The Dinosaurs! 2: Return to Steampunk London

"Best weapon I've seen since we got here." Dewmann remarked, before his grin turned to a scowl. He walked to the dinosaur just as it started to regain it's senses. It jumped when it noticed it had a great view of the Colt's barrel, signifying it was intelligent enough to know that his life may end at any second. "Can you talk?" Dewmann started the interrogation with a simple question as to whether or not he should let the beast live for that very moment. "Indeed I can." it responded in a deep growl. "Great, so I might let you go." Dewmann's sardonic comment was about to be answered, as the creature began to roar and stir, but froze and shut up when he pulled the hammer back. "Do you have any idea what caused the explosions over there?" Dewmann jerked his head in the direction of what was once the villaige. "An insect whore, or so apparent witnesses have told me. She used some sort of explosives obviously, but anyone who can tell you what kind specifically is dead. I'm not the enemy, SHE IS!" The creature spat before continuing. "She'd always been a nuisiance, as well as her minions. Always up to suspicious activity. But now, Now she's gone TOO FAR! MY FAMILY! MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS! SO MANY OF THEM GONE! AND HERE I AM BEING QUESTIONED BY HUMAN TRASH! SHE'LL PAY! AND SO WILL YOU!" It made another attempt to roar, and geared up to lunge, but as it's mouth opened, Dewmann put a bullet down it's throat. This time it shrieked in pain before Dewmann moved to it's tail and hammered down on it with his fists until the creature had passed out.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that's all we're gonna get out of him. I don't feel like killing him though. If he is telling the truth, then I can relate. I'd rage too if I lost a good chunk of my family and friends." He told Esbiate, before adding under his breath, as he often did in order to let out his bitterness "I have raged after losing them."

(Dewmann really likes cynically angsting about the past. I've gotta see if I can try to lighten him up.)

SD flew away from the Children, for the more that he looked at them, the more inclined he was to deliver what he though what was they deserved. Complete destruction, an unfaithful organization for the last shelter of an entire race that said organization could have saved but didn't.
He landed about a mile from all the action. He hunted. A couple of kills was the equivalent, to a dragon, of a month of therapy.

J.T. paused only briefly, while driving his blade between the vertebrae of a foul-smelling Hadrosaurus, to watch as the dragon departed. Presently, however, his attention was returned to self-preservation. A dark shadow rose above the clouds of dust and debris that flowed through the city. What was that loud buzzing noise he heard, getting nearer every moment? []

Junior tumbled forward as the raptor slashed at her, missing her by mere inches. She felt her face grow hot as she released a snarl, brandishing her daggers once more, raising them in the air and striking back at the raptor, only to have him evade and counter with a slash attack of his own. Junior ducked as he swung his claw, lost her balance, and stumbled backwards, and the dinosaur opened his terrible jaws and screeched at her, his war-cry echoed across the landscape and rang in her ears.

"WATCH YOURSELF!" Suddenly an arrow flew through the air and pierced the dinosaur's side, blood squirting from its wound as it fell over in a wild urgency of pain and pure anger. "You're welcome." Esbiate chuckled and allowed some of his aura to be absorbed by the small child, and she immediately felt her power increase.

"Thanks father," Junior replied back through the telepathic connection they shared and smiled inside her mind, hoping her father would see her appreciation. The beecat pivoted around, hovering on her thin wings, when the air turned still.

She couldn't place her finger on it, but it felt like time had slowed. She watched as her comrades continued to fight around her, but she lowered her arms, daggers still in hands, and slowly turned towards the burning village.

A small figure hovered above the city, and Junior's eyes could just pick up what the creature looked like. In a long flowing Victorian dress, the insect watched with passionless eyes before moving towards the Children of Driscoll.

Moments before hitting the ground, the flying machine pulled out of it's dive, and with a burst of speed regained some altitude. Spotting a train within reasonable distance, the pilot decided it would probably be safest to go there. Barely missing a black dinosaur like-creature, he crash-landed his craft near the vehicle.

