/me is insanely delighted. Excellent job. Better'n me

*stops beating head*
I claim this in prior post in name of the wonderful EDIT FUNCTION! So nya, 4I ...

Thanks, Canadian and Coppertop. Chapter 9 has not yet been started, but it hasn't been stopped, either.

I claim this page in the name of SuperDuperman. (My theme song. Written by yours truly.)

NO! *screams madly and beats head against wall*

Okay, I'll let you have it, CT. Just because I'm so generous.

You rock. Thanks.
*wanders off*

Who cares about pages? I for one am eagerly anticipating the next chapter!

The feeling is mutual, I assure you.
*taps fingers impatiently*

Chapter 9: Clash

Jazz and Spaz appeared behind Devan, standing at attention, deep inside the turtle’s mountain lair. The two had not been hurt by the massive explosion, but they were obviously smart enough not to get caught in the blast. Now, they stood ready, behind Devan, awaiting his commands patiently. Devan was standing near a lizard at a control panel, and the lizard was tapping away madly at the various buttons and keys, displaying Lori’s havoc-wreaking escape from the mountain, and her rendezvous with Acid, Coppertop, and Canadian. He had already seen the gaping hole that Acid’s rocket had left in his mountain, and he knew that they were rapidly approaching to desolate his base beyond repair.
“One got away.” Devan spoke slowly and quietly. “But one is enough. I cannot be safe until all three are under my power, and the threat facing me has been extinguished.”
He turned around, to face the Jackrabbit brothers. “And how, pray tell, did one rabbit escape three Turbulents and a mountainful of armed lizards and turtles?”
Jazz and Spaz remained silent, unsure of whether to answer Devan’s question or not. They stood stock still, watching Devan’s face.
“And now, she’s coming back, with three friends. If you can’t stop one, your own sister, how do you expect to stop four?!”
They knew it was true; if Lori was able to evade both Jazz and Spaz, their new partner Vaper, and a slew of reptiles under their command, they wouldn’t have the slightest hope of defeating their sister, her mercenary friend Coppertop, and whoever the other two rabbits were.
At that moment, Vaper entered. “Milord, the rabbits have breached the surface, and they’re fighting their way in alarmingly fast. What shall we do?”
Devan sighed in dismay. “Release the Attacknids. Vaper, you may use whatever you prefer; same goes for you two. Do not let them escape you again.”
As the three rabbits left, Devan turned again, and stared into space, thinking deeply. If he were to lose Whitespire, he would lose his greatest advantage against the rabbits since he had the advantage of surprise during his first campaign, when he had kidnapped the princess and thrown Carrotus into chaos. He would not lose against his enemies again.

