The Zone: Part Two

[re_alignedmods]

Thanks to the distraction caused by the various creatures and anomalies, and the interference from the ever-increasing radiation, pinpointing the fallen 'meteor' and likely source of the attacks may have been difficult up until now.

But efforts to locate it have paid off.

South-west of Haven, there is a ridged valley that did not exist a week ago. In it's center is a massive, sprawling power plant, exhaust towers rising up to the horizon. It is literally crawling with more mutants.

As if that was not ominous enough, it is a nuclear power-plant.

Anyone who has been to Earth or knows their human history - or happen to be from a Tyran universe - may recognize it for what it is: Chernobyl, straight out of some alternate Ukraine. The facility is tucked in the middle of the valley like it landed there, edges slightly off and melded into the landscape, but entirely intact in it's crumbling, ominous glory. Despite being of human-make, the building is devoid of functional electric lights, the very air around it seeming to leech the light out of the surroundings, but it is far from lacking in 'living' activity.

The concentration of anomalies, radiation, and Lambda-like energy signatures is at it's strongest here, surrounding the moldering facility. Any sensors point to the readings only getting worse on the inside.

Any organics or particularly weak-armored Cybertronians are going to want protective shielding of some variety to participate in this attack. The radiation in this valley is well beyond safe levels, and only on the rise. Any attempts to simply attack from the air (unfortunately) do little damage, the majority of any ordnance hitting some sort of storm cloud-like anomaly thundering with increasing intensity above the facility.

It looks like it might be growing. Time is running out.

You will have to enter to find the source.


[[Mod Note: Given modly time constraints, the following prompts are not intended to be NPC'd, but are instead to serve as a vague story-line for the assault. Feel free to use them, pick and chose only ones that interest you, or to thread your own attack as you please! However, once the Source is reached, a final prompt will be posted when it is destroyed, (or when the event comes to a close a week from today.)

And as a side-note, this plot contains SPOILERS to the end of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.]]

Comments

ZOMBIES

[re_alignedmods]

Location: Outside perimeter
Radiation: Moderate

They are nothing you haven't faced already, as the mindless, deformed humans have trickled into the Haven.

But perhaps not in this sheer magnitude.

Dozens of groups of five or more shamble about, all around the facility. Walking 'patrols' or staring off into space, or even sitting, huddled around small fires in some pitiful resemblance of their former lives - until the unlucky attacker attracts their attention. Singularly, they are easy enough to pick off - or run over.

Attract too much attention, however...and it could turn into a swarm straight out of a zombie movie.

Re: ZOMBIES

[notyourblueangel]

Frankly? Thundercracker's not waiting for reinforcements. He may not be a Decepticon anymore, per se, but he's still an aerial elite combatant, and it's been too slagging long since he's seen any proper action.

The blue Seeker sweeps in low over the complex, unleashing a controlled sonic BOOM! that rattles the power plant's foundation and flattens most if not all of the surrounding zombies, disorienting them at the very least. He doesn't give them time to recover, either, banking sharply back around for a strafing run with his twin rifles.

There's a barrage of choice words in Cybertronian as his bullets bounce harmlessly off a shield of some kind. Well, that answers the question of the other energy signature he was reading.

He's not worried about how much attention he draws. Stealth is not his greatest ally (especially not with his special mod), and those shambling corpses can't do anything to him anyway.

[skylynx]

Thundercracker isn't alone in his aerial assault. Soon there's a high pitched screeching noise. Not more jet engines, but from the massive Predacon diving toward the zombies.

Skylynx keeps his wings partially folded as he dives, like a predatory bird from Earth, then flicks out his wings as he swoops over the clusters. He gives another screech of anger, before he's unleashing his fire on them. Hot enough to probably sear them to ash, if it reaches them.

He gives a rumble as he beats his wings, and climbs higher once again. Banking some as he does so, to come back around again for another try.

[notyourblueangel]

"Skylynx!" Good! Put that big, clumsy bird to good use! (That's Decepticon for thinking fondly of someone.) He banks out of the way as the Predacon swoops in for his attack, then opens a comm. ::Skylynx, we have to get that shield down first. Are you scanning anything that might be generating it?:: He himself isn't, but the Predacon might have different scanners than he does.

Re: ZOMBIES

[the_other_green_seeker]

Jadewing agrees with Thundercracker; it had been too slagging long. He swoops in to join Thundercracker, just in time to hear the barrage of Cybertronian cursing and see what precipitated it.

He opens up a comm channel for easier communications. "Seems like this won't be quite as much of a petro-rabbit shoot as we thought," he said. "Any ideas?"