Unloading another round into a Pterosaur that make the mistake of flying straight into his path, Dewmann started reloading the Colt with the last bit of ammunition Esbiate had given him. He fumbled through his coat for any ammunition that wasn't for the flintlock he had earlier. What he found was a hunting knife fitting the era. "This'll do more than nothing." He figured, shrugging, before aiming and firing once again with the pistol. "HOW'S EVERYONE ELSE HOLDING UP!?" He shouted to his colleagues.

(Will reply sometime tonight)

After the brief encounter with the ambushing dinosaur, Esbby, still panting climbed up the tree and perched on the same branch he had jumped off only a few minutes before.
He set his sights on his daughter again, bow primed on any dinosaurs daring to get near her. He watched in the distance to his left as he watched more Dinosaurs flying towards their airspace. At this point, he started to reckon this battle was becoming more futile every second. He looked over to Jonny's train and watched as pieces attached themselves to the main carriages. He hoped that it would be able to set off as soon as possible. They were barely holding up against a plus-10 squad of Dinosaurs. Any more than 20 and they would be in serious trouble.
Moving his attention from the Dinosaurs, he was about to point them out to Dewmann who was closest to him, but then Rare caught his eyes.
She was hovering in mid-air, with her weapons down. He held his hand up to her general direction, and the aura around his hand turned clear, but with blue streaks flying around it.
Releasing his bow, he closed his eyes and put his mind to work. Within seconds, all he saw was a blur as he rushed through space, and in no time, he was looking through the eyes of his daughter.
Now too, he was hovering. The wings beating as if in slow motion, everything around him moving a lot slower. The Dinosaurs seemed to take an age to turn in mid flight. Shots fired from beneath by friends seemed to cast a track of visible air behind them.
But what concerned him the most was a figure in the distance. It was tall and wore a flowing Victorian dress, which added at least another feet to it's grandeur. As soon as the creature looked up, it stared directly into his eyes. 2 small slits opened wider and glowed a fantastic, vibrant red. Quicker than everything around him, the figure swooped upon their position.
At this point, his mind rushed, and he was back in his own body. He started to pant heavily, and set his eyes back on who he had just entered the eyes of.
He realised quickly that she was in danger, more than anyone else, as she was in her vision and at the same height in the air.
"Rare! Get back here! You know why, just do it please!" He messaged to her.
He looked over to Dewmann and shouted:
"We need to get moving soon mate! There's more dinosaurs incoming!"

Junior felt her eyes water from staring so long without blinking, when the air caught fire - nearby, something exploded to the ground, an aircraft that fell from the sky and crash-landed in a desperate attempt to touch down safety. The small Beecat, overwhelmed by the onslaught of dinosaurs, the mysterious insect approaching them at an alarming rate, and the now crashed spacecraft sent the child into a tizzy.

"GET BACK HERE!" Junior heard the voice of her father, and turned to view him shouting out to Dewman. More dinosaurs? No, enough.

Junior jumped from the train, tumbling over the ground as she landed, her body stinging from the sudden impact. She laid, groaning as her ribs pained from the fall, and slowly pushed herself up. Her ears were ringing and for once she realized how bad the dinosaur ambush had been. The train was sturdy and intact, but blood and gears decorated the area surrounding it, and dings and pocks in the side indicated the Train could, and would, be destroy should they remain any longer. Junior rested a gloved over the dagger resting at her side and slowly approached the aircraft, preying silently it wasn't a foe.

-x

Spooky paused in midair and watched as the small child tottered over to the spacecraft, and then rested her eyes on a rather young man who was wielding a Colt into the heads of the dinosaurs. She listened to the Riolu call the man 'Dewman' and a small smirk crept on her lips. With a flick of her stinger, the hornet launched an energy beam at the gun-wielding fighter, her goal of destroying The Children of Driscoll set into motion.

