Blooming Rose (OPEN)

With the three hidden once again, Tempo continued to listen in carefully. Ideas were rushing through her mind, but in the end she was stuck on the Gizoid. 
That's the heart of this operation, and if they can remove it... 

It didn't matter yet. How would they even take them on?!
At the very least, now they knew what the scorpion stole and why...

It was only then that Nita spoke up. As far as Tempo understood at first, she seemed to be talking to herself. However, the weird noises and actions the Wisp made in response made it fairly clear she was somehow talking to them. 
Considering this was the first time she learned about Wisps, she didn't question it.
Heck, this was the first time she saw a Gizoid, though Odell had talked a little about them before. She knew they were dangerous in the wrong hands at the very least... 
So when Nita mentioned taking them on and suggested Tempo and SX6 sit back, Tempo said low as to not let the criminals hear, "Heeeellll no, I want in on this. What's the plan? I could be a distraction- or like, how heavy is a Gizoid? Maybe I could grab it and go."

SX6 didn't know what was going on, but they didn't care, that Gizoid was going to be reprogrammed and it was going to be a bad thing, according to Nita.
At the mention of Rez, they got an idea, which started with punching themselves in the face.

And then jumping on top of the boxes.

"Hey, numbnuts!" "Get away from my friends!"

__________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile... A signal was sent to a certain lab.

"Ugh, I knew something was going to happen when we lost contact with SX6!"
"Metal Slash, are you there yet?"

"Soon, Master Slash, I have arrived in Station Square, I just have to track them down."

"Well, hurry!"

Nita was glad Tempo was willing to help. She was about to tell Tempo what she thought they should do, when SX6 climbed on top of the box, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Hey! Somebody get that... Kid?" Alexander said, trying to figure out what SX6 was. "Whatever they are, don't let them get away!"

Nita frantically tried to pull SX6 off the top of the box and back onto the floor.

"SX6, what are you doing?! You just gave away the element of surprise so now they know we're here!" Nita peeked back over the box. The four Mobian thugs were rapidly approaching.

"Ok, ok. Here's what we'll do. Tempo, try and distract them. I'll find a safe place for SX6 to hide. Pint-" The wisp quickly cut her off.

"I got it! I'll take dem all on!"

"No, I was going to say try and get the Gizoid untied. If they see we are trying to help it, it might follow our lead and escape with us."

"Aw man! I really wanted to punch dat goon in da face! But fine, whatev'ah."

"Oh Chaos, I hope this works." Nita said as she prepared to enact the plan.

SX6...
Chaos damn it...

The young hedgehog woman shot a glance at him as he shouted out and gave away their position. She didn't look too happy, with her incredibly grumpy facial expression reminiscent of a certain meme, before groaning in pure frustration "UUUGGGHHH, SX6 WHY?!"

She looks over the box as Nita frantically explained her role in the plan, and she nods in understanding.
She then jumps from the box with a running start, intending to land on one of the guys, jump away, and skate on by while shouting "Come on asshats, I'll take you all on!"

Meanwhile, an older avian was making his way down the stairs as quickly as possible, checking to make sure his revolver was loaded and looking at his... bizarre golden watch. With it, assuming nothing went wrong, he'd hopefully make a quick escape with his companion...
"For the love of Chaos, please be safe Tempo..." He whispers to himself as he comes up to the door...

SX6 was about to do something before being dragged behind the boxes, and scolded by the girls, was not a nice feeling, but it's probably a learning moment.

"S-Sorry..."

SX6 awaits further instructions.

_____________________________________

Meanwhile, Metal Slash had made it to the general area where the crew was located, noticing a sky blue owl running down some stairs.

Assuming that's where SX6 was located, as they went underground, he follows closely behind.

Nita motioned for SX6 to follow and snuck off in the opposite direction of where Tempo was heading. She looked around for a good place for SX6 to stay out of sight, before finding a shipping container with the door on the side open.

