Vaudevillain

Psy-Ops brought his group past the edge of Haven and to the outskirts where they last saw the floating island. The team trekked through the short grasses and wild plants, arriving at a small rocky beach. A road wrapped around the edge of the landscape, leading back into the city.

"This is the place," Psy-Ops said.

"Looks like we're too late," Rampart commented.

"I can pick up the trail if we find something they used," Psy-Ops said. He slid down one of the rocks, landing on the sand below. "Come on. We still have time."

Shizuka kicked at a small rock and turned away, "Nah. I don't wanna do the boring stuff. You guys go searching. I'm going to run around a bit."

Rampart shooed a hand, "Get going then."

"Wow, so harsh, Ram-Stein."

The others didn't bother to comment. They were starting to learn Shizuka only cared about one thing, personal enjoyment.

With her last comment sitting in the air, Shizuka made a sign and vanished in a puff of smoke. Psy-Ops caught her moving in the distance, bolting down the road in a full sprint.

"She listens to Dextra," Rampart said. "And it isn't like she's done anything to us that wasn't against the rules."

"She's annoying, though," Yuppie complained. He crossed his arms as he strolled across the beach.

"There's a lot of annoying players in games," Rampart countered as he scanned the beach. "A lot of times, it's better to ignore their antics."

"Yup is physically incapable of ignoring a girl," Fursation laughed.

Yuppie glared at his friend, "Quiet, you."

The four players scoured the beachhead for anything that might link to the enemy's mobile command base. Psy-Ops made his way over to the water's edge, his eye scanning the ground.

"It's a bit of a stretch to think anyone would leave something behind, isn't it?" Yuppie said after a minute.

"Do you have another idea?" Fursation countered.

"Can't Psy grab a fistful of sand and check it?"

Psy-Ops paused, then smacked his head. "Right. All I needed was a rock."

Embarrassed, Psy-Ops reached down into the water and grabbed a smooth pebble. Quick activation of his power brought a recording to the forefront of his vision. Psy-Ops quickly rewound the time as much as he could. He stopped once the island appeared again, depositing groups of people onto the shore and sailing away.

"It went that way," Psy-Ops pointed.

Rampart followed the player's finger, "That's the direction Shizuka went. Lucky for her, I guess."

"Let's go then," Yuppie said, activating his flight pack. "Who knows what that woman will get up to on her own."

Psy-Ops couldn't help but agree as he tossed his collected pebble back to the waters. With a jog, he caught up to Rampart, and the two made their way down the road. Fursation and Yuppie flew overhead, using their height to scout the area. After a few minutes of travel, they found signs of battle, followed by a glint of something on the water.

"I think I see it," Yuppie said. "The base is sailing away from the shore, and it looks like a group of five was dropped off."

"Should we go greet them?" Fursation asked. "I've been itching for a fight."

"Let's try to prep an ambush," Rampart said. "Get down here, you two."

Yuppie and Fursation followed Rampart's order, landing on the road.

"We're going to sprint for about a hundred feet to those shrubs," Rampart said, pointing at a small group of bushes near the road. "We'll wait for the enemy to make a move there. Can any of you shoot at long range?"

Yuppie raised a hand, "I'm probably the best since I have built-in tracking."

"Okay." Rampart pointed to Yuppie, "You're going to start the fight if they make their way away from us. The rest of us will form up behind one of my barriers, and we'll charge into them. I'm hoping your first shot catches someone off guard enough to remove them, but I don't expect it to be easy."

The group nodded, shifting in place eagerly.

"Alright, go!" Rampart commanded.

The players sprinted over to the bushes and dived in, pushing at each other to get comfortable. The five players in the distance didn't respond, none of them catching the players' mad dash.

Once everyone settled in, Rampart focused his attention on the enemy. The five players dressed in the same way, in urban military camouflage and a bulky vest on top. Thick combat boots stomped on the ground, kicking up the surrounding sand. Despite the uniformity, each enemy had a unique piece of flair about them. The player taking the lead wore clothes that were three sizes too big, and the one behind him had a hairstyle Rampart could only describe as 2000's emo. The one to the left of the leader carried what looked to be a firehose linked to a large backpack, while the one to the right wore a sleek set of armor that didn't match the others. The one in the back was the most normal, with nothing standing out besides the military outfit.