The Attacknids were giant robot spiders, each armed with a chaingun on the front of its head, framed by burning orange eyes, and a single rocket perched on a holder on its back. One alone was an adept fighting force; Lori, Canadian, Coppertop, and Acid were forced to face off against one each, as well as the seemingly endless scores of lizards and turtles that threw themselves at the advancing rabbits, only to be ultimately destroyed. Acid’s rocket launcher was suddenly useless against the masses, as he couldn’t use the weapon in the close quarters of the cavernous corridor in which the battle raged. As a result, Coppertop lent him her navy blaster, then went about the skirmish like a nightmare, slicing into and through foes with the murderous blade of her sword Shale. While not as comfortable with a blaster as he was with his devastating rocket launcher, he quickly caught on to the idea of point and shoot rather than fire and forget.
The Attacknids were a far more difficult foe than any of the sentient cold-blooded minions, as they were surprisingly agile despite their cumbersome weaponry. The lizards and turtles frequently tripped over each other, and didn’t seem to follow any sort of plan, whereas the Attacknids were perfectly coordinated in their strikes against the rabbits, appearing to be controlled by a single intelligence.
However, the blunt stupidity of the lizards and turtles turned out to be in the rabbits’ advantage. Their guns were not exactly fitted for accuracy, and as the rabbits flew in front of them, they could only pull the trigger and hope they hit something. This was often a big mistake, as the Attacknids that they hit would immediately turn on them, and riddle them full of holes. This, in turn, allowed the attackers time to get behind the Attacknids, and deal them some serious damage while not dealing with their business end.
Finally, the balance of the battle tilted in their favour as Acid hit an Attacknid right between the eyes, causing its whole head to explode in a shower of sparks and debris. Acid, taken aback by the sudden defeat of the robotic spider, jumped back, colliding with a group of lizards. They went down in a pile of scales and fur, and Acid lashed out with Coppertop’s blaster, laying a few lizards low with mighty smashes with the blunt butt of the gun.
Weaving among the bedazzled lizards, throwing a punch once and catching a turtle in the face, he made his way over to Coppertop, who was skilfully dancing in front of her Attacknid’s gun, pouncing in close enough to lay a ringing blow off of its armour, then dashing back again. There were several long dents in its armour, and it looked like it had taken quite a beating from Shale; however, it seemed unfazed by the numerous hits it had taken.
Coppertop hardly even saw Acid before he was straddled on the Attacknid’s back, and the single missile on its launcher was flung across the room, exploding into the massed ranks of scaly soldiers. Acid immediately began to hammer down on the Attacknid’s small, round head, and the blows raining down upon the weak appendage eventually took their toll as the head broke off of the main body. Acid leaped away as it collapsed and exploded.
Acid wiped a hand across his brow, mock wiping sweat off of his forehead, as Coppertop approached him. “Not bad, Acid, not bad.”
Acid nodded. “Thanks. What say we go help Lori and Canadian dismantle those other two electronic eyesores?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The remaining two Attacknids were quickly dispatched as the odds were doubled against them. Coppertop impaled one with her sword as Lori knocked its head off with her fearsome spinkick, and Canadian and Acid both drilled the other one, from opposite sides, with blaster bullets, which quickly drove through its armour and into its inner workings. After that, the remaining reptiles were no hard task to clean up.
Acid handed Coppertop’s gun back to her, handle-first, with an impressive flip in the palm. “Thanks for the weaponry. I think I owe you one.”
“Nah, forget it. It was enough to see you on that thing’s back, bashing away on its head and screaming at the top of your lungs. I’m going to remember that for a long time.” She grinned.
“Yeah, so am I. Good times,” he chuckled.
As they looked around the suddenly empty main cavern, they realized that either Devan had run out of cronies to throw at them, or he was waiting for them to spring a trap. Knowing the infamous turtle mastermind, it was more than likely the latter.
They moved slowly and cautiously through the chamber, their eyes scanning for any signs of an imminent ambush, a hidden trap, or anything of the sort. Nothing obvious sprang out at them from the dark stone walls; then again, Devan was not one for laying obvious traps, so they had to keep their eyes open for anything that looked out of the ordinary. They edged down the cavernous hallway as a group, and their eyes scrutinized every detail of their surroundings.
There was a foreboding presence around them, and Acid didn’t like it. “Is it just me, or do you guys feel something… wrong here?”
They stopped, and Lori looked around anxiously. After a short while, she lowered her head, and shuddered slightly, as if a cold breeze had just struck her. “You’re right. I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something here that’s not kosher.”
Canadian caught a glimpse of what looked like a silver flash, in one of the shadowy corners of the cavern, but he couldn’t make out what it was. He kept it in mind for the moment, and where he had seen it, so that he could tell the others. However, for the moment, the coldness of the cavern seemed to begin to perturb them, slowing them down. Eventually, they came to a halt, shivering like they were in a freezer.
Canadian complained vehemently. “Jeez, can’t that slimy-beaked fanatical freak keep the thermostat a bit higher? It’s like we’re walking through an icebox here!”
Coppertop shivered again. “Well, he is cold-blooded, so I doubt it really matters to him what the temperature is. But you’re right, it’s definitely not comfortable in here. I feel like my fur’s going to freeze up.”
Lori was less quiet about her sneezing, but she was polite enough to turn her head away before doing so. “What are we looking for, anyway?”
“Us?”
They looked upwards as three figures dropped from the ceiling above them. All three were rabbits, and easily recognizable.
One was the super-strong assailant who had assaulted the Jackrabbits on their first journey to Mount Whitespire. He still had markings in the fur on his right arm from the immense weight of the Hercules weapon that he had used against the trio.
The other two were none other than Jazz and Spaz Jackrabbit.
Jazz grinned insolently at Lori. “Oh, don’t look so stunned, dear sister. You saw this coming.”
Lori closed and opened her mouth again in astonishment. Jazz had suddenly acquired the bulk of grown muscles; not huge sets, but enough to demonstrate that he was much stronger than he had been before his capture. Spaz, on the other hand, was still wiry, but he was definitely taller than he was when Lori knew him.
Spaz chuckled, and looked to Jazz. “I don’t think our sister knows who we are anymore. Then again, she never did catch on quickly to anything…”
Coppertop snarled at them, defending her friend’s dignity, but said nothing. She wasn’t sure what to say to the two rabbits who she thought would have been able to escape Devan’s experiments without a scratch.
Vaper snarled back. “Nothing to say? Then prepare to die in the name of Lord Devan Shell!”
Before any of the four could react, the Turbulents already had their blasters out, and they had to scramble in a mad retreat as the guns blazed…

10000 characters exactly.

Sorry for the massive delay. I meant to have this finished a long time ago, like early June, but then there was finals. Thankfully that's over now, so I might be getting a bit more work done on both SoT and E:JF within the next two months, if my new job doesn't take up all of my time.

Anyway, enjoy.

yAy

mrmflsh. You forgot 2 things in that chapter:

1: Acid has a silver blaster similar to Jazz's, along with his rocket launcher.
2: Turtles are cold blooded, yes, but heat DOES effect cold blooded animals. If Devan wanted a different tempeture in there, he would heat it UP, rather than tone it DOWN, since cold blooded animals are more active in heat than in cold. That's why you'll see things like snakes and turtles basking in the sun, they're warming up their blood to gain energy.

Originally posted by acid
yAy

mrmflsh. You forgot 2 things in that chapter:

1: Acid has a silver blaster similar to Jazz's, along with his rocket launcher.
2: Turtles are cold blooded, yes, but heat DOES effect cold blooded animals. If Devan wanted a different tempeture in there, he would heat it UP, rather than tone it DOWN, since cold blooded animals are more active in heat than in cold. That's why you'll see things like snakes and turtles basking in the sun, they're warming up their blood to gain energy.