"Come on, in here." She said quietly before speed walking into the container and pulling a flashlight out of her bag and handing it to SX6. She noticed there were more crates inside, but she didn't bother to look inside them at the moment.

"Now SX6, please. Stay here, and keep quiet. I'd hate for something to happen to you, and have to explain it to your... Uhhh... Father."

After that, she rushed back out to help Pint with the Gizoid.
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When Tempo jumped out from behind the boxes, one of the masked Mobians was right in her path. They were knocked to the ground, grunting in pain when they hit the concrete floor flat on their back. They were left laying unconscious from hitting their head when they landed. Alexander tried to swing his stinger at Tempo as she skated away, but he missed by a mile, frustrating him quite a bit.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, GET HER!" He yelled at the other two. "You two spread out and cut her off!" The scorpion motioned around the facility with his hands as he opened a pocket on his belt. He pulled out what seemed to be a bullet, but it looked slightly modified. Instead of a metal bullet at the end, it looked like a tiny syringe filled with a purple liquid. He slid the modified bullet into the chamber of his revolver and took aim, preparing to fire on the intruders.
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Pint had flown over to the tied up Gizoid in all the commotion, not even detected by the thugs.

"Alrighty mistah Gizoid. I'm 'ere to help ya outta 'dis situation." Pint said as he took a look at the Gizoid. The android seemed to be unresponsive. "Huh. I dunno if dat's because ya can't speak wisp, or cause those goons did sumthin' to ya, but lemme get these ropes of 'o ya."

Pint started using his tentacle arms to try and untie the ropes, slowly undoing the knots. Nita finally arrived to help untie the knots as well. Once they got the last one untied, the Gizoid's eyes lit up as the head snapped up. The Gizoid swung an arm outward at Nita as it stood up. Nita ducked under the arm, then jumped into the air and glided backwards in surprise.

"Woah, woah! We're here to help you! It's okay. I'm Nita, and this is Pint." Nita said as she floated back down to the ground. The Gizoid stood still as it watched Nita float down. After a few seconds the Gizoid said,

=Apologies. I am Xenox. These lowlifes used an EMP to disable me, and brought me to... Wherever this place is.=

"Well we are here to get you out. Come on, this way."

=I am afraid I cannot do that Miss Nita. These crooks need to be taught a lesson.=

"I like the way you think Xenox!" Pint said as he nudged the Gizoid's shoulder joint.

=Thank you for the compliment Mr. Pint.=

'Woah. So this Gizoid knows how to speak wisp? Interesting.' Nita thought. 'But now's not the time to wonder about that Nita, focus!'

"O-Okay. Um... Pint? If you would please?"

"You got it toots!" Pint then fused with Nita, the pink markings and knuckle spikes, and the yellow eyes returning to her body.

"Let's teach these guys a lesson then."

Tempo was on the move, and hearing that two people were apparently going to try and "cut her off" confused her a little given how open the room seemed to be. As she makes a turn, keeping up her movement and speed while going around some boxes, unknowingly taking cover.

The blue owl hadn't noticed the robot yet as he opens the door somewhat aggressively and points his gun at the first unfamiliar face he found, the scorpion.
"Hands up, where's the kid?!" He almost could be confused for a police officer given the blue outfit.
Or a certain hedgehog if you're vision is bad enough.

SX6 didn't seem to like this solution, as it gave a frustrated look at Nita while she ran off.

"B-But, I wanna go help friend!"

SX6 then follows Nita out from the boxes, but doesn't really get into the fight, no opportunity to, it could only watch.

Meanwhile, Metal Slash had finally entered the room, his hand pointed outwards as if about to fire with his fingers.
The owl was apparently armed, possibly police, but unlikely, he'd have backup if that were the case.

"SX6! I have arrived, explain the situation immediately!"

"Big Bro! You're finally here! Go help save friend!"

Metal then looked towards where SX6 was pointing, it was a familiar looking gizoid...

"Xenox?!"

