[Taocow PBEM] Chapter IX - In The Ruins Of Old Chicago

[Aaron Clausen]

>
> Quickly moving over to the rended metal where the demon's blast went
> through, Frost begins climbing up and partway out the hole so she has
> a clear view of their path.
>
> As she does so she unleashes a barrage of hardened iceballs at the
> underside of the Pterodactyl and the parts of the rider she can see.
> Was she really shooting iceballs at a dinosaur??
>
> She doesn't really expect her powers to affect the critters, but even
> distracting it enough to let Kyle get in a solid hit would be enough.
> [/Lady Frost]

[GM]
Lady Frost's strike hits the flying reptile, and at least leaves a few
scratches.
[/GM]

> [Lady Frost]
> Then she could focus on her original plan, which was putting a large
> amount of snow on the ground wherever Bongo planned to set them down.
> That would hopefully cushion the impact enough to not kill them all.
>
> Even with her new-found durability, she wasn't relishing the idea of
> crash landing at these speeds.
> [/Lady Frost]

> [Bongo]
> "I got a better idea -- put the snowbank where it looks like we're
> gonna crash -- because we're about to crash there!"
>
> Between the Coalition and the demon, Bongo figures a crash is
> unavoidable at this point.  The vehicle had now become little more
> than a rather large  coffin falling through the air.
>
> Bongo works the controls like crazy, trying to coax every last bit of
> maneuverability out of the vehicle that he can in order to make the
> crash as survivable as possible.
> [/Bongo]

[GM]
Bongo fights furiously to maintain control, but nothing seems to work.
Even a soft landing, unless Frost can put down a pretty good cushion,
seems doomed.
[/GM]

> [Ted]
> "Buckle up, back there!" Ted yells over his shoulder, then he turns
> to Bongo, "You are just being dramatic, right?"
> [/Ted}

> [Bongo]
> In spite of himself, Bongo snorts with a slight grin.  "Oh yeah --
> we're all golden and rosy here.  By the way, do you believe in an
> afterlife?" he asks without taking his attention off the controls and
> the things he's trying to avoid ramming into.
> [/Bongo]

[GM]
Finally, with less than thirty feet of altitude, Bongo manages to regain
control sufficiently to avoid hitting the ground.
[/GM]

> [Ted]
> "The afterlife is irrelevant at this point. Just get us on the ground
> in one piece."
> [/Ted]

> [Bongo]
> "Yeah, it's the SIZE of that one piece I'm worried about -- and how
> deep in the ground it buries itself.  Now hang on!"
> [/Bongo]

> [Lady Frost]
> "I wouldn't be worried about ending up in lots of pieces guys.  It's
> the fireball this thing'll create when it explodes you should be
> thinking about."
> [/Lady Frost]

> [Alex]
> The poor Coalition scout puts her head between her knees and simply
> prays. Maybe there is a god. She utterly exhausted for having to
> constantly run and fight and she does not have the endurance of them.
> [/Alex]

[GM]
Bongo now has the hover vehicle under some degree of control, as it
races down a two-lane street.  Within about thirty seconds at current
speed, the hover vehicle will meet a building standing at the end of the
road.  Time is running out for Lady Frost to make her snow bank.
[/GM]

OOC: Hint hint!  If Lady Frost wants to do the snow bank, now is the time!

[GM]
Meanwhile, the pterodactyl is still pursuing the vehicle, and Kyle is
close behind it.  The demon is so filled with power that the company can
literally see his oddly misshapen bones through the pale flesh.

"Say farewell Chosen Ones!" the demon cries, his voice booming as if it
were coming from a hundred foot giant.  "If you see She Who Has No Name
on your way to Hades, give her my regards."

A bolt of energy so powerful that it flows like oil blasts from the
demon's chest.  It's first tendrils strike the hover vehicle, and if it
weren't for Bongo's skillful piloting, the craft would most certainly
strike the ground.

Suddenly, Kyle swoops down, opening up his rail gun and putting his
thrusters into full throttle.  "Get out of here!" he shouts over the
radio, and then, before the eyes of his comrades, he strikes the
pterodactyl head on and the SAMAS disappears into a conflagration that
knocks down surrounding buildings.  A loud scream issues from the
firestorm, but the energy bolt seems to stop in midair, shudder, and
then fade away.

Of Kyle, the pterodactyl and the demon, no sign can be seen through the
boiling cloud of fire.
[/GM]

--
Aaron Clausen   mightymartianca at gmail.com

Palladium Rifts PBEM:
http://members.shaw.ca/selfreferential/rifts_pbem/