1. Acid forgot it. Well, not as much forgot as he figured he was only going to need his rocket launcher for the mission. And who would blame him? Blowing up a mountain with nuclear missiles is great fun!

2. It's not the mountain that's cold; it's something that has to do with the Turbulents. I'll explain it later, but I can tell you that this means that while the advancing four rabbits are cold, they're about the only ones who are.

Oooh. *shiverz*

Frostfire would be good in cold climates ... yer using Shale though, right?

Darth Vaper!

Chapter 10: Desperate Measures

Lori was the first to react, and she was already moving even as the first shots were fired. She quickly ducked under the gunfire, and swung low with her leg, aiming for Jazz’s ankles. However, her brother was one step ahead of her, and he leapt into the air high enough to clear Lori’s whole body, let alone her foot. He came down with such force that if he had landed on Lori’s leg, she would have been crippled for the rest of her life.
Coppertop went after Spaz. Instead of going under the hail of white-hot bullets, like Lori, she went over, and grabbed Spaz’s shoulders to flip herself over his head, in a difficult but effective maneuver she had used once before. It put her behind Spaz, perched on his back, with her hands gripping his shoulders and her feet on the backs of his calves.
However, Spaz was much quicker than he looked. By clinging to his back the way she did, Coppertop put her head directly behind Spaz’s, which proved to be a costly mistake. Without warning, he suddenly lunged upward, butting her in the face with his head. There was a sharp crack as the mercenary’s nose was jammed backwards; thankfully, her nose bone was not broken in two by the vicious headbutt, nor did it reach her suddenly vulnerable brain. However, she was forced to let go of his shoulders as the blood began to flow from her nostrils. She fell heavily on her back, one hand clamped over her nose to stifle the bleeding, as Spaz turned to face her. She had to dodge out of the way as he sent a rain of bullets at her.
Canadian and Acid, the latter of whom had discreetly borrowed Coppertop’s blaster again on the arrival of the Turbulents, both leveled their weapons at the third rabbit, Vaper, and pulled their respective triggers. The grey rabbit smirked as the bullets flew from the barrels of their guns at a speed that no normal rabbit would have been able to dodge.
However, it had been repeatedly established that Vaper was no longer normal, in any respect.
Vaper suddenly disappeared from view as the bullets approached, and re-appeared at point blank behind the duo. He swung an overly forceful right hook at Acid’s head, and knocked him askance even from the only glancing blow that landed; if the attack had been accurate he would have been dead before he hit the ground. As it was, Acid staggered a few feet, reeling from the blow, and Canadian was left to deal with him.
The steadfast rabbit dropped to a crouch as the blow was thrown, and lashed out quickly with one of his long legs. It caught Vaper off-guard, but he didn’t recoil far from the strike; the strong kick only moved the unyielding Turbulent an inch backward. Instead, Canadian was the one who was stopped short, and he shivered as a shockwave of painful, freezing cold rolled up his leg. Before he could react, Vaper smashed an elbow to the small of his back, flattening him completely, and nearly paralyzing him on the spot.
Lori was fighting with all she had against Jazz, but she simply could not match his brutal fighting style; he fought to kill, and Lori simply could not find the want inside her to kill her brother. Coppertop was almost incapacitated by a completely unexpected headbutt, and her blood marked the stone floor as she frantically evaded the blasts from Spaz’s gun. Canadian had been temporarily immobilized by the fierce blow to his back, and his legs tingled with a painful numbness as he tried to move them. Acid was the only one who was not occupied with one of the three Turbulents, nor seriously injured by them, and he had both his rocket launcher and Coppertop’s blaster at hand.
Vaper turned his attention to Acid as he called out to Coppertop, standing up slowly. She caught the blaster he threw to her, with a slight stumbling uncertainty that was unusual for the mercenary’s imperturbable nature; however, she used it with the matchless, flawless proficiency that only she could muster, and rapidly switched from defense to offense against Spaz.
Acid stood to his full height, with an almost maniacal look in his eyes as he glared angrily at Vaper. He lifted his red rocket launcher onto his shoulder, pointing it unwaveringly at the gray rabbit, and the Turbulent saw the silvery glint of the powerful rocket loaded deep inside its barrel.
Lori gasped as Acid propped his rocket launcher onto his shoulder. If he set off one of his warheads in the tight confines of this cavern, he wouldn’t only kill himself, but everyone else as well. She had to do something to stop him… but what?
Thinking quickly, she launched a powerful flipkick at Jazz. It came when he wasn’t expecting it, and her foot connected with his chin. The sheer force of the kick sent him flying straight up, and his neck made a sickening crack as he slammed headfirst into the solid rock ceiling of the cavern, before he collapsed, with a dull thud, to the ground.
Canadian had also glimpsed Acid preparing his unduly destructive weapon, and forced his legs to work as he stood up. The effects of Vaper’s strike were beginning to wear off, and the tingling feeling, while still present, was not as painful. He only just made it to a standing position before Acid’s rage took over.
Acid roared as the rocket ignited within the barrel of the rocket launcher, and the combined, deafening sound stopped Coppertop and Spaz dead in their tracks. The distraction gave Lori time to dash headlong at Coppertop, and she half-tackled the mercenary around the waist, carrying her as far as she could in the fraction of a second she had before the rocket detonated.
The explosion hit like lightning. Lori, Coppertop, and Canadian were literally thrown along the cavernous tunnel as the massive shockwave blasted the rocky walls to dust, and the normally dark, gloomy cave lit up like daylight as the explosion erupted. Canadian landed lightly, dropping into a quick roll as he touched down, and Lori hit the ground running, allowing Coppertop from her grip so that they could both run as fast as their legs could possibly carry them.
At long last, the roaring faded to silence. The explosion had run its course… but at what cost? Acid had taken his own life in order to save them, and now, if they weren’t able to defeat Devan, his valiant sacrifice would be for naught. Coppertop took two steps back in the direction they had just come from, searching for any sign of life.
There was a weak, painful cough from a short distance away, and Coppertop strained her eyes to see through the smoke that clogged the passageway. The choking cloud was almost opaque, and it burned and stung her eyes as she squinted into it, but she refused to give up on Acid. She was soon rewarded as the screen of smoke lifted, and she was able to see the charred form of the green-furred rabbit lying on the rocky floor, with his red rocket launcher on top of his broken body.
Acid’s normally emerald-toned fur was blemished with patches of black and gray, and there were cuts and bruises all over his body from his fall against the rough stone floor. His nose and mouth were both bleeding copiously, and his arduous coughing sounded like it was slowly ripping his throat apart. Coppertop carefully made her way to him, and knelt beside the injured rabbit, holding his head in her hands.
“Acid…” She hesitated, unsure of what to say. “I… can’t believe you did that…”
Acid coughed, and grinned. “Well, I had to save the rest of you, I guess.”
Coppertop smiled back at him, as Lori and Canadian approached. She wasn’t often lost for words, but this was one of the rare times when she was. “Thank you... You’ll be okay, we’ll get you back to Carrotus City, and the doctors will…”
“I’m fine, Copper. I don’t need to go back.” Acid’s voice was surprisingly clear, despite the guttural coughs taking their toll on his throat. He wiped his jaw with his hand, and stared at the red smear tingeing the fur on the back of his hand.
Coppertop was taken aback. Here was Acid, brutally wounded, almost dead from the injuries he had, and yet still willing to press onward. There was a valour inside him that she had no idea he had, and she smiled as she pulled his heavy rocket launcher off of him, then offered a hand to help him up.
As Acid slowly rose, Lori posed a question. “Where are Jazz and Spaz? What happened to them?”
Acid twitched, half in pain, half in reaction to Lori’s inquiry. “Well, y’see… they kinda didn’t escape the blast, per se…”
Suddenly, she had him by the neck, and he found himself kicking helplessly as she held him off the ground by the throat. “What do you mean, they didn’t escape the blast? Where are they?!”
Acid struggled against Lori’s grip, gasping as she tightened her hold on his neck. “Urk… the other… side of… the rocket… knocked clear… out cold…”
His eyes rolled back in his head as he began to run out of air, and it took both Canadian’s and Coppertop’s combined strength to pry open Lori’s grip on Acid’s throat. He dropped to the ground, holding his neck and gulping down air thankfully.
Lori was over to where Acid had indicated in a flash, and, to her relief, her brothers lay on the stone ground, side by side and mercifully unconscious. She couldn’t help but notice, to her credit, that their fur colours had, at last, returned to normal; her brothers had finally been restored, in both body and mind, to who they had used to be.
Before long, both of the Jackrabbit brothers were awake again, seemingly unaffected by their Turbulence save for being very cold. They were already armed with the weapons they had taken from Devan’s armoury, and were more than willing to take Devan apart for what he had put them through.
With the Jackrabbits reunited, and three more adept warriors on their side, they formed a fighting force that no reptilian legion could match. All that was left was to find Devan, bring his reign of terror to a dead halt, and put an end to the Turbulence Machine once and for all…

