[heirtothemonado]

@phreezey KashKey TheSpatialWeeg

A ways away from the fields of Harvest Acres, near the outskirts of the Life Sphere itself, a cool wind blew across the outer fields. This was no ordinary gusting though, because in the distance, outside the Sphere's protective shields one could see a large shape looming in the distance. It looked slightly like someone erected a large building in the middle of the field, but there was an ominous aura about the shadowy shape.



Standing within a small shelter, a woman in a lavender suit stood waiting. She had outfitted the shelter into a sort of base, complete with first aid and ammunition, and was presently tapping a pencil against a clipboard as she waited for her companions. Though Ms. Pauling wouldn't be partaking in the upcoming battle herself, she would be providing the combatant with information about their enemies, as well as giving them essential upgrades that would make this entire thing much easier.



"I hope they get here soon" Pauling muttered She knew that Engie had gotten a team together, but he didn't tell her who was all coming. Hopefully fighting robots would be within their skill level. Pauling paused and shrugged her shoulders. If they weren't equipped for it when they got here, she would cover them. Looking toward the shape in the distance, Pauling steeled her nerves and resumed waiting for everyone else to show up.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

The silence around the shelter would soon be ruptured by a neigh coming from outside. A silver horse, donning what seemed to be royal gear, stood outside as as their rider landed on solid ground. The man gave his horse a comforting pat, as well as wordlessly tell it to stay there. The man then made his way inside the shelter...

...Well, truth be told, Eliwood was not exactly that old enough to be considered an actual man, but those are details that are probably for later. Probably. On his back, there was his enormous special sword, Durandal, attached to his back, semi-concealed by his blue cape. Once his eyes met Pauline's, his neutral expression changed to something more friendly.

"Lady Pauling, I presume? I am Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae. I came here to aid you in dispatching these 'robots'." He stated, extending a hand to Pauling as an open invitation for a handshake. Truth be told, he caught word of the situation via a bulletin next to Sunshine Circle, and being one that puts the need of people above himself, decided to mark this as his starting quest in unknown land.

...He was probably in for a huge life-changing experience.

[Deleted]

This felt familiar. Loamy snow had been replaced with dry dirt, wistful breezes bringing cold snaps had become a warm, heady air. Engineer was ready for anything, and the familiar sight of Miss Pauling was a comfort to say the very least. The slow footsteps towards this new looming, humming and hulking creation in the far distance. Engineer checked his shotgun, pulling the pump back just enough to ensure there was a shell chambered. First, of course, who caught his eye was that swordsman. Eliwood. "Missus Paulin'," Engineer nodded to her, putting his shotgun aside to bust out that metal toolbox, letting his sentry build up slowly. While it crafted, he took time to talk to her, "I reckon ol' Grey's comin' to the Life Sphere to expand his comp'ny."

That would earn a laugh, before taking a long gander across the flat plains, Engineer would let off a sigh thereafter. "If only Misha 'n' his doc buddy were here." Dell would smile a little, "Hope yer sword arm's strong there, fella." He addressed Eliwood, looking out to the distance again to the constructing mechanism that was likely producing war machines to take over the Life Sphere. "These here Grey Mann bots are as tough as they come, but I'm tougher at least."

[KashKey]

It's not often Linne gets into these kinds of stand offs. She could feel the tension as she approached the shelter, and couldn't help but be vaguely reminded of the Licht Kries War. Just another event in her long history... But she doesn't normally find herself facing what could very easily prove to be overwhelming numbers. Should be interesting... She quickly entered the shelter and spotted the trio who had gathered.. Better go introduce herself. She pushed the hood of her hoody down and approached the trio, a hand on each of her blades. It didn't take much effort to guess who was who, they wore the stereotypes one could glean from their names practically on their sleaves. ... In fact the Engineer did so quite literally. How odd.

"Engineer. Eliwood. Pauling."

She nodded to each of them respectively, before withdrawing Nameless from her pocket. May as well get down to business.

"You mentioned robots. If they're anything like my understanding, I assume they must have some special capabilities. So what exactly are we facing? Do you have any idea on their numbers? Any specific strengths and weakness we should be aware of, and take advantage of?"

She spoke quickly, analytically, and to the point. After all, if what she was hearing over the horizon was their enemy, she couldn't afford too much time for banter, as she was sure these 3 must be used to engaging in.

[heirtothemonado]

Fortunately, Pauling didn't have to wait long. Soon after her complaint left her mouth, a rather fancy-looking horse made it's way toward the shelter and an equally fancy looking person dismounted, walked into the shelter, and introduced himself.