Ripping a complicated-looking bow and a heavy bag from the smoldering debris, the pilot of the recently crashed aircraft started running towards the train, shouting "help! help!".
Arriving at the train the young man jumped on, and whilst laying on his belly on the floor, he shouted:"You people need to get going!!", completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was already aware of that (and to the fact that his cloths are on fire)

J.T. ninja-dashed past the flying machine pilot so quickly as to create a powerful gust of wind, perhaps enough to put out a few fires. He took the ground next to Junior, his eyes fixed on the one who had fallen from the sky. He raised his steam-powered katana and pointed it in the pilot's direction.

Just as it seemed he was about to strike the newcomer, however, J.T. ninja-leaped into the air and with his blade rent in twain a pursuing pterosaur, landing on the train. "We are attempting to 'get going,'" he shouted down, before looking around for Jonny and his mechanical creature. []

Dewmann looked over at the blast racing towards him and hoped he had just enough time to act. He leaped to the side, but the beam still grazed his chest. It was strong enough to burn, and a sensation of pain overwhelmed him. He collapsed, dropping his weapon, started screaming and clutched the wound. This only caused enough pain to make him convulse in agony. Through his hollering, he managed to work out the phrase, "ESBBY! ENEMY! MY RIGHT!" hoping Esbiate would be able to spot whoever hit him. As he was trying to reach for his Colt through the pain, flashes of Dinosaur Atoms surrounding and overwhelming him ran through his mind.

(steve made a sword for jt, its in the photoshop contest thread
k thanks bye XD)

(By the way guys, you can take control of Spooky, she's open for everyone to roleplay, just don't kill her off yet)

"We are attempting to 'get going," The captain announced to the pilot after flipping back up on the train, his eyes darting from Dewman (who was now clutching his stomach and yelling frantically back to Esbby) to the giant hornet that loomed just a hundred feet from the group. Junior felt for her team, but she also felt for the fallen pilot from the smoking aircraft. She pushed herself up on the train and crawled over to the exhausted man who rested on the floor of the carrier.

"I wish I could tell you more" Junior had to shout at the man over the sounds of explosions around her, "but I don`t know much of the situation!" The child blinked in surprise at her accent - it was now thick and heavy Victorian, and she realized she was missing her flowing dress she left behind.

Suddenly she heard the footsteps of a Space Raptor, loud and terrible thuds that were followed by the clicking of large claws scraping on the wooden deck of the train, and she had only managed to twist her body around to look before a loud shot fired, and a wave of pain exploded down her arm and chest - her shoulder was shot.

"CAPTAIN WE NEED TO ENTER WARP DRIVE!" Junior shouted clutching her arm, blood trickling through her fingers.

Esbby, standing on top of the carriage facing away from his group was still firing off arrows at the pursuing winged beasts. They were quick and agile, and he would only manage to hit one if he was incredibly lucky. His head count was 4 so far, nothing compared to the 50 or so that were gaining on their train. Bit by bit, he was realising that hope was lost, and he was bound to be be taken off in the talons of a Pterodactyl.
Would his aura permit it? It was it just temporary sanctuary? His arrows seemed to have less effect as his mind was drained of determination. They bounced off the hides of the monsters and they could only get closer; he saw their teeth bared in malicious glee. He was panting crazily, his fur burning him from the pressure.
"Esbby! Enemy, my right!" A voice said in the wind over the sound of the chugging carriages.
He looked behind him and saw Dewmann on the floor, and to his directed right, a flying Raptor. Esbby pulled back the bowstring hard and knocked the dinosaur out of flight. It fell onto the tracks and was fried by the current.
"Shocking." He said quietly.
The silence of the moment was broken only by a single shot from a rifle, and the yell of who he hoped he would not hear.
He spun round on a pivot and saw his daughter stumbling on the ground, clutching her arm. She had been shot.
"Rio!" He said as he jumped off his perch and ran quadrapedal to Rare. He looked pleadingly at her and started to lick clean the wound, even amidst the shots. Only after he heard one chink the metal just above his head he stood up.
"Defense is the best form of attack, he thought to himself. It's time to make a final stand." He thought to himself.
He set his two feet apart an equal distance as his shoulders, brought his fists to his side and beared his teeth. His eyes turned a glowing red that shone like a torch in front of them, and his jaw clenched.
"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!" He shouted as he opened his palms simultaneously. From the centre of his body, a blue orb grew at an astounding rate. Before any of the dinosaurs could react, any one of them within a 20 metre radius was either blown off the train, or blasted out of the sky. His chest was cramping as if a 2-ton weight had been planted on it, but he knew this was serving well. As orb blasted away dinosaurs, Esbby turned very slowly to Rare and Dewmann, breathing heavily.
"This...Is a regenerator. It may hurt... but you'll be healed very...very...... soon."
The power which was being gained by his comrades was being sucked from him, and as the thought of a possible victory came to mind, everything turned slower, and the outer perimeter of his vision was becoming darker.
"You shall never win." A hissing voice said in his mind. "I am all powerful."
He inhaled sharply, and as if from a movie, fell back in seeming slow-motion until he collapsed on his back on the thundering train car. The aura bubble still gradually sucking away his remaining energy.