Xenox heard his name, and turned to see Metal Slash. He was glad to see a face he recognized. He then turned back to the scorpion, and held his hand up in the air. He stood there for several seconds, before lowering it, looking at his palm.


=Why can't I use my copy abilities?=


-ERROR: BATTLE DATA REPLICATION SYSTEM OFFLINE-


Xenox was confused. He tried to scan Alexander's tail to see if it was just a corruption in his current memory.


-ERROR: BATTLE DATA SCAN SYSTEM OFFLINE-


Now Xenox was frustrated. What did these villains do to him that caused these errors in his systems?
_________________________________________________________


Alexander turned his head to the door when it was burst open, seeing the owl and robot come through.


"Oh great. More intruders to worry about!"


The scorpion turned to the dog and masked Mobian that were currently chasing Tempo.


"Forget about the girl! One of you activate the alarm, The other help me with our new guests!"


The dog then turned to a red button on a nearby wall. They pressed it, and a siren droned inside the basement room. A few moments later, the opussum from earlier came into the room accompanied by two large, bear Mobians.


"Alexander. You know the alarm is only for actual emergen-" They then saw all the extra people in the room.


"Uh huh... Black Rose, cease retaliation."


"WHAT?! BUT BOSS, THEY-"


"Now, Alexander." The opossum said as they glared at the scorpion.


Alexander huffed before putting their gun back in the holster, crossing their arms in frustration. The opossum slowly walked over towards the owl as they said,


"Greetings. I am Mr. Delacom. How may I help you sir?"

It was only then that he noticed Metal Slash, but given the robot didn't seem associated with these criminals, he didn't mind, especially after a siren droned.
He was ready to fire, though he shifted his aim to the scorpion's gun holding hand, not meaning to do anything fatal.

Tempo was about to release her built-up energy when she heard a familiar voice, attention called away from her, and sirens. She circles around the room to find where the familiar voice was coming from, and a robot behind them more concerned with SX6 and the Gizoid, apparently named Xenox.

As the opossum came out and called off retaliation, seeming to prefer a much more civil manner of handling the situation, Tempo just... stares at the blue owl.
"Ah, yes, let's do this much more civil." The owl says as he puts away his gun, then looks back up at the opossum. "I'm... sorry to meet in such circumstances, Mr. Delacom, I'm just here to find my companion and make our leave."
"O- Odell?!"
"Oh, speak of the devil! Now come along and let's go-"
"They said they were gonna try and sell this Gizoid on the black market, we can't let that happen can we?!"
Odell, as was apparently his name, winces, stepping away from the opossum with a feather pointed up and wagged at Tempo. "Tempo, you know the rules. Please, let's just leave before things get worse."

SX6 was confused, it seemed the fight had came to a halt, and Xenox was trying to do something, which only Metal Slash seemed to recognize.

"Your copy system isn't working? It must've been damaged somehow..."

It was then that the opossum came out for a diplomatic approach, a "Mr. Delacom"

"Wha? Ten-po is leaving?" "But we gotta save friend!" SX6 shouts towards Odell.

Metal Slash didn't care so much about the two, but also stated his own concerns to the opossum, keeping himself armed.

"Greetings, Master Delacom, I have originally come here to bring my... 'little brother' back home."

SX6 looked pretty happy being called that.

"However, I also see that a friend of mine seems to be here as well, judging by their behavior, I would assume that this was not by their will."
"Thus, I must also request that the Gizoid is allowed to leave as well."

Nita un-fused from Pint, and watched as the opossum and bears walked over to the owl and the hedgehog-looking robot.

"Don't worry Xenox. We'll get you out of here." She whispered to the android, who was also tracking the opossum as well.

Mr. Delacom adjusted his blue, tinted glasses, then rested his hands on the handle of his cane as he returned his gaze to Odell.

"Ah. I assumed you were a potential buyer of the Gizoid. If you're not..."

