Sploda Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 "Surely you must know girl." The bases AI said as it projected a hologram of a teenage girl surrounded in a black cloak. Her portrayed eyes were green and her hair purple. "Master Nexev has a need for the equipment here and has no time to look upon your new device." The AI then moved to greet Nexev and the others. "Greetings, I am ARAAI, the unit in charge of protecting, and keeping this place ship shape. I also do inventory." She then turned to Nexev. "All weapons that I have deemed acceptable have been moved to section 4, I also moved the ones I thought you would enjoy using." With that the AI vanished and allowed them to continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Black stared flatly at Shadow, resting his right cheek on the corresponding fist. "And why are you telling me this? We've got to move, now, Shadow. If we don't... we'll be left behind, and things could go wrong. I have no time for this frivolity." Black stood, and put on his hat he had taken off, and walked towards the door. "Andx, come. We need some rest for a few minutes before we go. Tell Jake to do the same, alright?" Black turned around to face Shadow, and spoke "You may change to going to Nexus, to speak to Roxas about this. He has to understand this better than I do. Just tell JAke to switch you and Ice around." With that, Black turned, and went towards his room, locking himself in. He took off his hat and coat, and layed down, setting an alarm for 30 minutes later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andx Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Black all at once got up and dismissed himself from Shadow's room, saying the information was better suited for Roxas. With that he left, though not before calling Andx to get on the move as well. Andx had two members to track down as well and while he didn't want to consider what Shadow had wanted to tell them as a waste of time, it had delayed them somewhat. Andx lazily stood up and shook himself a bit to refocus in before addressing Shadow. "Black's right Shadow. This sounds important but it's not something Black or I can readily understand the significance of. Roxas is the man in charge of keeping Glitch sealed. If anyone, he should know what you've just told us. If you'll excuse me, I have to be going." Andx said. He turned and left the room. Andx then focused in on Saint Dane and Spazix, the two people he was supposed to get off to Nexus. He had no idea where to start looking for them in the base. He considered their rooms would be the most logical places so he decided to go that way. While he moved he decided to call out to see if they would hear and come. "Spasix! Dane! Either of you here?" He almost barked due to his form. He figured it wouldn't be good enough and continued on his way. As he moved he saw the girl that had come with Jake running in. She seemed serious, like she had something to do. "Lora right?" he called out to her and began walking towards her. "Jake's daughter if I'm not mistaken from earlier. Is something wrong? Where's Jake?" Andx said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexev Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Nexev gave a laugh. "Not to worry, all machines are made from pieces, I always have time for a new discovery. But first, we have some guests. Falsetto, Tenkei, here is our humble abode. As for weapons, take a look." Nexev pulled out a large black sniper rifle. "The RAEGmongerer, it fires concentrated neg, imagine if you will, a sniper rifle that fired grenades, then you'd have this. Very good for a tactical striker, we also have rockets that when they explode actually freeze the area to make blockades, we have nearly anything you can imagine, and we have a few things you can't. But if you excuse me, I have a city to shut down and a idea to follow." Nexev took the RAEGmongerer, aimed at a generator in a nearby room (visible thanks to a window) and fired, the blast exploded the window and the shards went into the generator, which disrupted the NEG core and caused it to implode. "See, tell me that didn't look fun." Nexev said with a smile. "Anyway An, I have a thought." Nexev said as he walked to the young scientist. "Is it possible to build a bigger and stronger summoner, one that can summon even a being sealed in the ground? It's a very lonely being, it would be so happy if you could do this for me. Please?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headmaster Monokuma Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Dane quickly burst out of his room and addressed Andx. "f*** Andx. What is it? I was having a wonderful dream in which I wasn't about to be stuck in the middle of a f***ing war." Dane immediately regretted his outbrust, and sheepishly tried to walk away. "Sorry, just really stressed out here. I haven't had a full nights rest in days now. If you could give me a quick version, that would be perfect." He started down the stairs with his weapon in hand, all the while waiting and listening for anything Andx might say. [i]I need to calm down. My nerves are getting to me.[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Final Fantasy Revolution Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Biggs heard the explosion and decided he would wander inside the base as well, never being much for listening to Tenkai anyway. He walked down some corridors, took some turns, went through some doors, and then finally found where Tenkai and Nexev were; in the weapons room. "Well well, I thought maybe Nexev double crossed ya and you were dead." Biggs said, and then looked at the destruction of the generator and then at Nexev's weird looking weapon. "I can only deduce that this destruction was your doing, that's some fancy weapon ya got there chief." Biggs commented to Nexev and then wandered off to look at the other parts of the weapons lab... