| abstract
| - Yessss, this year the Sharpshooting contest will be held.. in Africa? Thank goodness Americon couldn't make it, he'd have a conniption. And so, a hastily constructed stage has seemingly been moved from the Swordfish Coliseum (apparently it's mud wrestling night there) to Western Africa. A huge field has been leveled, making room for the crappily cordoned off areas with sparkly red tape and iron dowelrods sticking up from the turf. From the stage, a certain Seeker saunters out.. dressed head to toe in a suit with tophat and cane. "WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO.." he yells into a microphone. Meanwhile, a bevy of fireworks go off behind him.. spelling in the sky 2033 SHARPSHOOTING COMPETITION!! "Now, who's here ready to get.. SHOOTIFYING??" he blares into the microphone, a stray spark from the fireworks landing behind him on the stage. Shootifying? Well POW, that's what we're all here for, aren't we?" Warpath says, shaking a fist in the air. "Then let's ZINGO, get down to business!" Singe scowls. "I thought this was mud wrestling. He looks up at Spinister accusingly. "You..." He slouches and sighs. "Hairsplitter gets to have all the fun. I need to learn spreadsheets or something." Avarice is staying clear from the Autobots, the temptation to gut one would be too much for him so the sweep remains close to the other Decepticons as he waits for the event to start. "I am!" Whirl shouts from somewhere in the crowd. "I am ready to get shootifying!" He's going to shootify so hard. Misfire stands with his arms crossed, his companion Aimless next to him in a similar pose. The pair both have on comically large and bright white sunglasses covering their eyes and optic bar. Lopsided grins appear on their faces. "Ohhh yeah! New Personal Best, Time!" Misfire exclaims. Aimless just shakes his head. Elita One casually leans against one of the stage columns, one leg bent back against it. She gives a noncommital nod and shrug to Backfire's enthusiastic words. "I could use the practice....actually I can't but here I am anyway." She gives another soft shrug as she looks over the competitors. Amber MacKenzie makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to get out and about, and this sharpshooting contest is the event she chooses. An even stranger spur-of-the-moment decision is to actually participate in it. Well, she needs some stress relief, and imagining Franklin Cross's face as the target will help. She's uneasy with Decepticons around, so she stays close to the Autobots present. Shockwave steps up to the line, staring across the cleared out field towards where the targets are (or will be, depending). He doesn't comment on the crappiness of the pitch, though he does notice it. Surely the Olympic Committee didn't actually let Backfire /organize/ the thing as well as announce. Seeing one of the Sweeps, Shockwave nods in his direction. It's good that he isn't alone out here for the Decepticons (no Misfire does not count). Silverbolt claps politely, then reins his emotional response in and decides to just nod quietly instead. Backblast bounces up to the shooting event in his altmode, caked in mud and sand; he's clearly been bouncing around the African desert, off-roading for fun. He transforms and waves to look arond, giving everyone a wave and a nod as he lights himself an enercig. "Yo." Perceptor watches Backfire with disgust. He wonders absently to himself as to why Galvatron keeps someone like him around. Once again, someone else had persuaded him to participate, and this time it was Rodimus, on the grounds that he ought to be more social... It was hard difficult to argue with your faction leader. He is especially unhappy about the number of Decepticons present, and does what he can to avoid Shockwave's optic. He sighs and waits for this to be over with. Dust Devil moves over to where Elita is and grins. "Wonder if they give consolation prizes..." He stands near the more impressive autobots. Hubcap stands, arms crossed, a faint smile on his face. Then he shrugs. "What the hell." Hmm, he's not a 'bot' you'd normally expect in this sort of event. Avarice nods back, "Shockwave", he says before looking around, "I see the others are too busy to compete for the glory of the Decepticon empire.... Lord Galvatron will be...disappointed." Combat: Dust Devil sets his defense level to Fearless. Elita One looks towards Amber for a few moments. She seems to approve of the human's addition to the game. Her gaze then goes to her nemesis...Shockwave. Logic to her emotion. In truth, he really was a most formidable opponent, she hadn't any clue how that 'Shockwave can't shoot' gossip came about, but it never failed to amuse her. A smile crosses her face for a moment...until she recalls watching Imager and Slipshot's deaths at his hands. The amusement passes. Misfire waves over to the other Decepticons. "Heya guys! Funny thing, the time for the competition was changed in my data pad, I almost missed it! Luckily, I keep a back up of my calendar!" Aimless looks at Misfire. "Don't you think they didn't want you to show up? Just like the time you got assigned to patrol a planet that didn't exist, or that planet that was just sucked into a blackhole?" Misfire looks at Aimless. "Clerical errors happen!" Backblast chuckles at the other and takes a pull of his enercig, twitching his foot idly as he smirks, hoping the rule clarification he requeste fom the Comittee gets sorted out -before- the contest begins "Oh, I know you are Whirl!" Backfire smiles, oblivious that the spark behind him has lit his coattail on fire. A dour look to Elita One, "Where are all the HOT Autobots? Jeez, like that Torque gal." he squees with delight. Walking forward, trail of smoke on his heels, the Seeker waves frantically to the target range. "I have set up the MOST devious of tricks this year chaps.. let's hope you can manage to HIT THEM!!" At the end of the range, two gumbies march out with a large circular troph with floating rubber duckies inside it. Setting it down, the hit a switch at the end which starts the current and makes them start to loop around. They're also labeled 1-10, in black sharpie. "Ahahaha, yessssss.. can you manage to shoot those adorable cute widdle duckies??" Backfire laughs, pulling names from one of those electronic powerball machines. "And the order is.." Silverbolt continues to stand around, but doesn't seem to fear getting to close to the Decepticons. When you can ultimately achieve a form that can kick most of the like rocks, they stop being so fearsome. He gives his weapon another once over and glances around at his fellow Autobots, offering a silent nod in greeting. The Human entrant is a surprise and merits a respectful incline of his head from the Aerialbot Commander. GAME: Backfire rolls a (100)-sided die: ROLL: Dust Devil rolled a 99 ROLL: Misfire rolled a 95 ROLL: Avarice rolled a 86 ROLL: Silverbolt rolled a 72 ROLL: Amber MacKenzie rolled a 55 ROLL: Spinister rolled a 55 ROLL: Shockwave rolled a 37 ROLL: Warpath rolled a 30 ROLL: Hubcap rolled a 17 ROLL: Elita One rolled a 17 ROLL: Whirl rolled a 16 ROLL: Backblast rolled a 12 ROLL: Perceptor rolled a 5 "Stupid friggin sharpshooter contest...Who needs aim when you set everything around you on fire as good as I do?" Singe puffs up his chest at no one, Spinister regarding him quietly. The Neb shrugs. "Whatever. At least that MacKenzie chick is here. I'd be down for that one. Dating, combustion, either one would be hot." He glances up at Spinister. "Get it?" Spinister nods. Singe continues to rant as Hairsplitter goes through his Sharpshooter Contest program, looking...excited? Yeah, the pasty face middle management mech is actually showing emotion, not that it registers to Singe, who is staring at Elita One. "Stupid pink bot. When are her and Shockwave gonna merge and get it over with, you know? Unicron's left liquid waste dispensery sphere, they they on the flirt heavier than Rodismus lays on the lame." "Dust Devil?" Backfire reads, "What the heck, the Autobots have a VACCUM on the payroll??" the Seeker scowls, coattail still smoldering. You paged Elita One with 'no, but the multiplayer aspect of it is quite extensive, so I'd say that makes up for it.' "Galvatron's disappointment is not my concern," Shockwave replies to Avarice. "Improving the status and reputation of the Empire is." Shockwave turns away from the field towards Avarice. As he does, his gaze sweeps briefly past Elita One, giving only the tiniest flicker of recognition to the femme. Misfire approaches them, and Shockwave surveys the sorry state of the troops at his disposal. He's about to tell them how screwed they all are until Spinister, no doubt descending like an angel upon heaven, is spotted. The Double Targetmaster chooses to remain by himself, which is fine with Shockwave. Dust Devil hears that and GLARES at the Seeker. "Rather be called a vaccuum than be named after a gaseous expulsion...." He cringes when he realizes that he's going to be going first. "Oh great..." Misfire flashes Shockwave a smile, behind his bright white Sunglasses. He points towards his Sunglasses. "For the