More pain surged through Dewmann's body, but he desperatley dragged himself closer to Esbiate, who had spent quite a bit of energy saving both he and Rare jr. Eventually the agony subsided enough for Demwnn to stand, and he stumbled limping another foot closer to him. He fell on one knee, unable to keep up for too long. He looked around the car, hoping someone would be able to help Esbby.

((Well I'd like to say we just engage the train and speed off, but where's Jonny?)) []

(*Adjusts monocle and looks around*)

((well this is a bit of a sticky wicket, and I don't mean an ewok what got tossed into a honeypot)) []

"I am here!" called Jonny. "Sorry, I had to take a break for tea and scones. Why, was this a bad time?"

Also, I thought the train was speeding along towards the Institute of Steampunk Technology.

((perhaps it was at quantum non-speeds...we were interrupted by a 'splosion in the nearby city)) []

J.T. Burnsides (the Ninja), after seeing the others manage to jump or crawl or be carried aboard the train, threw a gear-iken ((gear-shuriken...or would a better term be "shuri-cog?")) toward the train's engage switch, causing it to speed off. Something about the train's motion seemed to scare off the steampunk dinosaurs, as they hurriedly flew away, as if trying to escape something.

"I hope you brought tea and scones for the rest of us, my friend." []

"Yeah, and the billowing smoke and sparks had nothing to do with it. Anyway, full speed ahead!" With the flick of another lever, the train accelerated further, until it reached the distant cliffs. But the train showed no signs of stopping..............
As the train and its passengers passed the edge of the cliff, it sped straight on rather than plummeting onto the rocks below. The rails were in fact made of a resilient non-reflective glass, which meant an invisible railway was leading out to the middle of the ocean where the Institute of Steampunk Technology was waiting.

An hour or so later, the train arrived in a cavernous station. It was a massive room with an arched roof and the golden light of the setting sun streaming in through the windows. Running around frantically were a collection of agitated scientists and automata, while the hiss of pneumatic tubes carrying vital messages was barely detectable over the sound of steam engines and the roar of a hundred voices.

......Meanwhile, back at the treehouse, a certain electric duck deity fell out of the sky.

"Alright guys I'm here to......Where is everyone???!!"

The Tesladuck looked around bewildered while scratching himself with his Deus ex Machina cannon.

"I knew I shouldn't have stopped at the pond....Stupid, stupid duck you knew better. Alright now I just need to find them!"


((In short, recap please, haven't set foot in here since last post))

The dinosaurs did not run away because of the train, but because in the atmosphere of the battlegrounds suddenly had a dark, sinister feeling hanging in the air. A feeling that something was coming that if you saw it, you would have nightmares for the rest of your life if you weren't killed by it first. Who would want to be around for that thing to come?
A triceratops trips for explainable reasons and was blinded by an aura that the Children would recognize as Dino Atoms and was being dragged back by them.
The all of other dinos heard the triceratops wail in agony. None dared to look back.

((that trike be trippin' yo!!!)) []