The opossum tapped his cane on the ground twice. The two bear Mobians then walked around Odell and Metal Slash, blocking the door. Alexander then put a finger from both hands in his mouth, letting out a loud whistle. Two more of the masked Mobians, each carrying a sword, came out of a door connecting to the metal scaffolding hanging above everyone's heads. Alexander pulled out his gun, and raised the tip of his tail up above his head, ready to strike. Finally, Mr. Delacom unsheathed the concealed sword within his cane and pointed it at Odell's chest.

"Then I'm afraid that I cannot let any of you leave here alive."

Odell took note of the room. A few more people entered to room, Alexander unsheathes his gun, Mr. Delacom reveals his blade and puts it to his chest...
Odell only seemed slightly concerned at first, though Tempo gasped and was about ready to rush it.
"Tempo, no." He snaps at her, seeing her move out of the corner of his eye.

Odell takes a deep breath, then smiles, quickly shifting gears. "Yes, right, the Gizoid," He almost claps his wings together but looks down at the blade, realizing that'd be a bad idea. " Let's talk about that, there's no need to get violent here. I'm a business man myself, a traveling salesman, even own my own train~" He explains, trying to step back from Delacom, while Tempo stared at him in confused frustration. "How much do you want for the hunk of junk, a couple thousand rings?"

SX6 seemed to ready themselves for a fight, despite their lack of ability.

Metal Slash was about to attack, but waits for Delacom's response to Odell's last attempt at diplomacy.

Despite that however, he's going to quietly charge up...

Mr. Delacom stared at Odell for a moment, before lowering his sword a bit, though still keeping it pointed towards the owl. He then looked towards Alexander and asks,

"Did these people call about buying the Gizoid prior to this... 'Unexpected' meet up?"

Alexander thought he might get in trouble again for what he was about to say, but he thought the current situation might lessen the consequences.

"W-We hadn't even finished reprogramming it, so we hadn't even sent any word out about selling it."

"Hmm... How unfortunate. I hate to cause any bloodshed, but..." Mr. Delacom chuckled a bit before raising the sword back up to Odell's chest. "Can't have any of you spoiling our little project to the police now, can I?"
_________________________________________________________

Nita started to think frantically of a way out of this.

"C'mon, what would Rez do, what would Rez do?' She then had a crazy idea. She ran towards Mr. Delacom, then grabbed his wrist, carefully pulling the sword away from Odell's chest. She then twisted the opossum's wrist, causing him to drop the sword. Alexander then turned his gun away from Odell, then fired it at Nita.The specialized syringe bullet hit her right in the shoulder. Nita shouted in surprise as she started to feel a little dizzy.

"W-What did y-you do to me?" She slurred as she stumbled to stay on her feet.

"My own little invention. I call 'em stinger shells." Alexander said as he twirled the gun on his finger. "I use my own venom from the stinger in my tail to make a tranquilizer of sorts."

"It doesn't m-matter. We're still taking Xenox w-with us, and getting out of here."

After rubbing his wrist, Mr. Delacom picked up his sword and put it back into his cane. He straightened his maroon fedora before saying, "Oh, my dear... You're up against the biggest crime syndicate in Station Square. Do you really think you have any chance of escaping with your lives?"

Odell was terrified, yet he didn't visibly show it. He narrows his eyes at the Mr. Delacom's blood comment as he watches the tension rise further...
"For a man who hates bloodshed, you absolutely love to point that sword around." He mumbles through his beak.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Nita rush in, and he backs up in response. Sadly, Alexander shot her in the process, but from his new position he saw the men blocking the door...

Tempo is panicking, itching to get a move-on and help her new friend, and Odell can tell.
He really should have brought his suitcase. Hindsight is 20-20, and diplomacy wasn't going to work anymore. But... They had guns trained on them.
If he could manage to get the guns distracted for even a couple seconds, even if it took his life...

Odell grabs his gun after Delacom's little speech, aims for his hand holding the cane, and fires. Despite being so close, he didn't fully expect to even hit.
"Tempo, run."

