly. Terr's eyes widened as his previous attempts to backpedal putting him on the very edge
of the ledge meant he promptly had nowhere to put the foot he put backward, and the tank promptly fell off, hitting the ground with a solid thud.
Nene laughed hard, bent over, and Terrence was suddenly aware that several more of the Sabres had joined her. Ifrit giggled slightly as she floated ahead. Nene
landed beside Terr as she jumped off the ledge, patting Terrence on the head. "C'mon, Fonz. Let's go wrap this up," she smiled, leaping ahead
as the glow of her repulsion field clicked into view. Terr groaned as he got up and followed.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Earthquake and Death Shamans hiding behind piles of rotting puppets, the tank's eyes were drawn to a floating mask with a purplish aura.
Now, think, Terrence. The last thing you want to do is have to explain to Rhea and Lisa that I've got several more girls
wanting to bed on the couch and that I can't persuade them not to. That would be the bad thing. So. Tactics. Smash mask before they get there. Done that
often enough. I don't think those things can even touch me anymore. Now, to get them to accept it. I'm the tank. Shouldn't be hard. Smooth,
Terrence. Smooth and cool.
"Well, if you girls can just take a step back here and rest, I'll distract them. Then just hit them as hard as you can," he said, projecting cool
and confidence.
The way Net Sabre tilted her head at him was the warning gesture he'd realize afterward he should have noticed ahead of time.
"Now, Terr...." Net began and Terr was sure he heard at least one of the other Sabres giggling at her tone which immediately told him 'you're
in for a lecture, buster'. "I respect the fact that of all of us, you've been doing this the longest. Longer than me, longer than the other girls
here. In fact, I would not be surprised, given the stories, to find out you were on a first name basis with some of these Shamans. But..." she said,
gaining a wince. "..if you think that we're prissy little girls that need to be protected from the worst of this, you are sadly mistaken."
"Uh..."
"Well, Mirage needs protecting, admittedly," she said, rolling with it. "But that's because she's our support, not because she's a
girl. Nano?"
"Yes, ma'am?" the black and green Sabre quipped, coming to mock attention.
"Target something nearby, draw it to us. I want those shamans without the support of their zombies. Anyone, if the masks notice us, take them down
first. The rest of you, you know what to do."
A chorus of acknowledgments came over the comm as Terrence put a hand to his face. Smooth and cool, Terrence. Smooth and
cool, he thought, sarcastically. He looked up as Lady of the Peace floated past him, patting him on the shoulder. "Nice pep talk, Terr. Had them
riveted in their seats."
The resulting fight went remarkably well, admittedly. Nano's sniping and Mirage's illusions combined with the veterancy of the other fighters to
rapidly decimate the zombies as they came, though moans from more a distance away in the caves. Zombies burned, sizzled, shattered, or were devoured alive by
Nano's nannite blasts as the Riot Force strike force(and friend) dug their way through the Banished Pantheon's defenders. Terr was beginning to feel
pretty good about this mission, false start or not earlier there, when Nene cried out. He looked over, before his eyes widened in slight horror at seeing the
red Sabre flung off an upper ledge by a blast from the purple glowing mask which had snuck behind her. The team reacted with simple efficiency, the mask
exploding in short order as the rest of the group was mopped up. Terr breathed a sigh of relief as he jumped up to where Nene'd fallen onto another ledge,
halfway between the ceiling and the floor. He almost thanked whatever deity or geological process had made the cave
that way. Then he remembered the structures informally known by Paragon geologists as the "five layer cake" and took that opinion back.
"Are you alright, Net?" he asked, helping her up. The armored woman shook her head slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine...couldn't resist being the
big strong hero to come save little old me, could you?" she giggled. Terrence chuckled at the jibe....before she leaned against him. "It's enough
to make a girl's knees weak....as if that story about you saving the group from all those Lost wasn't inspiring enough."
"Ah...Net..." Terrence said as inwardly his mind started racing for the nearest enchanter he knew that could undo a mental curse. Heck, Gamma
could....no, not the best idea here.
"Oh, don't worry so much about it Terr...I mean, a big strong guy like you? If you can do all this and still survive two women at home, I'm sure
you wouldn't mind shouldering little old me as well," she purred, leaning up to him. Ifrit, who'd finally caught up, was treated to the very odd
sight of Nene curling around Terrence in full power armor. Given his expression, she decided to stay back in the shadows and see if she had to intervene.
"I know what you're thinking," Nene said as Terr tried to back out of her grasp. "It'd be too complicated. It'd never work.
What would the children look like?" That last comment got Terr stumbling as Nene giggled sultrily at him.
"Honestly Terr...I've one thing to confess," she said, leaning in close again. "You've always....been completely not my type," she
noted in the same exact tone, gaining a confused look from the tanker. Nene smiled in her helmet. "Sorry. I'm going to have to let you down," she
noted, poking him in the ribs with her finger and pushing slightly. Terr's eyes widened as his previous attempts to backpedal putting him on the very edge
of the ledge meant he promptly had nowhere to put the foot he put backward, and the tank promptly fell off, hitting the ground with a solid thud.
Nene laughed hard, bent over, and Terrence was suddenly aware that several more of the Sabres had joined her. Ifrit giggled slightly as she floated ahead. Nene
landed beside Terr as she jumped off the ledge, patting Terrence on the head. "C'mon, Fonz. Let's go wrap this up," she smiled, leaping ahead
as the glow of her repulsion field clicked into view. Terr groaned as he got up and followed.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."