[notyourblueangel]

"Jadewing, what took you?" He's teasing, of course. Without even thinking about it, he shifts his trajectory to fall in line with his fellow Seeker. "We have to get that shield down first. Are you scanning anything that might be generating it?" He himself isn't, but the much younger Seeker might have different scanners than he does.

I'll edit this if needed.

[neverputincharge]

"Fire in the hole!"

There's several seconds as a genade lands within in a cluster of zombies. The lights blinking as they rapidly tick down. And then BOOM, there's the blue energon glow as the explosion takes out several groups of zombies at once. The ones that didn't die are probably alert now. Or as alert as zombies can be.

Undettered by the monsters, or the radiation, Bulkhead's racing in not too lompng after the area clears after the explosion. While he has his built in weapons and the canon he got from Magnus, he's left his hammer back at the temple. Safely locked away, this really wasn't the place for it.

"Bring it on!" He transforms one of his hands into his wrecking ball as he charges at the monsters, attacking those that come at him.

Re: I'll edit this if needed.

[patchjob]

The tell-tale screeching of an all-too-familiar missile flying through the air would be enough to let Bulkhead know he wasn't alone. And definitely wasn't in good company. At the very least though, it was useful company, and someone who actually felt like being helpful at the moment.

More or less, anyway. The missile's main target was a doorway to the plant that Breakdown felt was better off closed than open, especially since they could just break through again later if they wanted inside. A few of the zombified stalkers being drawn through thanks to the racket Bulkhead was making were promptly buried under falling debris, or taken care of by the resulting explosion. As for the ones already outside, well...they had bigger problems.

Breakdown was already gunning his way toward Bulkhead in his alt-mode, pancaking several of the mutants and monsters along the way, with still more finding a permanent place on his grill as the armored truck plowed through the battlefield. At least they were thrown free when he transformed at speed, and still more were swatted away as he swung one massive hammer across the ground while he shifted to his Cybertronian form. One or two might even currently be flying at Bulkhead's chassis, but hey, not like a few squishy organics would do much besides ruin the paint.

"Bulkheeead! I'm offended! Throwin' a party without me like this! Fella might get the idea you don't like him!"

Surprise! Radioactive nightmares do not necessarily guarantee Breakdown's going to behave himself around Bulkhead. Or anyone not a Decepticon, really. Still, any unease generated by his arrival- or the subsequent blasts of plasma from his shoulder-mounted cannon streaking off in Bulkhead's direction- should hopefully be assuaged by the fact they did indeed hit their marks. Which, as a point of fact, did not include Bulkhead. Just the hostile organics that had previously been running toward him.

[neverputincharge]

Dire circumstances can make for unlikely allies, and this couldn't get more unlikely for Bulkhead if it tried. He hears the screeching of the rocket, and on instinct moves to dodge it. At leadt until he realizes it's not headed for him.

"Breakdown."

He's not preffered company, but in this circumstance he'll take it. He'll keep a wary eye on him, though. Old habits die hard, even if for him their rivalry had been over, when Breakdown was apparently killed by MECH back home. He raises his wrecking ball to deflect away most of the squishy organic pieces. Nah, it's nothing that won't wash off in the washracks afterward.

"Figured I'd do ya a favor. Soften them up for ya." Yeah, that's totally what he was doing. Breakdown didn't need to know this was his first major fight in over six months. His last bring when they took down Tarn, wasn't long after it thst he'd promised Wheeljack he'd stay off the front lines if he could.

But these circumstances changed it for the moment. This was affecting all of Haven. But Breakdown's taking out zombies, and Bulk's quick to swing back into it.

"Didn't think I'd see you out here."

GEISTS

[re_alignedmods]

Location: Perimeter / inside the facility
Radiation: Moderate to severe

And then, there are the sentient anomalies. Given the amount of radiation and proximity to the Source of all this, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that they are also present in much greater numbers.

Like tiny Lambdas made of lightning or flame, they don't seem to move much. Going around them wouldn't be a problem, if they were not blocking the halls and doorways at regular intervals when found indoors.

While seemingly made of energy, they have a definite presence - and a spiteful one at that. If they are not attacking with their element, charring flesh and metal or scorching the air, they are using psionics to close heavy hatchway doors or flinging scrap piles at anyone nearby. And this run down old facility has a lot of crumbling infrastructure to throw around.

Proceed with caution.

[wherenobotsgone]

So this was turning out to be one of those times when being this big was both an asset and an incredible frustration. With their size and their strong armors, both him and Jetfire could be doing something useful further into the facility.

Except, of course, that they didn't fit in there.

Instead, they were doing the best they could to fight their way through the perimeter. It wouldn't work for themselves, but if they could clear a path for someone smaller to get indoors, it might just be worth it.