I know what you're thinking... "Took you long enough, you lazy (-)(-)..."

Anyway. I have nothing really interesting to say here.

Enjoy the chapter and stuffs.

eee

so, my rockets are suddenly anti-turbulent? Wheeeeee *blows up Vaper*

Not quite. Vaper, being the most skilled with his Turbulence, telephased out before the blast hit him. Jazz and Spaz, however, did not get out fast enough, and they were hit by the RaCO blast, which somehow neutralized their respective Turbulences.

There's a big long scientific theory on this stuff. I don't know anything about it. ><

*winces*
That's GOTTA hurt ...
Another awesome chappie and stuff, 4I *worships*

Just fixed a plothole. Apparently, no one noticed it.

*boots the topic back up to the top*

We were too busy with our characters' injuries

I have my newest chapter ready, but I'm not going to post it until vBulletin gets its act together. 9500 characters is not more than 10000, and I've spent the last half hour trimming bits and pieces out of the chapter to try to get it within vB's imaginary limit.

There. I've said my piece.

Originally Posted by 4I Falcon

9500 characters is not more than 10000, and I've spent the last half hour trimming bits and pieces out of the chapter to try to get it within vB's imaginary limit

Trimming? Why not just cut it in two and post twice?

Because I'm a Jew. I like to get the most out of everything. If vB says the limit is 10000 characters, I bloody well better be able to fit 10000 characters in.