The group waited patiently, both Rampart's group and the enemy, until the enemy received something on a wristband communicator. With that, the group of five sprung into action, jogging away from Rampart.

"Crap. Yuppie!" Rampart shouted. The hero sprang to his feet, conjuring a barrier and sprinting at the enemy. Fursation and Psy-Ops followed, with the former activating the earth bear fetish on their waist. The player's body dropped to all fours, and rocky patches sprang up across his back like fungus. A second later, a stone bear clacked along the road, a veritable tank of nature.

Yuppie released a shot from his wrist gun as Rampart stood. The solid projectile flew like a hawk diving for prey, cutting the air to reach the enemy. The noise from his attack pulled the enemy's attention, and they all went into battle mode immediately. It didn't stop Yuppie's bullet from slamming right into the rear player's head, causing the man to drop to the ground. Yuppie pumped his fist in triumph at the sight.

The first to react was the enemy with emo hair, who pulled a guitar out of his inventory and started plucking.

"When I was! A small child!" the man started, plucking his guitar at the same time. Behind the player appeared a set of instruments filling out into a rock band as they played a heavy marching tune. As the man kept plucking his guitar, waves of sound pulsed out, washing over his teammates. A glow covered the five players, and Yuppie saw his target slowly stand.

Seeing the bard jump to action, Fursation roared and leaped over Rampart's barrier, landing on the ground a few feet from the road. Clods of dirt erupted from the ground and launched themselves at the enemy. While that went on, the character with the firehose turned to their hurt comrade and pulled the latch. A spray of red liquid washed over the man, visible green pluses appearing around his body.

As Fursation's attack shot forward, the man in sleek armor ran in front of everyone and punched the incoming attacks away. Seeing that, Yuppie shot into the air and released a hail of gunfire on the group. The man in baggy clothing stepped in front of his three comrades, shifting into a completely different form. Green scales wrapped around the player like a snake, and the man's entire body grew three sizes. Once Yuppie's shots reached the enemy, a green crocodile man stood before them, his scales deflecting any bullets that didn't hit straight on.

At that moment, Psy-Ops and Rampart arrived in front of the enemy. The psychic player grabbed a grenade from his inventory and tossed it under the crocman's feet. He linked his power to it as he did, just in case something happened.

Sure enough, the player Yuppie shot had recovered enough to respond to the attack. A row of guns appeared before the player, and the man wasted no time shooting the incoming grenade. The wave of bullets chipped the ground, sending the explosive bouncing over to Rampart. Psy-Ops quickly reacted by pulling his own pistol out and firing, letting his power aim the bullets. The grenade stopped between the crocman and the futuristic soldier.

The croc quickly scooped up the grenade in front of him, closing a large fist around the explosive. A small pop echoed through the air as the grenade unleashed its contents inside the player's hand. He winced in pain as shrapnel coated his palm like oil, but the player with the hose sprayed red liquid over the appendage a moment later. Before everyone's eyes, the shrapnel fell out, leaving a pristine hand behind. Small green plus signs faded from sight as it ended.

A lull appeared in the fight as the player singing went into a guitar solo. As the players stared at each other, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, Shizuka appeared in a puff of smoke, swinging a knife at the bard in the background. The man dodged the attack but skipped a beat on his song. The glow surrounding the team dimmed, and the rock band behind the player seemed to shrink.

"You know those songs are so 2000, right?" Shizuka quipped as she entered the fight.

The bard didn't respond, instead deciding to switch songs. He brought his hands together in a clap, and a heavy drum beat intertwined with a deep bass kicked in.

"She says she's not great. With chats, though I'm worse," the bard started.

"Oh my god, this is my favorite song!" Shizuka exclaimed. "If I was like a hundred!"

The ninja produced three throwing knives from her inventory and launched them at the singer. As the blades sailed through the air, the bard's music kicked in, covering his team in another glow that sped up their movements. The bard skipped out of the way of Shizuka's attack, headbanging as he continued singing. The ninja followed up by conjuring a clone and running in with it for a kick.

The crocodile man tried to intercept the attack, only for his swipe to stop midair as Rampart threw a barrier up to block it.

"Try to make this quick," the barrier hero said. "We gotta catch that command base."

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