Tempo looks to the door, but she needs to build up speed. Taking a few sharp breaths she immediately starts skating around the room again as fast as she can.

Things aren't going so well.

And that was enough for Metal to attack.

"Diplomacy has failed, Master Odell, evacuate immediately."

With that, Metal Slash would turn around release the attack he's been charging; as two Chaos energy blasts would fire at the two bear mobians, spinning back around to fire two more at the mobians toward the ceiling.

"SX6, leave immediately! Master Xenox, if you are still capable of combat, I would ask you for assistance, otherwise I must ask you to do the same."

In response, SX6 runs towards the exit reluctantly.

Mr. Delacom had forgot about Odell for a moment, and was unable to react to Odell's retaliation. Thankfully for him though, the bullet only grazed the bottom of his hand as it hit the top of his cane. Unluckily though, his cane was sent out of his hand and slid across the floor. He jumped back in surprise as he clasped his right hand closed while holding his wrist in his left.

"GYAH!" He shouted as his face turned from it's generally calm demeanor to a grimace of anger. "Grrrgh... Get them!" The opossum yelled, as the bears reached to hold Odell and Metal Slash down with their large arms, but they weren't expecting Metal Slash's blasts. One of them was hit in the chest, while the other in the shoulder. The bears lurched away holding their wounds, making an opening to the door. The Mobians on the rafters attempted to block the blasts with their swords. One was successful, but the other was pushed backwards from the force, causing them to topple over the railing. The other Mobian was now distracted with helping them not fall ten or so feet to the concrete floor.

Alexander was now really ticked off. He put the gun away, and was now using his tail and clawed hands to fight. He attempted to sweep Odell's legs with his tail, then jumped up to then come down at the owl with his clawed hands.
_________________________________________________________

Xenox wasn't exactly focusing on what was going on around him. He was too busy searching his core systems for what caused his malfunctions. Pint then noticed there was a plate of metal missing on the back of Xenox's head. There looked to be torn wires and broken circuits inside the Gizoid's head.

"Ya' can't use yer powers, huh? Could ya' at least help my friend 'dere?" The wisp asked as he motioned to Nita that was still struggling to keep her balance.

Xenox finally figured out that both his copy ability circuit, and his copy ability memory drive were damaged. He then heard Metal Slash shout for him to escape, and took notice of Pint pointing to Nita. While he didn't understand what Pint was actually saying, he did understand what they were implying. That they wanted the Gizoid to help their Mobian friend get out of here.

=Quickly, follow me.= Xenox said to Pint as he rushed over to the poisoned Mobian. He picked up Nita as Pint flew into the pouch on Nita's pack, and headed for the door. 

"W-What are y-you doing?" Nita said as she looked up to Xenox's face.

=Getting you out of here. My copy ability circuits have been damaged, so I would be of little use trying to fight.=

It was then that Xenox took note of SX6, who for some reason, he felt strange when he looked at the small robot. Like they were somehow... Related?
_________________________________________________________

The dog Mobian and the other masked Mobian now continued their chase of catching up with Tempo. Though their lack of skates themselves made it quite hard, and without any ranged weapons themselves, they were basically running around in circles for no good reason.

Odell was so surprised at himself for actually managing to shoot Delacom that when Alexander attacked he wasn't ready. He fell on his back from the leg sweep but rolled over to avoid the scorpion's downward claw strikes.

Tempo was rounding the corner as she felt her energy build up, and she could tell she was being chased. With the doorway no longer blocked, she could just leave and grind up the rail, but she saw Odell on the ground near Alexander and Delacom. Would Metal Slash be able to help him? She wasn't ready to fight, herself...
"I'm so sorry, Odell, I'll be right back!" she shouts out as she zooms past.
Odell groans through his closed beak, staring up at Alexander getting ready for another attack. "I'm fine, don't worry about coming back that's exactly what I wanted of you!"