EDIT: It doesn't look like I have much of a choice, so I'll do it your way.

Chapter 11: The Dark Side of Proteus

“Milord.”
Devan turned around, with a scowl on his face, as the gray-furred Vaper appeared behind him. “Do you have anything to tell me?”
“The Jackrabbit girl and her friends managed to evade us again, and the Attacknids have been destroyed. Not only that, but the Jackrabbit brothers have—”
“Do you have anything to tell me that I actually want to hear?!” Devan’s sudden outburst caused Vaper to fall silent, and after a few seconds of awkward silence Devan turned around, sighing loudly and throwing his hands into the air. “Why is it that I’m consistently surrounded by incompetent lackeys? Why can’t I trust any of my minions to do something properly, just for once?!”
Vaper said nothing, for fear of having Devan’s rant directed solely at him. Unfortunately, his silence did nothing better for him, as Devan turned around to focus his wrath on the now lone Turbulent.
“You! You’re supposed to be my ultimate soldier! I made you what you are! At least live up to your strength! I need you to be able to stand up to anything those blasted Jackrabbits throw at you! If you fail, I fail, don’t you understand?!”
Vaper faltered. “Yes, milord, but—”
“But nothing! I gave you your power to destroy the Jackrabbits, now do it!”
Vaper sighed, and bowed to his master. “As you wish, milord.”
Then he was gone.

Vaper was almost indistinguishable from the shadows around him as he stood to one side of the cavern. His already Turbulent mind was in a turmoil, trying to figure out what needed to be done to regain the trust and respect of his Lord.
It was obvious that the Jackrabbits, along with their friends, would have to die to please Devan… but would that be enough to prove to the mad mastermind that he was indeed the ultimate soldier that he was expected to be?
No. He had to do something different. Something completely unexpected. Something that would strike a blow so utterly vicious into the heart of rabbit-kind that it would be fully impossible for their species to recover, and then it would be no hard task for Devan to crush them with one fell swoop and lay ruin to this accursed planet.
He snickered, as he recalled the posse of six rabbits fighting their way into the mountain. Who did they think they were, believing that they could defeat him? They didn’t stand a chance against him… how could he possibly lose? He was at least as strong as all six of them put together, and swifter than the best of them. They couldn’t even compare.
He fell silent again when he heard voices from further down the cavernous passageway. He grinned, his red eyes glinting evilly, and then sank into the shadows.

“Proteus.”
A mean-looking, well-built turtle stepped forward, and gazed unblinkingly at a spot just above the back of Devan’s head. “Yes, sir?”
“How would you like to be my first Turbulent Tuf Turtle?”
Proteus, trained not to be surprised by anything, was taken aback. “Wh… me?”
Devan turned around slowly, his eyes creased into an irritated glare. “No. I meant the Proteus behind you, you dolt.”
The bespectacled turtle covered his face with his palm, sighing loudly in exasperation, as Proteus looked about behind him for the other Proteus, who Devan was apparently talking to. “I meant you, you f— Never mind. I’ll find someone less dense to fill the position. Maybe Brax will do.”
Proteus turned around, his eyes wide. “N-No, sir, I’m un-dense enough! I promise!”
Devan looked Proteus over. “Well, you definitely don’t have the brains for it, but you’re the strongest turtle I have to work with… save for that mutinous fool Buster, of course…”
“Yeah! I’m better than that Buster, or any rabbit could be, sir, take my word for it! I’ll get rid of them, make you proud! Please, sir, make me a Turbulent!”
Devan ignored Proteus’ begging, as he pondered the possibilities of a Tuf Turbulent. Unbelievable strength… maybe not the speed of a rabbit, but definitely the strength. And his Tuf Turtles were already very strong… what if the power they held to start with was amplified to the standards of Turbulence? Besides, if worse came to worst, there was always his loyal Vaper to come to Proteus’ aid, to make up for the turtle’s obvious lack of swiftness. He noticed that, in the midst of his thoughts, Proteus had fallen silent, awaiting the decision of his superior.
Finally, after a few moments, Devan looked back up to Proteus again, giving him a second look-over. The stolid Tuf Turtle couldn’t help the smile crossing his lips as Devan nodded in satisfaction. “You’ll do. Follow me.”
Proteus grinned happily as Devan led him off to the secretive cavern that housed the insidious Turbulence Machine.