glare Shockwave!" He offers with a thumbs up. "I did not ask," Shockwave points out. Amber MacKenzie glances over the competition - and she doesn't consider the Autobots competition - but terror suddenly strikes her heart. Is it the mighty Shockwave, one of the Decepticons' finest fighters? No. It's the sight of the Nebulan Singe. Shox could only kill her. Singe... could try to hit on her AGAIN. Turning hurriedly away from the awful sight, she nods and smiles at the Autobots she knows. Silverbolt isn't, but she catches his nod and returns it. Elita One nods to Dust Devil, "You'll do fine, Devil. Just take your moment. Remember, hesitation is worse than failure." She gives a rousing fist gesture to the Bot. "Hey Shockwave!" Whirl shouts, waving his pinchy claw hand high above his head. "Maybe you should let Misfire take your shot! Probably have a better chance of winning that way!" ICE BURN. Avarice frowns at Shockwave's comment but refrain from replying. Shokcwave's dislike for Galvatron is well known and this is not the place to argue... not with all those Autobots around them and not with someone who could atomize him. The sweep does his best to ignore Misfire as he looks over his shoulder, towards Elita, to see what Shockwave is looking at. "Ha-ha, not much competition this year from the ZOWIE, Decepticons," Warpath remarks, "Look! None of them can BLAM, shoot straight, ha ha ha!" Backblast checks his PDA almost obsessively, pondering quietly. He's checking on things, pacing a little - he's much twitcher than usual Perceptor smirks slightly at the fire raging behind the idiotic seeker, but it passes quickly as he shakes his head in disbelief at the targets Backfire has presented, if for the pure primitive nature of it. The commitee allowed this ridiculous Decepticon to oversee this event? He shrugs to himself, then, seeing that he is going last. He supposes he will have to wait a while. He sits down next to Elita One to wait his turn, but doesn't say anything to her. So much for being more social... Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Shockwave doesn't seem to hear Whirl. He'll make his counterpoint on the field of battle. Watching Dust Devil, Shockwave is actually unsurprised at the minibot's success. Decepticon Central Intelligence has him listed as a Class 1 Irritant. High praise, really. "Oh, well.. I guess vaccums are good for MURDERFYING poor defenseless duckies." Backfire fake cries, the two gumbies resetting it for the next contestant. "Next up is only the second greatest Decepticon everer.. after Lord Galvatron, of course." "MISFIRE!!" Elita One nods, a proud smirk on her face, "Good job, Devil. And here you were worried, you nearly aced that run. Good going!" She looks around a bit longer, back towards Amber, ensuring she wasn't too far off, and just as important, that she wasn't too close to anyone's feet! Her gaze shifts to Perceptor, "Unusual seeing you here, looking to show up some Cons?" Misfire stares in disbelief as Dust Devil nails the target nine times. "Woooow..." He looks at Aimless. "Aimless! Music!" Letting out a long sigh, Aimless moves next to Misfire and puts down a boombox, hitting the play button! The Korean Classic 'Gangnam Style' blares out of the speakers. Misfire starts swaying with the beat. Aimless blows a quick kiss towards the crowd, vaguely in Amber's direction and gives a wink in Elita's direction. Misfire continues to bounce with the beat as Aimless leaps into the Air, landing in Misfire's waiting hand. Without pausing, Misfire fires off 10 blasts...Duck everyone! Dust Devil did hesistate with the first shot. But listening to what Elita says, he nails the rest of the targets. He turns and retreats back to where the bots are and gives Elita a smile. "Thanks!" Boomslang rolls his one visible eye at the back of the line, fitting a competition stock and compensator to his gauss rifle. "Of course Backfire is a fan of Misfire," he asides to the nearest Decepticon. "Just figures." Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target with his Gangnam Style Sharpshooting! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Aimless tumbles out of Misfire's hand as the pair gives Backfire a thumbs up! "Bro!!" Misfire exclaims, as he saunters back into the Decepticon ranks, a lopsided smile appears on his face. "What is all the femme winking about, Misfire? Those two don't have any CUTE features." Backfire somewhat stomps about, the targets being reset again.. wishing the boxy handed mech of his restcycles were here. "Okay, so Scourge is up next.. or maybe it's Revenant. I can never tel, OH WAIT!" he exclaims. "The sparkly sweep Avarice is up next!!" Avarice leaves the crowd and take his position in front of the target. The sweep is totally planning to cheat... eyebeams can't mist after all, I mean, you just have to look at the target! Those foolish judge didn't think about this and it is obvious that this plan has no flaw...nothing can go wrong....right? Avarice takes his time, concentrate and then unleash 10 quick energy blast from his optics, right towards the target. Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice misses Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice misses Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice misses Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Avarice misses Sharpshooting Target with his Eyes Blast (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Perceptor shakes his head at Elita after a slight pause. "Not necessary. Rodimus...-ordered- me to attend." Well, not really, but practically. He would have, if the scientist hadn't finally given in after much badgering and reminding him that he'd been 'hiding' in his lab for megacycles on end. Which was somewhat true, actually. And right now, his mind is most of the way on the many projects he has going back there instead of what's going on around him. "Umm, what the heck was that? YOU'RE NOT FIT FOR THAT BEARD!!" Backfire, the beard fancier, screams into the mic. "I mean, if you're into that sort of thing. "H'okay, next up is Silverbolt." Shockwave watches Misfire and Aimless leave the field. Yes, he's surprised... just like everyone else here. Still, the targets are still quite large and there is such a thing as random chance. Once Avarice goes up, Shockwave is disappointed to see only six successful strikes. While he couldn't care less about the Sweeps specifically, the last thing they need is for one of the few Decepticons to get knocked out in the first round. Torque has been spectating a lot recently, too busy repairing others to take part in many of the events. But she's happy to at least be able to participate in one now and then. Sitting off at the fron of the stand near the edge of the field, Torque has yet to touch her bubbly, soda-like energon, instead keeping her attention keenly on the contestants as they each approach to take their turn at the range. And she of course makes sure to cheer on her fellow Autobots whenever they're up, applauding even if they don't do as well. Silverbolt watches those ahead of him in the queue compete, nodding in appreciative fashion at the shooting. He picks up a stock disruptor - nothing fancy at all - and goes to the shooting line. He calms himself, focuses, aims. He squeezes off 10 shots in rapid succession. Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Silverbolt strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Elita One gives a wry chuckle, "Sometimes, Perceptor, it is worth it to remind yourself what you fight for, And....in its own way, it reminds us all that we are indeed kindred. Demechanizing ourselves does little for the peace effort." She raises her head to watch the next few shooters, adding absently, "Just focus on the task, you're quite good at that." When Amber's turn arrives, she steps forward and draws the pistol that Nate Briar gave her. It's a bit too large for her hand, but she's very familiar with it. Raising it with her right hand and steadying it with the left, she opens fire on the targets. If she hits even once, she'll feel better. Franklin Cross, rubber duckie #4, is totally doomed! "Crap, he's a better duck killer than I gave him credit for!!" Backfire laughs, apparently a joke of some sort. "Okay, next in line is hooman squishypants Ember." the Seeker reads from the cue card. Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Avarice shakes his head having a hard time he did such a poor performance... Eyes blast may not have beena good choice after all. The sweep goes at the back of the Decepticons group waiting to see if he will pass to round 2, which is unlikely. Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Elita One gives a nod of recognition to Amber's pistol work. "I enjoy using light guns as well, there's something to be said for it." Misfire leans over towards Avarice. "Heya, Avarice...maybe get a little song going in your head before you fire the eye beams...I don't know why, but the music helps!" Misfire offers cheerfully to his comrade, "Worked for me!" Amber MacKenzie snorts with some amusement. "It's the only weapon I have, ma'am." She's pleased with her work. Rubber Duckie #4 bit the dust, and she feels so much better now. Turning away from the targets, she rejoins the Autobots with a quiet smile. "Crap, she must be into that turducken or whatever it's called? Amirite??" Backfire points to Amber, then reads from his cue card. "Now we have.. the mysterious, the dangerous, the.. wait. Who is this guy anyways? I mean, he's been around for a while.. but I've yet to talk to him. And as you all know, I'm like the Decepticon mascot." the Seeker assures himself of his popularity. "Without further adieu, SPINISTER!!" Dust Devil grins at the human's shooting. "Nice!" He sees Torque is here and waves at her but stays over by Elita for the moment. "I hope he does that thing where he cuts the targets in half... with his mind," Boomslang stage-whispers to his neighbor. Misfire whistles for Spinister. "Yeah! Spinister! Mayhem Squad Assault for life!" "Boo! Worst helicopter ever!" Whirl shouts. A tank rolls up to the firing range! Who could it be? Oh, right, Franklin Cross. For some reason, he's not in uniform at the moment. He's in more civilian attire. And he's also wearing a red cape. He doesn't seem happy about that. Spinister steps up to the line with Hairsplitter, who transforms into his laser pistol mode, flying into Spinister's hand. The Double Target Master hits a brief awesome pose, and the sharpest ears can hear a voiceover guy telling them to buy a Spinister toy. Singe grins darkly at Amber as she returns to the Autobots. Spinister points Hairsplitter, and opens fire. Franklin Cross pops out of the tank of course. Hubcap throws Amber a grin and an encouraging thumbs-up as she makes her way to the range, then claps in appreciation as she does well. "Nice." "Yes, yes..." Perceptor nods absently. "Of course." His mind is still elsewhere, though, clearly. Though he hadn't exactly been acting in a very 'kindred' fashion lately. And frankly Perceptor could be found guilty of forgetting that he's in the middle of a war altogether, not to mention that he's part of a team. Boomslang discreetly disposes of his cape in a dumpster on the way up the line. Capes are bad luck for Seekers. Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Lock-Target Laser Rifle attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! Aimless looks up at Misfire, "I want a Spinister toy..." Misfire looks at him. "Me toooo...." "Thank you, gentlemen, but I was just lucky today. Until the invasion of Mars, I'd only handled a pistol a few times." Amber is surprised at doing well, but that of course doesn't diminish her satisfaction at hitting a particular target. Maybe it bodes well for the future. Hairsplitter transforms, giving Shockwave a quick salute as he and Spinister head back to the waiting area. Singe puffs out his chest, following along and flashing the Targetmaster gangsign. Boomslang frowns as Spinister shoots a perfect round. That's a high bar to set. Boomslang says, "I gotta get one of those little guys." Avarice stares at Boomslang, "Are you serious?" "Wow, his shooting skills are SUPERB!!" Backfire reports with glee, the last time he ran this some emocon got bent out of shape because no Decepticons made it to the final round for medals. "Alright, next up we have.. LORD SHOCKWAVE!" the Seeker shouts, adding "wave.. wave.. wave.." as an after effect, whispering. Misfire nudges Aimless towards Boomslang. "Look at that!" Boomslang replies to Avarice. "You can't argue with the results." Shockwave watches Silverbolt emotionlessly. While he doesn't think much of Silverbolt's targeting abilities, he knows how deadly the valourous mech can be. Unfortunately, valour means even less now than it does on the battle field. Amber, one of the newer weapons in the human arsenal, does quite well. The size advantage gives her a tremendous boost, and he considers her eight out of ten a sign that she's a better spy and saboteur than front line fighter. Spinister's performance, meanwhile, does not disappoint. Shockwave would have expected nothing less from him and Hairsplitter. He considers leaving Singe on the bench to be the logical call. He returns Hairsplitter's salute with a respectful nod. When his name is called, Shockwave steps up to the line, putting his front foot just behind it. Turning sideways, Shockwave is completely silent, staring at the targets for a good ten seconds. Just when one might start to get impatient, ten terrifyingly powerful arm cannon blasts ring out. Targets struck do not simply receive impact hits; they are obliterated. A mystery heckler in the crowd (it's Whirl) shouts, "Shockwave sucks!" Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser attack! SOMEONE behind Shockwave, says behind a muffled hand. "MISS!" It certainly wasn't Elita though, she was admiring the shabby construction of the platform. "You can't shoot for shit, Shockwave!" yells a female heckler. Avarice shakes his head, "Results...perhaps but at what cost? Bonding yourself with a fleshbag?" Misfire looks at Avarice. "They don't like flesh bag...." He says quietly... Shockwave ignores the various hecklers as he returns to rejoin the other Decepticons. Meanwhile, a DJD agent in the stands make note of the individuals. Any civilians will find themselves in an unmarked grave within 24 hours of the truce ending. "Wow, he BAM showed those ducks who's boss.. didn't he??" Backfire goofily adds in his best dumb voice. Which is his normal voice, he just doesn't know it. "Okay, red tank dude with tourettes is next.. WARPATH!!" "It's not like they replace any part of you, that's not a bond. I'm not bonded with my gun. I just really like it," Boomslang points out. Warpath makes his way to the front. "POW, OK, let me show you how it's ZINGO, done." He pats his chest with a fist confidently before taking his mark and letting fly with the shots. "BAZAM! KAPOW! PING!" Torque perks up a bit when she notices Dust Devil waving to her, the femme lighting up with a smile and returning it before moving to take up her drink and steal a swig. She can't help pausing though when Spinister actually gets a perfect score, antennas flicking back. "Damn... Don't let that intimidate you, Bots!" Boomslang adds, "Not like the head guys, that's crazy." Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Avarice nods, "You got a point...but still." Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Dust Devil cheers! "Way to go Warpath!" At least now there's someone else on the decepticon hit list... "Aw, blum, I missed one," Warpath says, a bit dejected. He wanted a perfect record! "Crap, he did that WELL again?" Backfire adds after the near perfect round, grabbing at the next cue card. "Alright, next up is.. Bumblejumper? No, that can't be right. Cliffbee? Umm, Hubcap??" Spinister is with Boomslang and Avarice suddenly, because that's what he does. Singe smirks up at Avarice. "Flesh bag, huh? And who are you under that paintjob? Some slagged up Insecticon?" Elita One chuckles, "You did excellent Warpath, not a reason at all to sulk....unless I somehow show you up." She rolls her optics at Backfire's misidentification of Hubcap. "Hubcap, good luck!" Hubcap raises an optic ridge and, claps politely at Spinister's impressive performance. Still, it's only round 1, and he's just here for the heck of it. As his name is called, he nods to Warpath as he passes him on the way to the firing line. "Nice one." Drawing a standard-issue blaster, he raises it and fires. Silverbolt continues to watch the shooting. More impressive feats of targetting skill - he knew he wouldn't perform to his highest potential but still was pleased as he know he could've done worse. He stands with his fellow Autobots. He is indeed impressed with everyone's skills here today. Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] "So that's how that feels," Boomslang remarks as Spinister seems to materialize right behind him and Avarice. Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Avarice stares down at Singe, "No matter what I used to be, I was reforged by a God. You evolued from a fish." Misfire looks at Avarice. "See...don't like flesh bag." He waves to Singe. Aimless seems oblivious to everything else as he is now in search of an Spinister toy. Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Shockwave reaches the others. Choosing not to get involved in the merits of binary bonding, he instead turns to watch Warpath pull off a sizzling nine out of ten. Shockwave was expecting a perfect round from him, but instead it's Hubcap who pulls it off. Those minibots are remarkable at this sort of thing. Still, it doesn't matter who comes first in round one... just so long as you survive it! Ah ha, and who is up next? Could it be? Shockwave turns to Elita One. Amber MacKenzie has been moving back to a better viewing position and can finally watch the others shooting. She enthusiastically applauds Warpath and Hubcap, both of whom did better than Shockwave himself, but she knows well enough that luck plays a part in this competition. Dust Devil claps and jumps, "Awesome! Now we have a perfect score to brag about too! Sorry Warpath, you shot great too!" "WAAAAAAAAAAAAHT?" Backfire reels, "Crap. Maybe he isn't just another dumb minibot repainted." the Seeker sulks about the perfect score. "Alright, time for that Elita One chick." "Though I look much better in her getup, I might add." Hubcap smirks as he lowers his weapon and throws a cocky salute at the Decepticon group as he makes his way back to his fellow 'Bots. Elita One summons her plasma cannon, which flickers from subspace in a pink and purple blueprint. "Alright then, great work Bots...let's see if I can match top score...I know, I'll pretend the targets are something else." She makes a subtle glance to her nemesis <<<>>>, then looks back to the range. She gets on one knee, bracing the enormous cannon. "They'll all be little turbogeese, all lined up in a row." Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One misses Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Warpath flashes a thumbs-up at both Hubcap and Elita! Combat: Whirl sets his defense level to Fearless. Perceptor is deifinitely not paying attention to the others' shooting, despite the fact that his optics appear to be trained in that direction. Singe gives Misfire a nod. "Good to see you out here. We need to mayhem something soon." He glances up at Spinister, just in case the big guy has anything to say to Avarice, though he typically doesn't. The mysterious one is watching the contest, so he just continues the banter with the Sweep. "A god? You mean moonbase 3?" He looks around proudly to see if anyone heard that one. "GAH, what the frak?? Is that really Crosshairs in drag?" Backfire jokes with a stifled chuckle, reading from the cue card. "Alright, next up is my estranged brother from another motherboard.. WHIRL!" "Who is joining the Decepticons after the Olympics." Whirl may not be the best shooter around but that's okay, he only needs to be good enough to out-do Shockwave so he can make fun of him about it later. When it's his turn to shoot, he steps up to the line, takes aim with the null-ray module attached to his arm, and opens fire on all the poor, defenseless rubber duckies floating around down range. "Wreck and rule, baby!" Amber MacKenzie cheers Elita One, who's also done better than poor Shockwave. Still, her previous thought applies. This isn't a battlefield, and in the end, this contest means little. Unconsciously echoing Shockwave's thoughts, she muses that the winners are simply those who are still alive. Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Whirl strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Misfire thumbs up Singe. "Time and place man. Time and place. I will be there." Shockwave picks up the 'subtle' glance from Elita One. That femme is going to have to learn how to let go of that grudge she's been carrying, or else one of these days it's going to get her killed. He turns his head, tracking her as she leaves the firing line. Once Whirl steps up, though, Shockwave leans forward. There is a small amount of satisfaction as the Wrecker fails to beat his score. Only a small amount, though, given how inevitable it was. "Ahaha, he does okay. You know, wearing a purple badge gives you a plus seven to accuracy checks!" Backfire breaks the fourth wall and manages to mix genres, all at the same time. "Alright, pulling up the the final batch. That smart science guy, Perceptor is up next!" Perceptor finally makes his way toward the center of attention to take his first round of shots at the strange human toys. Since it's still early in the event, he doesn't take too much time to aim his shots. Plus, he doesn't really care too much how this turns out. However many medals each side manages to win, the truce will undoubtedly end and the Autobots and Decepticons would go back to pummeling each other. So, without much hesitation he simply lets go with the ten shots. Besides, the sooner he gets eliminated from the running, the sooner he can get back to his experiments. Of course, he could miss on purpose, but--that would look terrible, and Rodimus might harangue him again. Avarice doesn't bother to reply to Singe but seriously ponder kidnapping him to drop him in Unicron's head one of these day. That will teach him fear and respect. He busy himself by looking at the othersbut this does nothing to improve his mood. Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Laser Cannon attack! [Pulled -5] "Hey, he's good for more than just staring at things through a microscope!" Backfire laughs, reading again from the cue card. "The next up is Boomslang." Looking around theatrically, "Oh, WHERE'D HE GO?? Maybe he went invisible plane style on us again. Hahahaha." "Haw haw," Boomslang says sarcastically as he comes out of his place in line. Boomslang flips up the bipod on his rifle as he comes up to the mark, and hooks it over the rail he's obliged to stand behind. "Should be a milk run," he reassures himself, settling the stock into his shoulder to draw a bead on the targets and loading a lightweight practice flechette. Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Elita One looks over to Perceptor, "Not bad at all, let me guess, you analyzed all the possible approach vectors and variances and chose the ten most optimal firing solutions?" Dust Devil frowns, "You know I preferred that con when he just LOOKED scary instead of knowing he could shoot well." Boomslang ejects the steaming fuse and steps back to wait for the next round. "Killer instinct. It's all in the eye." "Er..." Perceptor shrugs and sits back down. "Well--no, actually." "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum, you check that out folks? Yup, you guessed it. I let him train by trying to shoooot me!" Backfire chuckles, stepping around like he's dodgeing incoming laserfire.. not that it was an invitation for people to start shooting at him. "Oh great, next up is that LAME Cross guy who steals peoples WINGS!" Silverbolt hears Elita and Perceptor talking, "Sometimes, firing a run like that also comes from knowing your weapon and a little instinct." he pauses, "Knowing you don't have to worry about return fire doesn't hurt either." he turns to watch Boomslang's shooting and nods, "Well, then. That about does it for me. I'll stick around and observe though." Of all the shooters, Shockwave considered Perceptor to be the biggest unknown quantity. Although well known for precision, he wasn't a warrior. Still, shooting at rubber duckies from across a field isn't a war, either. The last second arrival of Boomslang is good to see. For a while there the Decepticons were looking horribly outnumbered. Now, gratefully, they're only /mostly/ outnumbered. A perfect round ensures he'll still be in the match. Franklin Cross, who is, again, wearing a red cape, looks Backfire up and down, sees that he got the wing replaced. "Seems to me you took care of that, Decepticon. In all honesty we didn't know--or care--that it was your wing. Regardless..." He pulls a scoped M4 rifle out of his tank, steps up to the firing line, aims down the scope, aaaand... BLAM BLAM BLAM Elita One looks over to Silverbolt, "Seen a lot of time on the line, Bot?" She wasn't too familiar with Silverbolt, always heard he was some winged beastamorph or vulture or something. Apparently the rumors were false. Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Franklin Cross strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Franklin Cross makes a face as he lowers the weapon. Fairly good, but against the robots? Not good enough. Amber MacKenzie's eyes widen at the mention of Franklin Cross. With the tall Transformers standing around, she missed seeing him. Bloody hell. He's more alarming than the Decepticons. She works her way further back. She doesn't know if he's seen her, and she was a last-minute addition, too, but she doesn't want to take any chances. "Even our humanoids are better than theirs," Boomslang remarks, thinking of the Targetmasters' stellar performance. Yes, including Misfire. 8/10 is stellar for him. With Cross completing the round with a fair showing, Shockwave turns away from the field. Depending on where the ref makes the cut-off, he expects to make it into the second round. Normally having a Decepticon ref would be an advantage here, but Backfire's a moron so it's still up in the air. "Haha, that's what you get.. goofy WING stealer!" Backfire cackles, reading again from the cue card. "Umm, Apocrahfishimus? Apocarayshishkabob? Apocasmoksius? Ahh, it's the hentai squid dude over there!" the Seeker points at Apocryphacius. Apocryphacius has attended Sharpshooting before in previous years. It has gotten him into some peril in the past. This time, the Quintesson appears out of the sky, coming down on a sky-crane like a misplaced Martian rover. The sky-crane sets him down and then flies out of the area somewhere. A parachute, which was jettisoned earlier, lands on top of his dome. He cuts his way out of the parachute and then fastens it back down to form a cape made out of parachute remains. That done, Apocryphacius turns at the duck targets and /screams/. Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target with his Sonic Screech attack! [Pulled -3] Franklin Cross's eyes narrow at Backfire. He may or may not be thinking of taking BOTH of Backfire's wings. Misfire drifts over towards Backfire and leans over and whispers, "So...do we bribe now or later..." His sunglasses hide his optic bar. "Awwww, great. He like.. hit one target for every arm of his." Backfire squirms, "It's a boy right? Like, that'd be one ugly chick. I mean, yeah. Whatever." "H'okay, last up is Backblast!!" Backblast scowls at the pad as his ruling comes through as 'denied'. "Buch of wankers!" he mutters, throwing the datapad over his shoulder, before pulling out what is clearly a marker-gun based off his 90mm main gun. He settles in behind the position and extends the bipod, taking a deep breath ass he relaxes, becoming -totally- still, something those who know him might be surprised at. Then he fires his shots downrange! Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] With Cross completing the round with a fair showing, Shockwave turns away from the field. Depending on where the ref makes the cut-off, he expects to make it into the second round. Normally having a Decepticon ref would be an advantage here, but Backfire's a moron so it's still up in the air. "Even our humanoids are better than theirs," Boomslang remarks, thinking of the Targetmasters' stellar performance. Yes, including Misfire. 8/10 is stellar for him. Whoops, two more. Shockwave watches the Quintesson fire after his overly dramatic entrance. It amazes him that the Autobots suffer him to live. Allowing the greatest enemy the Cybertronian race has ever faced to live and work alongside them is a testament to why the Decepticons *must* triumph in this war. The information Apocryphacius sends back to his masters weakens everyone. Backblast is last to go. He's likely the only true *sniper* here, and it shows with his strong round. Backblast lifts up the gun and steps back away from it with a slight nod, sniffing the air a little. "Thought I wasn't gonna make that..." he mutters, grinning. "Maybe I -'ave- got a chance at this..." Amber MacKenzie cheers for Backblast, too, though he's another with whom she's not acquainted, but rather quietly. Elita One comments, "Of course you do, just have to follow your instincts...as Silverbolt here said." She jerks a finger to the Bot in reference. Singe points at Hairsplitter. "The bio-mech to beat, suckers!" He grins darkly at Amber. "After we win the gold, game to get burned, Mackenzie?" Silverbolt nods to Elita, looking back from the shooting, "I've been in the field quite a bit. More to the point that I'm more comfortable in a combat situation than not. I apologize in advance for any awkwardness." Dust Devil grins a little at the other friendly faces. "This has definately been different. Maybe I'll try not to get in trouble during the Olympics more often. Alot more fun ta participate than be cleanin the base.' Backblast gives Amber a smile and a nod for the cheer, leaning on his marker gun casually. "Well, yeah. But I'm not used to sniping in this mode. When I'm sniping I'm usually riding on six wheels, not two legs" He laughs, lighting another enercig. Elita One suggests, "Maybe after the competition is done proper, Backfire. You can crack off a few rounds in altmode to test your skills further?" Backblast scowls a little "BackBLAST!" He points over at the referee "That's Backfire. But yeah you've got a good point there, ma'am; it'd be an interesting demo at least. Hey, anyone know if they're doin' swimming in these games, and if so, if they'll at least let altmodes in -that- event?" Amber MacKenzie looks heavenwards and is tempted to ignore the mindless babbling in her ears, but she recalls one of the key precepts of journalism: keep 'em talking. Turning to look at the two, she points out calmly, "Doesn't sound like much fun for me, Singe. Why should I?" Apocryphacius demurs, "My biological /sex/ is of really no consequence to you, but my preferred /gender/ to be addressed by is male." He's not entirely sure, but he thinks that Quintessons may have more than two /sexes/, but given that the humans by default generally only acknowledge two /genders/, he just self-identifies as one of the two for convenience's sake. Apocryphacius fusses around with his parachute cape, trying to outfit it with some EL-wire. Elita One facepalms, "I knew that, I wasn't thinking, apologies." Shockwave does not partake in all of the Autobot + Singe banter going back and forth. He's content to stay motionless with the other Decepticons, plotting out new ways to end their lives. Singe gives her a look. "Well, it'll be fun for me. Romance or human combustion. Should be a party either way, right?" He puffs a bit of fire out of his mouth like a dragon for accent. Backblast chuckles and shrugs "It's OK, ma'am. Names are pretty similar... though if you need a reminder..." He grins, pointing to the panel that becomes his rear quarter, where his name is written. Misfire stands there with his fingers crossed...Aimless drinks from his flask. "What the heck? Heh, must be because HALF his name is awesome.. or something!" Backfire laughs onstage, the small fire still creeping up his coattails. "Do you guys smell smoke? OH GAHD!" he flails, engulfed in flames. Stopping, dropping, and rolling around the stage like the fool he is. Rising moments later, in a half scorched suit with still somewhat untarnished tophat; Backfire smiles. "It's a WONDER what skills you remember from the academy. H'okay, eliminated are these LOSERS: Silverbolt, Whirl, hooman Cross, and Avarice. Please exit stage right and pick up your complimentary Backfire autobiography 'The Fool's Fool'.. stick around afterwards for signings!!" The two gumbies come back out, removing the troph and duckies. From behind the stage, they grab a large crate labeld 'KITTENS' and tromp back over to the range. "Yes, that's right.. YOU'LL BE SHOOTING KITTENS!" Backfire smiles, once the ten small turbo-kittens tromp out of the cage. Only, something HORRIBLE has been done to them. Their heads have been replaced with Backfire Seeker/Cat heads. They meow sporadically about glory and the Empire. Sharpshooting Target transforms into its Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) mode. Combat: Dust Devil sets his defense level to Fearless. Misfire lets out a cheer as he makes the cut. "Alright!!!" Aimless spits out his drink from the flask. "WHHHHHATTTT? We made it!?" Aimless lets out a groan. "But I was going to the Red Light...." Misfire whaps his partner in crime, smiling uneasily to the others, "Hehehheee...I am sure he is honored..." Combat: Misfire sets his defense level to Fearless. Franklin Cross glares some more before he retreats to his tank. Dust Devil frowns at the choice of targets and does his best! Silverbolt nods as he is officially eliminated. He doesn't leave, but falls back among his Autobot comrades. He would sooner take a direct hit from Shockwave than read that dreck of a biography, if the reviews he heard were correct anyway. He smiles humorlessly to his fellow 'bots, "Go get 'em, mechs and femmes." Combat: Dust Devil misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Backblast gives the back of Cross' tank the bird, grinning a little, until he sees the targets. "Oh... now that's not... nice..." he mutters, shaking his head a little with a chuckle. Whirl doesn't look too happy when his name is read from the list of losers though you can't really tell. So much for showing up Shockwave. "Whatever, this event sucks." Instead of leaving, he takes a seat next to Torque in the spectator's area. "This competition is fixed, you know." "YOU MONSTER, how can an Autobot slaughter soo many INNOCENT kittens??" Backfire fake cries again, "Alright, up next is Misfire. Don't fail us no.. err, good luck to ALL the participants because I am really a neutral judge." "Really." Franklin Cross sees Backblast flipping him off on a rear-view camera. Glaaares. "So that's how it is, Autobots?" he mutters to himself. Amber MacKenzie shakes her head. "Not interested in entertaining you, sir. Someone's sloppy seconds don't appeal to me. Go back to one of your other ladies and try for some faithfulness to *one* of them." And then the new rankings are announced, and she scowls. She wanted one round, and then to be out of here. Not to mention parading in front of Franklin Cross. Misfire makes his way to the line, he bends down and presses a button to play his next track. 'Play that Funky Music' blares into the air. Aimless looks at Misfire as he kicks over the boom box. "I got this!" The music stops as Aimless lands in Misfire's hand. As soon as it connects, a barrage of laser blasts stream out of the weapon! DUCK! Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Misfire strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his UH OH! (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Perceptor is actually a bit annoyed that he's made the next round, because that means he's obligated to stay and keep shooting at that ridiculous drivel that Backfire's come up with. He grumbles lowly, hoping Elita One or Silverbolt haven't heard. Shockwave has made it to the next round! Unfortunately it's only him, Boomslang, Spinister, and Misfire. Losing Avarice was disappointing, but it could have been worse. As for the targets themselves, Shockwave couldn't care less. It's ratings and it's Backfire, and thus it's about what he expected. With Dust Devil now up, the minibot pulls off another high score. Things are not looking good. Things turn from bad to worse as Misfire's... misfiring catches up to him. He turns to glance at Spinister, Hairsplitter, and Boomslang. It's all up to them, he silently tells them. Torque raises a brow at Whirl when he sits beside her, idly swirling the bottle of ener-soda in her hand. "What makes you say that? ...Or are you just sore because you lost?" She smirks at the mech, reaching over to offer him a friendly pat on the back. Misfire grumbles as Aimless transforms out of his hand. "The music helped...." Aimless looks at him. "The music was lame...." The two proceed to bicker. "Dude, totally not what we were expecting." Backfire sulks, flashbacks of 2031 already resurfacing. "Alright, time for hooman Ember again. Haha, maybe she should be in charge of the hooman loser force??" Amber MacKenzie leaves the shelter of the Autobot ranks to take her place, not happy to be there this second time. Still, she shrugs and draws Nate's pistol again. After all, it's her only weapon. The kittens don't bother her; they're obvious not sapient. In fact, she doubts that Backfire is sapient, but oh well. Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Shockwave sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Fearless. "Hahahaha, you blooooooooooooow." Backfire delightfully laughs, falling over in his laughter. Stammering to his feet, the Seeker flattens out the scorched suit. "Oh, alright.. time for MR. MYSTERIOUS!!" Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Whirl just grunts when Torque pats him on the back. "Yeah, just a little. You'd be sore too if that-" He gestures at Misfire with his claw hand. "-beat you at a game of shooting. His name is Misfire, for crying out loud!" He sighs. "Ah well. Hey, you want this book I got for participating? It's about Backfire, I know how much you like that guy." Combat: Spinister sets his defense level to Fearless. "Hahahaha, you bloooo.." Backfire delightfully laughs, falling over in his laughter. Stammering to his feet, the Seeker flattens out the scorched suit. "Oh, crap." he rubs his optics, "Wait, okay. Nevermind." "Alright.. time for MR. MYSTERIOUS!!" Spinister steps up to the linem Hairsplitter transforming once again into laser mode. He takes a moment, gun at his side, and then draws, firing off ten kitten death shots in quick succession. Combat: Spinister sets his defense level to Fearless. Backfire calls Amber a "KITTEN KILLER!" for good measure. Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! Combat: Spinister strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Laser attack! "But.. but, BLAST." Backfire reacts to Spinister's less than spetacular performance. "Crap, okay.. maybe his MYSTERIOUS weakness is KITTENS.. or ME!" he admits. "Next up to the line is Shockwave!!" Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Fearless. Shockwave watches Amber go up and score a path- wait, no, that was just the glare of the setting sun in his optic. Amber did fantastic! Better than Spinister and Hairsplitter, in fact. One by one Decepticons are starting to get knocked out. Giving one quick glance at Boomslang, Shockwave steps up, performs function Target.kittenSeekerHead(10), firing ten quick blasts from his arm cannon. Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! Torque snorts softly at Misfire's mention. "Ah well. It's only a game afterall. ...Though the actual use of those kittens, albeit mangled now, is just.. wrong." Lips purse as she looks down at the field of Backfire-headed kittens, glad to take one if they all weren't already messed up. Optics flick back to Whirl without turning her head, Torque's gaze narrowing somewhat while giving a snort if distaste. "No thanks." "Aha, finally a Decepticon worth his weight in dead turbo kitten bodies.. wait, is he firing at kittens or me??" Backfire happily sulks, then reads from the cuecard. "Red tank dude next, don't SUCK!" Rubber ducks weren't a problem for Warpath to shoot. Kittens, though, are cute! He awwws. "Oh well, gotta POW do what I gotta ZAM do!" Silently reminding himself that they're not -real- kittens (and thus won't get actually hurt), he steps up. "Let's POW, show up these Decepticons!" Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Warpath misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared. Combat: Perceptor sets his defense level to Fearless. "Crap, dude.. why won't you go away?? Do you really want a repeat of 2031.. oh wait." Backfire thinks how poorly the Cons did then, "You do." "Alright, HUBCAP is up next." he makes emphasis on the name, giving headdress Elita a glare. "Happy??" Hubcap's smile flickers as the new targets are brought out - this could be bad for PR. Although... the new heads are a help. Stepping up to the line, he draws again, take this Backittens! "Yeah, it's kind of messed up, isn't it?" Whirl looks over to the shooting range and the hideous kitten abominations set up as targets. "Should've used puppies instead. Hardier, more loyal." Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] "Ugh, fine.. you leave me no choice but to pull out ALL the stops next round." Backfire dourly reports after Hubcap keeps the Autobots running strong in the event. "Up next is Elita One, which is ironic.. cause she's not gonna WIN but LOSE!!" Elita One frowns as she looks at the targets, "I'll use my disruptor, but I'm pretty sure that the rules of the Olympics forbid such targets." She mutters to herself as she looks over the targets, then lines up her forearm towards them. Elita gives a sidelong scowl to Backfire before returning to the task at hand, firing off several rapid shots. Combat: Elita One misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Elita One misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with her Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Shockwave steps back. Again eight out of ten. As he returns to Boomslang and the others, he watches Warpath barrrrely miss that last target. With some luck, that'll boot the minibot out of the event. Hubcap evens his tally, but Elita One does. Excellent! Shockwave is definitely hoping for 8/10 being the cut off point. "Boomslang, your assessment?" he asks, not clarifying what exactly he's looking for. "Hahahaha, that's what you get for being so.. so.. slender and non attractive." Backfire laughs at the femme commander. "Okay, Mr. Science is up again.. show us how good you are with a blaster, just like totally kill these CREATIONS in the name of SCIENCE!!" Singe sulks to the bleachers, the theme from Charlie Brown Christmas playing in the background. "If it were up to me I'd take out the minis," Boomslang advises Shockwave. "They're more trouble than they look and everyone underestimates them because they're 'not a fair fight,' but they're good with a gun." Perceptor puts his sights on the targets once again, muttering distastefully. Yes, normally he'd be analyzing every possible approach vector and shot trajectory, but this time he doesn't care since he's just shooting at a bunch of constructs crafted by Backfire. He's actually surprised that mech with a glitched diode for a processor is -capable- of even such rudimentary devices. This round, though, he decides to test an experimental weapon designed to impede the target's movements. Perhaps it would slow them down a bit, make them easier to hit. Though the point is more to see if the weapon would have the desired effect than actually scoring hits. Once again, the scientist quickly fires off the ten. Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Sharpshooting Target (Level 3). Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Sharpshooting Target (Level 3). Combat: Perceptor strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor's attack has strange and mysterious effects on Sharpshooting Target (Level 3). Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Perceptor misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Kitten Killshots attack! [Pulled -2] "Finesse *is* the only important attribute here," Shockwave agrees. "Something the minibots are rarely lacking in." No matter how important sharpshooting might be, it can't compare to a real war. Turning back to the Autobot on the firing line, Shockwave is genuinely surprised at Perceptor's aim. He doesn't know about the experimental weapon, but he can tell that *something* was wrong with the scientist. Heck, Shockwave feels dumber for having watched that. "Can't do it, can you? Ahaha, you must REALIZE what a gift to SCIENCE multiple Backfire turbo-kittens yields.. DON'T YOU??" Backfire grins, reading from the card. "Broomslan.. err, the Snake.. BOOMSLANG! Where'd you go? I mean, come on.. do you even need that camo paint job? It's already hard enough to find you." "No problem," Boomslang drawls, taking his place on the line and setting up to shoot again. "It'll be just like Guinea-Bisseau, 2010. But with cats." He gives one of his almost subliminally-quick grins. "The camo helped then, too." Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Boomslang misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] "Haha, yes!! See, firing at me in the training room PAID OFF." Backfire gleefully smiles, not really understanding the implications. "Okay, squid arms mcgee who is totally a dude I guess, is up." Apocryphacius takes a long, hard look at the mutilated mecha-kittens. Those are just disturbing. Worse, he's trying to figure out how to make them own his own. Before his imagination can get the better of him, he tries to distract himself. So Apocryphacius hovers on over behind Amber and tries to outfit her with a little cape, too, and tries to hand her a map of handy trapdoors in the area, just in case. When it gets to be his turn to shoot, though, the Quintesson just cannot help himself: all of his shots are attempted standard slices out of dissection textbooks, such as sagittal, coronal, transverse, and so on. Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target (Level 3)'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target (Level 3)'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target (Level 3)'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target (Level 3)'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Sharpshooting Target (Level 3)'s Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Apocryphacius strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Ranged Vivisection attack! [Pulled -3] "Meh, you should really stick to trying to taking over Cybertron.. shooting is not your forte." Backfire reports, reading from the card. "Last up this round, Backblast.. the lover of KITTENS!! How will you fare, eh.. EH??" the Seeker waxes 'nadian. Backblast grins and takes up his position, slapping a new ten-round magazine into the breech of his giant paintball gun. He stubs out his enercig, becomes -totally- still, and then takes aim before sending the rounds downrange. Combat: Backblast sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Backblast misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) with his Disruptor attack! [Pulled -1] Amber MacKenzie gives Apocryphacius a strange look but temporarily accepts the makeshift cape with a word of thanks. The map is just a little too big for her, so it slips through her hands and is wafted away by the arid desert wind. She watches it go and hopes it wasn't anything important. Backblast shakes his head and then licks his finger, holding it up to the wind. With a scowl, he shakes his head again and steps away from the range, muttering something about Coriolis. Perceptor is satisfied. He'd been worried that he'd end up having to stay for every round, which would have been extremely aggravating. Now the only thing he really had to worry about was Rodimus bothering him about not really putting his best shot forward. Which he certainly hadn't. He doesn't bother to wait for Backfire's announcement, and quickly takes his leave just after he's finished his last round. Now back to the Ark and his personal lab, where his experiments await. Misfire grumbles as he fails to make the cut. "WHAT???! But 5/10 was my personal best!" Aimless rolls his eyes at Misfire. "Ugh...your personal best is pathetic!" Misfire looks at him. "But...but..I made the top 10..." Aimless looks at him. "Most ineffective Decepticons." Misfire looks at him. "Still top ten...Come on, let's get that Spinister toy...." Aimless shrugs. "Best idea you have had since I've known you." Shockwave nods to Boomslang. The pair of them should be the Decepticons' last, best chance for gold. Unfortunately taking all three is now out of the question, but that was unlikely even to begin with. Warpath awwws. "B-but, I just POW, couldn't hit that last kitten. It ZAM, looked at me with such adorable big optics!" The shamefaced Autobot tank hangs his head, his tankbarrel drooping. Backblast spits a little and shakes his head again, clearly not happy with himself. after a few moments, he takes apart the gun and growls a little, cleaning a tiny speck of dust from somewhere in the mechanism.. "Dangit." Amber MacKenzie would point out that luck has a major impact on this competition, but the Olympic authorities might not be happy with her. She moves among the Autobots, offering commiserations and congratulations depending on who's going to the third round. Backblast gives Amber a nod, sniffing a little. "Reckon the wind put me off some." He comments. "That an' there was dust in the barrel." Hubcap nods to himself in satisfaction. He'd prefer a couple less 'Cons to have made it through the round, but no matter what happens, he's made a pretty good showing for himself, no doubt surprising a fair few people. "Alright, since half of you couldn't muster the STRENGTH to killify these kittens.." Backfire announces, one of the turbo-cats making its way to the stage. The Seeker aims to punt it 'Ike-style', but misses horribly and lands on his back. "OW! Stupid kitten." he laments. The turbo-kitten frollicks up to him, licking his helm and meowing about the EMPIRE. "Ugh, okay. Misfire, Spinister, Warpath, Elita LOSS, Backblast, Perceptor, and Apocawhatev are eliminated.. now for, ROUND THREE!" he points to the shooting range. The two gumbies attempt to rangle the live kittens and fill a box labeled 'DED KITTENS' with the busted ones. After the shuffle, they return with a large box. Pulling away the top, it's.. it's.. its.. "A FULL SIZE REPLICA OF OPTIMUS PRIME!!" Backfire announces from the stage. It's not really though. More like a horrible mish-mash of junk parts spraypainted and held together by ductape. It does bear a striking resemblance to the former Autobot Commander though. Immediately it starts buzzing in the range area, emitting 'LOVE AND PEACE!' and 'I LOVE THE RIGHTS OF SENTIENT BEINGS!' sporadically. "Round three begins.. now!!" Backfire shouts, the kitten starts purring next to his face. Looking at Dust Devil, "That means you.. now make shooty at your former leader!" Backfire laughs. Shockwave stares at the terrible replica of Optimus Prime. Still, you can tell what it's supposed to be. For the first time, Shockwave actually turns towards the Autobots to see what their reaction to this is going to be. Dust Devil frowns at the new target. Now this is just getting rude. "I would think there would be rules against this..." He just shakes his head and raises his weapons. "I'm hopin that this thing gets destroyed just because its a mockery of Optimus." Combat: Dust Devil sets his defense level to Fearless. Backblast looks up at the replica and then facepalms, with a clang. It's a facepalm worthy of Picard, and he looks over at Backfire. "You really are a pleb, you know that?" Sharpshooting Target (Level 3) transforms into its Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) mode. "NO ONE WAS COMPLAINING WHEN THEY WERE SHOOTING KITTENS LOOKING LIKE ME!!" Backfire rages at Dust Devil. Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Dust Devil strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Electron Arm Guns attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Amber MacKenzie sets her defense level to Fearless. Now *that's* in really bad taste. Amber does recognize the rather poorly-constructed image and gives the Autobots a sympathetic look. She doesn't flinch from it herself, though. That's not Optimus Prime, it's an insult to the elder statesman, and she has no problem destroying these pathetic replicas. Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] "Heh, some pent up aggression there bud?" Backfire cackles, the two gumbies rush out to make some minor patches to the Optimus robot. It emits 'Are the wounds fatal??' "Alright, now for the hooman Ember!" Apocryphacius is just going to blame his conscience for his shoddy shooting. His empathy for ktitens was definitely at fault. Yep. Still, he finds himself... glad he will not make it to the next round. The bargain bin Optimus Prime statue gets a thousand yard stare from the Quintesson. he may be socially inept, but he can tell that statue is in amazingly poor taste. He tries to drop off a pair of sunglasses with Amber, just in case she needs them next round, and then he tries to duck out! He has experiments to supervise! Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] "Oh great, she hates that guy as much as the vaccum!" Backfire reports, his plan 'backfiring' right in his face. If anything, maybe he'll manage to give some of them PTSD or something. "Alright Shockwave, show us how you'd SHOOTIFY the real thing!!" Dust Devil says, "I'm not a vaccuum!!!" Despite the choice of target (or perhaps because of it? Are they psyched up by the insult?), the Autobot and human do amazingly well. Shockwave steps up again, peering at the replica. He never had the same interaction with the greatest Autobot Prime as Megatron had. He respected the mech's power and ability to rally those to his cause, but not his ideals. Shockwave takes steady aim... Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Disruptor attack! "Ahahahaha, that's right.. shoot him good!" Backfire chuckles, the gumbies working overtime on the patches this time around between Amber and Shockwave. "Next up is Hubcap, have fun DEFACING your ideals!!" Whirl has disconnected. Hubcap stares at the new target for a moment, then shrugs one shoulder. "Eh, not like it's actually /him./" Casually strolling up to the range, he sights, and shoots. Combat: Hubcap sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Dust Devil cheers, "Go Hubcap! Awesome job!" "Ahaha.. oh crap." Backfire realizes Hubcap powers through and shoots the Optimus Prime replica better than Dust Devil. "Well, maybe I should have brought this one out SOONER??" "Last we have Sir Snake himself, umm.. I think I ran out of hiding jokes. Sorry dude." As Boomslang gets ready for his turn he reflects that he never got to shoot at Optimus Prime, remarking, "Big Red's only got half a face, there. Someone should give him one." He doesn't have to tell Shockwave 'no offense' because he feels confident Shockwave won't be offended. Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Boomslang misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -3] Hubcap tilts his head as he regards the target and his hits. "That might work." Strolling away, he throwbs Dust Devil a thumbs-up. Shockwave indeed takes no offence, and Boomslang puts in a solid 7/10. That puts him just behind Hubcap. Now, Shockwave wonders, is there going to be yet another round, or is that the match? "Drat, only ONE Autobutt eliminated? You should be named SUCKIMUS PRIME!! Dust Devil and Boomslang fail to make the next round." Backfire laughs, striding towards the range and shoving the Optimus robot to the ground. Before the two gumbies can drag it away, it shoots the Seeker a glare. "Alright, mechs.. you wanted it? Here it is!" Backfire shouts, tearing the burnt suit off his frame with one fluid motion. "THE FOURTH ROUND STARTS NOW!!" he flexes in a Captain Ginyu-esque stance with a finger held up to indicate '#1'. "I AM YOUR TARGET, SHOOT WISELY MY FRIENDS!!" Sharpshooting Target (Level 4) transforms into its Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) mode. "Time to test your METTLE, runt!" Backfire shouts at Amber MacKenzie. Combat: Amber MacKenzie sets her defense level to Fearless. Amber MacKenzie is increasingly amazed to still be here. She sighs and lets the parachute-cape so kindly donated to her by Apocryphacius slip to the ground as she returns to the target range. Even less so than before, she has no problems shooting at Backfire. Kill a Con? Sure! Raising her pistol, she opens fire. Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Alas, Boomslang is out and the fate of the Decepticons, nay, THE UNIVERSE rests on Shockwave's shoulders. Sort of. The Decepticon glances towards Backfire, awaiting to see what the final target is. Once again, he's surprised by Backfire's Backfireness. "You cannot be serious." Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Amber MacKenzie misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with her Pistol attack! [Pulled -1] Dodging through almost half of the shots, Backfire lets out grunt when the last one misses.. thanks to the Seeker pulling the splits. "I'm ALWAYS serious, Boomslang!" he shoots a smile at the conehead, if he hasn't already vanished by that point.. or is hiding near some shrubbery. "Ha, you should marry that Cross guy.. you both SUCK at shooting!" he goads, turning to look at Shockwave. "Your turn, Shockwave. In all fairness, I cannot make this easy for you." the Seeker says in all seriousness, assuming a fighter's pose. Obviously Shockwave said that serious part, but Backfire is.. well, an idiot. But of course he's serious. After a brief moment's thought, Shockwave sets his arm cannon to its lowest setting. He has no problem with Backfire's destruction, per se, but he doesn't want Hubcap after him to have an easy time shooting a corpse. "I am unconcerned," he tells Backfire as he steps up to the line, takes aim, and fires fairly weak x-ray bursts at the Seeker. Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Combat: Shockwave strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Disruptor attack! Backblast gigglechuckles as he watches everyone open up on Backfire, lighting another enercig Boomslang looks wistfully at Backfire as he packs up his gun again. "Would've been nice to shoot at him for the last round. Suppose there's always the training room." Shockwave holds his arm cannon aloft. Hmm. This explains how Backfire is still alive. Silver or bronze, then! He heads back to rejoin Boomslang. Making it through most of the gauntlet, Backfire wheezes when exactly half of Shockwave's blasts make their mark. Landing to the ground with a THUD, the Seeker shakes the damage from his processor and stands yet again. "I know you felt conflicted Lord Shockwave, on the one hand.. Olympic Gold. On the other, one of your most trusted and STALWART comrades." he lets out, in all seriousness. Sometimes, just sometimes, it's like he has more of a disconnect from reality than Groove. "Alright, last up to go.. Hubcap! You've managed to SKATE through this long, but now it's the END OF THE ROAD!!" the Seeker jests to the Autobot, flexing again. Hubcap's optics flicker in surprise at the new target. "Okay, guy have a deathwish?" He wonders aloud to no one in particular, although he does shoot a glance at Shockwave. Oh well. Last time up, let's see how it goes... Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap misses Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Hubcap strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his Pew pew (Disruptor) attack! [Pulled -1] Torque gives a shrill whistle from the stands, clapping her hands when it's Hubcap's turn, "C'mon Hubcap! Show up those Cons! Backblast also cheers on Hubcap "C'mon Hubcap! Show ol' one-eye how its done! "YEAH, POW, show 'em what Autobots are made of!" Warpath whoops. Amber MacKenzie cheers wildly! At least something finally went right in this competition! Hubcap snaps his fingers and points them in a pistol-shape at Backfire. "Thank you, you were a wonderful target." Then he saunters away from the range. Either through sheer luck, the right motivation, or downright skill.. Hubcap manages to land all BUT one shot on the simpleton Seeker. Bouncing around between the shots as they land like a pinball, Backfire "OWS!" and "OOMPFS!" at every shot fired. Smoke trailing up his chassis, the Decepticon finally succumbs to the damage and falls down to his knees. "I.. huh, gah." he sputters, "ACK. AHEM. Okay, so Hubcap takes home the gold.. Ember the silver.. and Shockwave the bronze for 2033's sharpshooting event." he finally manages to get out, rising to his feet. "Maybe they should stop letting me host these, but hey.. at least I didn't get MAULED by turbo-lions this year? Right?? As if activating off the 'end of the road' comment from right before, suddenly.. the OPTIMUS PRIME-BOT bursts in on the range and starts beating the Seeker's face in with his fists. "AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE MADE OF STERNER STUFF!" it roars. "Getitoff.. getitoff!!" Backfire shrieks. Shockwave is satisfied with bronze. Hubcap is well known for his skill, and Amber... well, she's tiny and thus a damn cheater. Turning away from the ref without deeming him worthy to assist, Shockwave takes off. He tries to spot Elita One or Whirl in the crowd, but both are gone. Figures. Cogs shift and grind with the classic noise as Backblast transforms into a Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie six-wheeled scout car. Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie giggles and decides... well, it's been fun, and he never got to take a shot at Prime Target. So carefully, he takes aim at him, waiting a few moments and dropping his engine's RPM to the point where it's barely running... Combat: Backblast takes extra time to aim his next attack. Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie finally fires, probably helping Backfire. If he hits. The Back-types gotta stick together right? Even if they're on opposite sides. Combat: Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie strikes Sharpshooting Target (Level 5) with his 90mm Sabot attack! [Pulled -6] Torque moves to her feet to give Hubcap and Amber a standing ovation, a bright grin lighting her face. "Awesome job, you two! Way to show those Cons who's the best!" The Optimus-target actually alive and now beating the crap out of Backfire is somewhat alarming however, though she doesn't seem to be moving to help. Honestly, he deserves it. Dust Devil runs over to Torque, Hubcap and Amber. "Hey did you see that, I didn't completely suck! That was awesome! I just wish they'd have had a better target last round." He sighs, "I didn't like shootin that at all. I hope that target beats the slag outta that idiot." Backfire calls out sporadically from under the Optimus Prime-bot, cries of help. But then the replica explodes, leaving a big impact crater and one unhappy Seeker.
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