[angleofscience]

Jetfire would have suggested they make space for themselves to get into the facility itself, but since they didn't know exactly where - or what - the actual root problem and danger lay, he'd shelved the suggestion.

The... undead? humans had been simple and a bit guilt-inducing to just mow through, but these... anomalies proved more... interesting, if nothing else.

"This is--- interesting," Jetfire said, interrupted by having to duck away from a rather impressive piece of rubble lobbed at him by what seemed to be some sort of telekinetic ability, "and might be worrying, if energy anomalies can manifest..."

[wherenobotsgone]

"Right now I'm leaning more towards 'worrying', yes," he replied. Fighting energy manifestations with telekinesis was quite far from his comfort zone after all. If you could call this fighting at all - he felt he was using much more if his efforts in ducking and avoiding.

They were interesting, of course. Just the kind of interesting he felt no need to see from this close.

... but someone had to do this. Right?

UBER-BEAST ONE

[re_alignedmods]

Location: Inside the facility
Radiation: Moderate-severe

Large and powerful enough to flip a car - or an average sized Cybertronian - with stunning blows, this two headed creature is fast and agile. Capable of dodging shots and leaping down from above with crushing attacks, this beast may be difficult to down.

Especially when it comes in packs, hunting down the unwary in cramped halls...

[raceme]

[Blurr lost sight of the other Police Force members once he managed to enter the power-plant. Most of them where still outside, fighting the strange human-like creatures and other monster surrounding the facility. He got inside faster thanks to his speed and now was staring around wondering where to go.]

BOOSH

[primest]

[the radiation is annoying, of course, but nothing bad enough to do any damage. at worst, it's sapping his energy slightly. stronger towards to core, etc etc, yeah he's not stupid enough to go wandering right into a radiation hot spot and... melt, or whatever.

he'd initially wandered off on his own based on the fact that most things here were small enough to cark it after one poke of his lance/shot from his blaster. it was almost disappointing in a way, that it was so easy, but at the same time a relief. nobody wants the shit of fighting cybertronian sized mutated beasts, bro.

anyway, sentinel's just sort of wandering aimlessly, all 4 headlights on full beam, not really paying attention to where he's going (except steering clear of places that make his robo-geiger counter tick more intensely than it already is) so HE MIGHT JUST WALK INTO BLURR OR BE REALLY EASY TO SPOT BECAUSE OF SAID AFOREMENTIONED FULL BEAM HEADLIGHTS.]

D8

[raceme]

[There goes Sentinel, flashing everybody. Blurr is distracted inspecting a dark corner and doesn't notice the lights until he turns to see were those come from and finds himself face-to-chest with his teammate.

He jumps six feet on the air, scared out do his mind.

Literally six feet on the air. He stays there, floating until he realizes is Sentinel and not some sort of monster.] Oh...hello. IDidntheardyoucoming.

[cliffjumper]

[The radiation was rising, and Cliffjumper was seriously uncomfortable. That didn't mean he was going to turn around, or suggest they do so - this needed to stop, and so far things had been...

Reasonably easy to take care of. The radiation creeping upward was fragging worrying, though. He wasn't sure how much he could take, exactly, and even less idea of Starscream.

And then the thing attacked.]

Look out---gah!

[He caught it in the edge of his vision, and of course he couldn't preicsely tip or push Starscream out of the way, but the way his intended push turned into simply slamming into Starscream's leg when the critter slammed into him meant they at least went stumbling.

Cliffjumper swore and tried to get his processor and limbs back in coordination - the strike had scrambled gyros and left him briefly stunned.]

[loyalflier]

[ Starscream is keeping a watching eye on those levels. if it becomes too dangerous, he is going to forcibly remove them both. a lot of good stopping this will do if they are both deactivated before even reaching the source.

his processor is so deep into thought, trying to work this all out, that he doesn't even notice anything else is amiss until Cliffjumper is shouting at him.

the minibot slamming into the jet makes him buckle slightly, but there's now a protecting arm around Cliffjumper from pure instinct alone. ]

What was...

[ but then he catches the movement, barely in time to dodge. he sort of drags Cliffjumper with him, not entirely aware of his grip. but being attacked by a quick enemy... that doesn't bode well for them and Starscream's blades pop out with a shnnk. ]

CONTROLLER

[re_alignedmods]

Location: Inside the facility
Radiation: Moderate-severe

You might catch a glimpse of what could have been a human, at one point. Or you just hear the high-pitched audio sound that heralds it's arrival, piercing the core of your mind, before things change in some manner.

Perhaps the creature is gone. Or the path seems different; safe where it once was not. Or you simply can't see the psionic bolt of energy that is now flying your way.

Or what you think are you friends and allies...are in fact the fetid claws and fangs of your enemies, closing in around you...