The bespectacled mastermind led his surordinate through the massive hole that the Machine had left in the cavern wall, just before he had trapped the Jackrabbits inside. Proteus’ eyes were immediately drawn to the hulking white turret, on its tank-treaded base, alone in the middle of the enormous chamber. He stared at it, wide-eyed in silent awe, as Tokivi, the reptilian operator of the Machine, skittered past the two turtles, and took his place at the controls of the turret.
Devan threw an arm about Proteus’ shoulders, in a gesture the latter almost mistook as friendship. “Well, my good, loyal Proteus, are you ready to have power and strength beyond your wildest dreams bestowed upon your body and mind?”
Proteus sneered. “I’m ready, sir.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Tokivi nodded to Devan, then glanced at Proteus. “Move in front of the turret, about ten meters out. I don’t have any more guided missiles to spare, so I want to make this as, pardon the pun, straightforward as possible.”
Proteus blinked a few times, then followed orders, moving to the spot Tokivi had indicated. There were a few noises, mainly assorted beeps from the lizard’s direction, and then a loud whir, followed by a click, as the barrel of the turret leveled itself out, pointing directly at Proteus’ midsection.
The solid turtle felt a shudder of apprehension course through his body. What if it didn’t work? What if, instead of making him super strong, it turned him into a vegetable?
No. Nothing was going to go wrong. He was going to be the next elite soldier of the Turbulent sect of Devan’s army. If it worked on Vaper, what reason was there for it to fail on him? Still, another shiver of anxiety rolled down his body, and he almost began to have second thoughts.
Devan, who had moved beside Tokivi on the turret platform, noticed Proteus quivering. He snickered. “Is my Turbulent-to-be getting cold feet? What’s wrong out there, Proteus?”
Proteus shook his head, and glanced up at Devan and Tokivi. “Nothing, sir. I’m as ready as ever.”
“Good.”
With that, the red trigger button was pressed deep into the turret’s console, with Devan’s hand upon it.
The red rocket, lodged inside the long barrel of the Turbulence Machine, let out a monstrous roar as it ignited, and the entire turret bucked as the crimson torpedo propelled itself along the barrel’s length. It charged, like a mad bull, out of the mouth of the turret, and the outer shell quickly disintegrated, revealing the dark, amorphous mass within. Proteus tightly closed his eyes in fear as the malicious cloud approached.
The last thing Proteus felt was a blast of freezing cold, and then he blacked out.

Devan wondered why he hadn’t thought of this earlier. A Turbulent Tuf Turtle would be an excellent – no, beyond excellent… more like perfect – addition to his forces, even more so than the rabbit Vaper. While his first Turbulent was sleek, fast, and dangerous, he was still a rabbit. Devan simply did not trust rabbits, whether they were Turbulent or not.
Now, with Proteus joining the ranks, albeit limited, of the Turbulents, Devan’s anxiety could finally be allayed. Proteus was already loyal to him, and if the process of Turbulence could make even the most hateful of rabbits a trustworthy servant…
Meanwhile, Proteus had been infused with the dark energy, released from its prison within the blood-red missile to embed itself into the turtle’s body. The sound of his scream of painful shock could only be heard for a split second, before he was silenced by the dark, glass-like bubble that formed around his body. Dark waves rolled down the surface of the invisible sphere as it lifted into the air, taking Proteus with it.
The turtle within the sphere silently screamed in fear and agony as the effects of Turbulence transformed him. Bolts of dark electricity arced across, around, and through the bubble, and Proteus spasmed violently every time one of the black bolts cut through him. A thick arc surged out from Proteus’ body, and struck the lizard Tokivi square in the chest, sending the reptilian operator sprawling over the back of the turret, and to the ground behind it with a thud.
A few seconds later, the sphere shattered, dropping Proteus to the ground. As all of the Turbulents had done before him, he landed neatly on the ground on one knee as the shards of the sphere fell around him. His head was bowed, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was low and regular. He seemed to be completely at ease.
Devan gasped out loud. Never before had he seen such a radical change in one of his minions, from any of his other experimental projects. Proteus’ shell and scales, which had been respectively purple and bright green in colour, had turned a glinting silver, and he was noticably larger than he had been before. To top it all off, there was a single, curved blade attached to him, up the length of his shell.
Proteus stood up slowly, and Devan couldn’t help but admire his intimidating outward appearance as he brought himself to his feet. His eyes, glowing red embers floating in his otherwise dark eye sockets, opened to observe his master’s expression.
Devan opened his mouth to say something, but Proteus beat him to it, and the silver turtle’s voice was deep, harsh, and menacing. “It is done. I am ready to kill.”
Devan sneered, and pointed to the hole where they had entered only a few minutes ago. “You can start with the Jackrabbits, then. Now get to it!”
Proteus needed no further encouragement, and he quickly left the cavern, on the hunt for the unsuspecting rabbits…

Derby: Filter bypass removal.

Derby doesn't appear to have been paying attention.

Originally Posted by 4I Falcon

• Just in case anyone was wondering, it stands for Direct Adrenal, Musculoskeletal, and Neural Energies Disruptor. Took me a long time to come up with that one, but I did it. ^_^

That's supposed to be there. I don't put "bypass filters" around, especially in my stories, just to bug you, Derby. I have purposes for them.

So, if you don't mind, stop messing around with my posts.

Derby: Previous quotation edit.

Ooh, nice chappie ... a new Turbulent? Nasty.

Read everything...at last!

It's amazing, I had fun with this, especially with "giant donut". LOL. I like the plot, it's very creative and smart and the additional rabbits are also funny ^_^

Only one tiny correction: 25 planets? I thought 3 times 6 minus two is 16, not 25....(since Megairbase and Battleships aren't planets).

Consider me your faithful reader from now on.


BTW, what's a filter bypass?

It means he used an acronym that the filter didn't catch, so Derby got it instead.

...now that I'm back yet again, I can finally say w00t. O.o;;

Very awesome, Falc.

You left!?

Originally Posted by Coppertop

You left!?

I can tell she was missed.