"I am Pauling, yes." she replied, not wasting any time. "I hope you're sword arm is a reliable as your appearance let's on, because you're going to need it. These robots are no joke."

Next into the shelter was a familiar face, Engineer. A small chuckle wormed it's way out of Pauling in response to Engie's joke, but she quickly grew serious again as they needed to get down to business. "I suppose you didn't find Medic or Heavy anywhere, did you? A shame, but I believe we can do this even without their help" she said. She hoped everyone would believe that.

The last into the tent was Linne, who wasted no time with introductions and got straight to the point. Pauling liked her already. "I'm glad you asked, Linne. The robots we're facing are quite powerful, so you'll need to be on your toes to stand a chance. As for numbers, the closest I can say is...a lot? There are hoards of them being made in that tank on the horizon. We aren't here to destroy them though, just hold them off long enough for the tank to stop making them. As long as the bomb doesn't get though to the Sphere, we'll be fine."

Using Linne's question to segue into the briefing, Pauling brought everyone's attention to the makeshift projector mounted on the wall. "I've done a bit of recon and I can confirm that Grey Mann is using the same bots as he did when attacking the badlands. I'll give a brief overview of each of them, but we'll have to be quick. The bots are set to deploy at any second." Turning to the projector again, Pauling started putting images up on the screen.

"The Scout-bot is fast, but pretty fragile. A couple of solid hits should be enough to take them out, but make sure none of them slip by"

"The Soldier-bot is armed with a rocket launcher, which can quickly decimate you if you aren't careful. If possible, attack him from farther away, but even then, be on your guard"

"Same deal with the Pyro-bot. It's flames can wreak havoc on you should it get close, and they burn for a while afterwards, so it's best to stay away."

"The Demoman-bot also packs explosives, but these might be a little trickier to avoid given their abnormal trajectories. There's also another version of this bot that wields a sword and shield. Engage it if you must, but be careful"

"The Heavy bot should be the main focus of attack if that's possible. With the rapidfire minigun and extremely tough defense, these guys are tough to take down. Don't face it alone."

"Here's where things start getting a bit more unique. The Engineer-bot will, like the Engineer standing next to you, build one of three buildings to help out his fellow robots. Sentries will need to be taken down as soon as possible, before they start shredding us. The teleporter with start spawning in more robots, and the dispenser will repair them. Luckily these buildings take time to set up, so if you can destroy the Engineer and his stuff before hand, it will save us a lot of trouble later"

"Medic-bots, as the name implies, will start to heal the other robots, and can provide resistances to different types of damage. Analyze what resistance he's using, and act accordingly"

"Sniper-bots will stay far away from the rest of the battle, but can take pot shots at everyone with it's rifle. If you can get up to its perch, however, they should be easy to take out"

"Lastly, the Spy-bot. These won't appear directly, but can disguise as one of you and attempt to take you out from inside. I will notify you if a Spy is near. If you think someone might be a Spy, attack them. The disguise should fade if you're correct."

Pauling clicked the projector off and turned to the three others in the room. "That's basically what we're up against. I can give you more detailed information once they attack, but I'd rather you be ready beforehand" she finished as she walked out of the tent. If the other three were to follow her, they'd find her standing next to what looked like some kind of bar. "If you're having trouble, come see me and I can equip you with better items and abilities. Unfortunately, I can't just give them away, or the Administrator would have my head on a plate. The robots, for reasons I neither know nor can comprehend, run on cash. Whatever falls out is yours, and you can use that to pay for anything you might need." Turning to face Engie, Eliwood, and Linne, she smiled. "Any questions? If not, get in position. These robots are going to deploy any minute."

[Deleted]

Engineer, while Pauling had been talking, was diligently moving about, setting his trusty dispenser behind cover and setting up his sentry near it, the massive machine beeping and whirring, clicking lightly towards the two that had joined him for this perilous mission. Seemed they were registered as friends to the bot. "Attaboy, sentry. Git ready." he muttered to the mechanical marvel as it slowly peered over, aiming those twin guns and rocket pods at the entrance where the massive tank had been looming for a while now. Engineer was ready to go, moxie and all.

"Y'all ready?" he asked, looking over his shoulder with that tell-tale grin of joy on his lips. Seemed he was more than glad that his teammates were here. He could test that dispenser reach-pack he'd been developing. Hopefully kept them healed in the vicinity that it held. He was fairly certain these two were melee fighters, but... Would they stick around his dispenser to heal if they were too far beaten down? He certainly hoped.

ENGINEER
HP: 160/160
Status: Healed by Dispenser (HP Full)
Sentry: LV 3
Sentry HP: 160/160
Dispenser: LV 3
Dispenser HP: 290/290
Dispenser Metal Reserve: 60