The malicious physic attacks of this creature, aimed to confuse, disorient, and incapacitate, might arguably be the biggest threat to the well-armored Cybertronian.

UBER-BEAST TWO

[re_alignedmods]

Location: Inside the core of the facility
Radiation: Severe

This hulking monstrosity blocks the way for those that seek entrance to the core, lurking in the dark. The physically strongest mutant to be found, it is capable of stabbing through metal with it's claws, and creating shockwaves that stun the unwary or unagile. Despite it's size, it can skulk around quite easily in the dark...

With bones as tough as steel, it will take a lot of punishment to bring this beast down.

UBER-BEAST TWO

[sword_redemption]

Maybe it was because they were used to fighting: out in the wastelands, it had been a daily fight against monstrous creatures, like the giant spiders, until they'd found their cliff cave. And even then, they had plenty of chances to keep their skills sharp.

What Drift hadn't really had a chance to practice, though, was the ancient skill of 'not falling through floors'. When the steel shrieked and gave under him, Wing had been just far enough behind him, and with just the right reflexes, to leap into the air. Good strategy, but it was too late for Drift: he tumbled down through the crackling floorboards, unable to tell which way was up, and the idea of activating the jets Vector had given him just to accelerate into a wall was...really not so great.

He landed with a crash, metal and glass and the sickening sound of radiation-soured concrete crumbling in sickly chunks. When he shook his head to clear his vision, he could hear a really unpromising sound in the cloud of dust and clater of falling concrete he'd kicked up.

"Wing?" He hoped the jet could hear him, somewhere, uh, up there. "I think I found something!" And of course by 'something' he means 'something not very good'.

[winged_knight]

Living in the wastelands had certainly upped their tolerances of a lot of things. Detecting structural weaknesses though? Not a skill that flourished out there. Wing lets out a distressed noise--half shriek mingled with Drift's name--as the floor gives way beneath them. He springs off the falling decking, reaching for Drift but his fingers only scrape uselessly against a pauldron as the other swordmech goes down.

He coughs, sealing his vents to the cloud of sickening dust that rises, hands waving to clear his view so he can get a visual. The hole is deep and dark beyond the dust cloud, and and his jump jets not helping the matter. Wing almost dives in anyway, but then he hears Drift's voice float up from below.

"Drift?!" he shouts, straining to make out the sounds from below. "Are you okay?" Wing turns back the way they came--he knows they weren't the only ones who entered the plant--and shouts down the corridor in the bright but slim hope that someone might hear him. "Could use some help down here, anybody!?"

THE CORE

[re_alignedmods]

Location: The Sarcophagus
Radiation: SEVERE

At the heart of the sarcophagus, there lies a device. Glowing with livid yellow light, the only light present in the entire power plant, the room fairly pulses both with radiation and Lambda energy. The glow comes from seven pods arrayed around a column. Humanoid shapes are present in each of the pods, curled in a sort of stasis...but they fade in and out with each pulse of the Lambda energy. They seem to whisper, voices indistinct in your mind, always falling out to static and silence before any real words can be made out. The column flickers in and out of reality. The entire room is not entirely there.

Not yet.

But the pulses are getting incrementally faster, and the Lambda energy around the column is growing more distinct. This could be the start of a second tear in reality.

Destroy the source. Before it is too late.

END

[re_alignedmods]

All it takes is a sufficient shot. Accidental or purposeful. Even a large enough bit of falling debris striking one of the pods is enough to set the end in motion.

Despite it's flickering between realities, the core and the C-Consciousness takes damage readily enough. It's a cascading failure from there, small sparks and flaming short-outs leading to the whole thing going critical.

The pods glow brightest before the end, the loss of one spreading like a fuse to the others, exploding like bursting light bulbs before they are engulfed in the explosion of the core detonation.

If you haven't already: Run.

What might have been an explosive meltdown, however, occurs in reverse.

The explosion never gets past the edges of the room. The shockwave blasts out with fire and flame, sending any remaining attackers flying and cracking the walls of the core with the force. And with a final flicker, the explosion rewinds back into where the core was - which is now just a pillar of black nothingness.

A void in space.

The debris. The walls. The power plant itself. All are pulled back into the gaping void like a black-hole. Glyphed natives seem strangely resistant - but not immune. It's like fighting a raging river current.

Chernobyl and all the closest creatures outside vanish into the tear. And instead of growing into black hole capable of destroying the planet, the void devours itself right out of existence, with only a final pop of changing air pressure.

A few straggling zombies and geists - and an oddly large population of the more mundane, less-mutated creatures - remain, left behind. But other than the crater valley, Chernobyl and the Zone are gone.