Yeah, anyway, this story... I still plan on reading it someday. I just seem to have lost my glasses, and without them reading large blocks of text gives me a headache. And I just bought $350 worth of software over the internet and I want to try it out.

Glad to see people remembered that this thread exists.

I know what you're thinking. Once again, it's about fergin' time, Falcon, where have you been?!

Once again, vB's word count is being a (insert various censored words here), so I'm going to have to go into explode-o-vision.

Enjoy.

Chapter 12: Encounter

The next time Vaper showed up to confront the rabbits, they were more readied for a sudden ambush than he had expected. He had vastly underestimated the combined strength of six battle-ready rabbits, let alone six battle-ready rabbits in a group, and as a result he had only narrowly escaped them with his life.
His first target was Iam Canadian, tagging along at the back of the group and not paying attention to anything in particular. His mind was elsewhere from time to time, which kept it from being on the matter at hand. Then Vaper got him.
All the other rabbits heard was a strangled noise, and then a loud snap, as Vaper caught Canadian in a tight headlock and jammed his head to one side, cracking his neck and immediately rendering the crimson rabbit unconscious. Lori, having been closest to Canadian at that point, had already pulled a quick about-face as he fell to the ground. Jazz’s blaster was pointing at the Turbulent’s head, and from less than three feet away it was highly unlikely, if not impossible, to miss.
But she didn’t even get a chance to pull the trigger. With his signature supernatural speed, he darted forward, dropping to his back, and his foot drove into her ankle, pushing her leg backwards and knocking her off balance. Faster than she could steady herself, his other foot came up, and planted itself squarely in her midriff, just underneath her ribcage.
Lori gasped in surprise, coughing once to try to catch her breath, when the Turbulent rabbit dealt the finishing blow. He kicked up again with his other foot, and caught Lori under the chin, forcing her head to snap backwards with an audible crack, not dissimilar to the sound Canadian’s neck made. The kick lifted her a few feet off the ground, and her body arced backwards through the air before she fell back to the ground, unconscious long before she hit the floor.
Meanwhile, the force from Vaper’s upward kick flipped him completely over. He rolled backwards over one shoulder, and landed on his feet, straightening up almost instantly. The smirk on his face was one of triumphant superiority.
However, the other rabbits were not just standing by, watching. As soon as Vaper got to his feet, Coppertop and Acid were both on him, tackling him to the floor again. Jazz and Spaz had their guns ready, and they opened fire wherever they saw an opportunity.
Coppertop sat on Vaper’s chest, pinning him to the ground with her weight, and smashed him solidly across the face with her blaster, fueled by the anger she felt after watching him incapacitate two of her comrades-in-arms. She smiled grimly at the sight of the blood spraying out of his nose onto the floor, and was about to lay another hit to his face with her blaster, but his hand was suddenly around her wrist, halting its progress. Within the next split second, he punched her in the face with his free hand, damaging the mercenary’s already injured nose further.
Coppertop’s firm seat on Vaper’s chest was lost as she recoiled in shock and pain, giving the Turbulent the time to pull his legs out from underneath her, and thrust them squarely into her chest, sending her backwards into Acid. However, the green-furred rabbit was quicker than Vaper had expected; as he caught Coppertop, stopping her fall with his body, his hand wrapped around her fist, pulling her trigger finger with his own. The bullet missed Vaper’s head by less than an inch.
Jazz and Spaz took over as Acid hauled Coppertop’s body off of Vaper. The mercenary’s hand was once again clamped over her nose to try to stifle the bleeding, and she fired a few erratic shots at Vaper. She was obviously groggy from the blow to the face, and with the strength that the Turbulent put into the punch, Acid could only hope that her brain was unscathed. Signs of that were few at best; Coppertop’s legs didn’t appear to be working properly, and Acid had to hold her upright, or else she’d simply collapse. She finally gave up trying to hit Vaper with the unsteady aim she had left, and clung to Acid as he carried her away.
The sounds of the Jackrabbit brothers’ respective weaponry rang out from behind him as Acid rested Coppertop’s half-limp form against the wall, and he wasted no time in checking her over. Pressing two fingers to the side of her neck, he was relieved to find that her pulse, while weak, was steady; judging by her inability to use her legs, and the weakness in her arms, he guessed that her head had been jolted pretty hard, but the precious contents within was not damaged save for being bumped about something fearful.
Now that his anxiety had been partially sated, Acid moved back a few inches, as if to allow the injured mercenary before him some room to breathe, and looked her over once more. The blood had stopped flowing, and there was a ring of crimsoned fur around her nose. She appeared to be slowly recovering from the kick to her chest, which had stolen the breath from her earlier.
Coppertop looked up at him, and it seemed like she was putting all her energy into not succumbing to unconsciousness. “Acid… am I dead?”
“Far from it, Copper,” Acid said quietly.
“I feel so tired…”
“Rest, then. We’ll take care of…”
Here, Acid realized that he didn’t know what to call the enemy that had just nearly killed her. A quick glance in her direction proved that it didn’t matter anyway; all semblance of consciousness had left her, and she slumped limply against the stone wall. Acid’s mind immediately went into overdrive, and he checked her pulse again, worry stamped on his face. Relief washed over him like a wave as he felt her heart still beating silently.

(continued...)