Metal Slash, looking towards the others to make sure they're getting out safely, doesn't notice the scorpion knocking down Odell at first, but he's not going to let it continue.

In response, as he'd jump onto Odell, Metal Slash would attempt to grab the scorpion by his tail, which, if he succeeds, would then proceed to do a spinning throw to whisk him away.

As for SX6, it couldn't help but be worried for their older brother, and decides to stop and turn around towards him.
Is there anything they could do?

When Alexander missed his claw slash, he attempted to go for a venom strike with his tail, but his stinger stopped short.

"Hey! What the- WHAAAAH!" Alexander shouts as he goes flying through the air from Metal Slash's throw. He crashes into some empty crates, the wooden boxes breaking from the collision. Alexander was now grunting and groaning, taking some time to get up and out of the new pile of scrap wood. The Mobian on the rafters had now helped their partner back onto their feet, and they were now quickly making their way down to the floor via ladder.
_________________________________________________________

Xenox, still carrying Nita, waits for Tempo and SX6 to get through the door, as they walk through the door as well.

Mr. Delacom meanwhile, walks over to his cane, then uses his tail to lift it up to his un-injured left hand. He sees that the group is trying to escape. He fumbles through his suitcoat for something, then pulls out a revolver. He aims for Odell, but with his hand just being shot, and Metal Slash trying to help Odell, once he fires the gun, the bullet is now heading for an unintended target, Metal Slash.

Odell, though mad, still barely showed it, merely thankful of Metal Slash for saving him. However, it was likely now he should be able to return the favor as he fired at the robot.
Given Delacom was attempting to aim at Odell and simply missed, Odell was careful as he got closer.
Odell, the gentleman himself, takes a swing at Delacom's nether regions as hard as he can.

Metal Slash crossed his arms, he had this plan for a while, and it might be their only way to get out without being chased.
He was charging a Chaos Blast, not enough to outright kill anyone, but maybe make a few things collapse.

He gets shot, but it's just a normal gun, nothing that particularly bothered him at all, just a bit of a dent on the ol' chassis.

"Odell, leave now!"

As for SX6, they didn't know what was about to happen, but they flinched when they heard their brother yell, causing them to join the rest on getting the heck out of there.

Mr. Delacom was frustrated that his shot hardly did anything, but he took note of Odell trying to punch him, and grabbed their wrist with their tail.

"You got a cheap shot on me before. I will not let you have another." The possum said with a look of pure anger on his face. This look then turned to a devilish grin. "Well, you know what they say. An eye for an eye, a hand for a hand."

Mr. Delacom aimed his gun at Odell's hand now, but then noticed that Metal Slash was still up and seemed to be charging an attack. He wasn't about to let this robot hurt him any more than he already was. So instead of shooting Odell's hand, Mr. Delacom started to fire the five remaining bullets in his revolver at Metal Slash.
_________________________________________________________

The Mobians with the swords were now down the ladder, and on their way to catch up with the group that was trying to escape. The larger bear Mobians were now starting to get back up as well. Alexander was still slowly crawling out of the pile of broken crates, taking his cowboy hat off for a moment to rub his head.

Odell was a little scared, not even noticing that Metal Slash was doing something when Delacom aimed a gun at him. 
It truly was dumb, an action done out of anger, which he was currently regretting. 
Then Delacom got distracted by... something? Maybe now he had a chance to redeem himself and get out of such a bad situation. 
With Delacom distracted he pulls himself up with intentions to knock Delacom.off balance in the process. 

Tempo, as well as many others, were already on the move up the stairs. 
She was grinding back up the rail with only a little difficulty and her built-up energy not fading as slowly as you might imagine. She even jumps, flipping around the rail every so often to keep up momentum, though she was slowly becoming worried that even with how fast she started, that this might just end up being slower than taking off her skates and just running up by the end of it. 
Her quiet, frantic, panicky whispers turn to whining as she repeats over and over "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, go, go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go go go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, go, go-"