Jazz’s voice snapped him back to reality. “Acid! Help!”
Acid spun around, once again borrowing the unconscious Coppertop’s blaster for his own use. Vaper had sent Spaz reeling with a well-placed knee, and the red rabbit was a few feet away, doubled over and clutching his midriff as he coughed in pain. Now, the Turbulent was advancing on Jazz, whose weapon battery had finally run out, and the green-furred hero was backing away from Vaper.
“‘Ey! Greyscale!” Acid called out. It wasn’t enough to get Vaper’s attention, or to get him to turn his attention away from Jazz, so Acid had to resort to plan B. Firing two shots at the Turbulent’s head, he took a few running strides forward, and leapt into the air, preparing to bring the blaster in his hands crashing down on Vaper’s skull.
As he had expected, Vaper turned around, and his hand came up to wrap around Acid’s wrist, stopping the descent of the blaster. However, the split-second that he had to take to stop Acid’s attack was enough time for Jazz to ready one of his own, and the butt of his laser blaster cracked soundly against the back of Vaper’s head.
The grey-furred rabbit yowled in pain, and turned around again to hurl Acid at Jazz. Acid managed to lay an awkward kick to Vaper’s ribcage before he was thrown, and the two green-furred rabbits went down in a heap as the Turbulent took the opportunity to make his getaway.
However, Iam Canadian had regained his consciousness less than a minute before, and was standing nearby, watching the battle from a short distance away. He quickly sidestepped as Vaper came at him, and threw an arm around his neck in a killer headlock as he rushed by.
Suddenly finding himself immobilized by this rabbit that he had incapacitated himself, Vaper instinctively threw a fist at Canadian’s torso, hoping to knock the wind out of him. The punch was too low, and he only succeeded in hitting Canadian’s waist. He was about to try again when the red rabbit suddenly jerked sideways, and there was a sharp snap, followed by another pained yelp from Vaper, as Canadian violently cracked the Turbulent’s neck, exacting his vengeance against the grey rabbit by viciously turning the tables against him.
Shaking off the intense feeling of dizziness that suddenly came over him, Vaper wrapped his arms around Canadian’s midsection, and strained every muscle in his body as he lifted the red rabbit off his feet. Struggling against the headlock Canadian still kept on him, he planted one foot forward, and sprung up and back, flipping Canadian over his head as he fell backward.
The stolid Canadian slammed into the ground on his back, and his scream of agony lodged in his throat as his mouth flew open in pain and shock. Vaper wrenched open the headlock, sprung to his feet, and made himself scarce, dashing away down the corridor.
Acid quickly made his way over to Canadian as Jazz went to check on his sister, and extended a hand to help him up. “You okay? That was a nice flip you took.”
Canadian groaned as Acid pulled him to his feet. “Yeah, I’m – ow – fine.”
Acid grinned. “Glad to hear you’re ow-fine.”
Jazz was able to bring Lori round, and despite a sore neck from the brutal kick Vaper had delivered, she appeared to be fine. Coppertop was still out like a light, and Acid was compelled to sate his anxiety by checking her pulse again. To his credit, she was still alive, and safely so.
Acid stood up, and made his way back to the others. Lori glanced over at the unconscious mercenary as he approached, and she was obviously uneasy. “Is she… okay?”
Acid nodded. “Vaper gave her a few bad hits, but she’ll pull through. If she was anyone less than who she is, she’d be dead.”
Lori smiled. “She’s lucky she is who she is, then. Obviously, Coppertop’s a lot better off alive than dead. So… what now?”
Acid was about to say something, when a deep, harsh voice interrupted him. “Dun’ think you little pests are going anywhere. Not while I’m still standing.”
All five of them turned toward the source of the voice. They had all been generally sure that they were alone in the darkened corridor since Vaper had made his inglorious exit.
There, standing a short way the corridor and wearing a smug grin on his face, was the only creature that was as devastating, if not more so, than the ruinous Vaper.
Proteus had found them.

I would have had this chapter done a lot earlier than I did, but I'm currently failing two classes for you guys, so if you don't like this chapter I will be forced to kill you.

What do you mean, not like this chapter? This is great stuff! And you also know how to use suspense, I see... >_<

I guess I'd better write another chapter of T4W, even though I just did. Possibly, together we can overthrow Radium's reign over the WT.

4I, i finally go around to reading this, and i must say,

WELL DONE, CHUM.

yup, that is all i have to/am going to say in this thread

now on with more reading.

btw, you are failing 2 classes just for us?

i feel special now.

Oh I am SO loved.
You have a silent fan of this story though.
Didn't they ban you, Vash? *I'm so clueless it's not even funny*

Originally Posted by acid

Possibly, together we can overthrow Radium's reign over the WT.

You'll never defeat me!

Wow! Know what? I am not staying up until 4 AM for just anything, so this is special. This chapter has been really tough, but it's still my favorite story here

And it encourages me a lot, maybe I'll start writing a story of my own soon.

OMG OW *reels*

Heh, awesome stuff, 4I, I don't think I've ever written a battle that takes two posts to put up.

@Hardtana: write!

w00t story
i think this is the story i like most in this forum
i keep on thinking about it, "what could happen next"

-Scatman XsD a.k.a Alex