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sploda Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "Sir..." The AI appeared before Biggs. "I'll have to ask you to return to the group, this area is restricted." The AI then brought up a series of barriers to ensure that no one got through. Not even Nexev had been to this part of the base, it was Creator's own private area. No one knew what he held back there, not even the AI. The AI was just programed to keep others out. If that required her to kill an ally then so be it, it was their fault after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake the Sage Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Lora heard her name being called and turned to see that it was the dog which her father had been walking with a while ago. She had been searching most of the top floors for him and Black, having thought they would've left Shadow at any time, and was out of breath. Stopping in front of the canine she bent over and rested her hands on her knees as her breathing remained straqined for a bit; sweat dripping down her face. Once she had caught her breath Lora stood at attention, something her father had drilled into her at a young age, and saluted Andx. "I have a message from my dad," she said bringing back everything which he had said to her before leaving, "Several bombs have gone off in New Forum and it appears as if the Verdin are attempting to lay siege to the city. Father has already left to give Nexus any aid he can but still requests the rest of Cirque to mobalize as soon as possible!" Jake had been circling the entirty of New Forum until he recieved a message from Lora that the Cirque was on their way. He could see everytyhing that was happening down below but knew it would be smarter to wait before diving in to assist them, after all Verdin's current forces far outnumbered him easily. He could feel his heart wrenching with anger, his eyes focusing on each member, and his fists hurting he was clenching them so bad as they went about ransaking the city. Yet he kept his emotions in check, no good would do by running into the fray and getting himself killed. The sound of a gun going off three times caught his attention- the lifeless bodies of three innocent civilians kept it there. What was that about rushing into the fray? Oh well nevermind that anymore . . . His anger past the boiling point Jake folded in his wings and dive bombed down through the clouds and only broke out of his fall at the very end; the sonic boom caused by his preassult leaving a shockwave that'd knock many of the Verdin soldiers on their asses. While he was still halfway into his transformation back into his normal form Jake landed on the ground and rolled until he stopped- his body now having reverted to normal. Standing up he held out both arms, palms facing the enemy, and unleashed a furry of small to medium sized explosions, [i]"If this doesn't get me killed then I really need to start playing the lottery . . ."[/i] [i]"Sir with all due respect gambling does not do well for the image of a man such as yourself,"[/i] Nic replied mentally as he slipped by the damaged Nexus security; he could've gotten out while they were still up . . . but he'd have to be one hundred percent focused to accomplish that. Crawling through the air ducts wasn't unusual for him by any means, a ninja is a ninja afterall, but the unnerving silence was odd. In the middle of a siege the entire building of Nexus was silent- had they been exacuated or where they preping themselves for a counter attack? [i]"Well this is getting me no . . . where,"[/i] he began to think before hearing something in the distance. Crawling along he could make out the distinct sound of voices below and, peering through the grate, saw a group of Verdin soldiers amongst the Nexus Weapon Stock. [i]"Guess I am on the right path now . . ."[/i] <ooc: no I'm not enjoying myself XD> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Final Fantasy Revolution Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "Keh, we should have cool stuff back at the Verdin head quarters..." Biggs said, looking at the barriers and actually touching one, burning his left hand a little. "Yes, a powerful defense this is." Biggs turned towards where Tenkai was. "We should get them to build some of this stuff over at our base, though hopefully we wont have to see it to much longer." Biggs was implying that after destroying new forum they would be free to go anywhere, hopefully anyway. Biggs obliged to the computers wish and went back over to listen to whatever Nexev was blabbering about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sploda Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Creator had noticed the hostile just in time. He rushed to the ground nearby and Creator threw up the only protection besides PROTO he had; a modular Defensive Block he called IGNORE. He grinned at the new arrival for a moment. keeping his defenses up he spread the IGNORE around himself. "PROTO, execute Program 666." Creator said. This would order PROTO into full battle mode, he had two objectives in this mode; keep Creator and/or Nexev alive and eliminate the target. Creator just continued to grin before letting out a quiet "kekekeke". "Let the games begin." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Zero Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Black left along with Andx, and as he did so Shadow rose from his chair and caused the extra furniture to disappear with a wave of his hand saying "It's not frivolous, and I haven't even finished yet. But, I suppose that shall have to wait until later." As Shadow was about to leave, he felt the shockwave of an explosion rock the building. As he almost feel to the ground before righting himself again, Shadow yelled out saying "Computer, what the hell was that!" The computer replied saying "An explosion has taken place within New Forum, causing large sections of the wall to fall. There is also fighting within the vicinity." Shadow let loose a few of his choicest oaths before causing to clones to appear. Normally they would also have a clone of Primus within them, but as Primus was not fused with Shadow at the moment they did not. Shadow told them to go and find Black and Andx and tell them what had happened before calling Primus down to him and merging with it once more. Making sure that he had everything in place as the clone set out to do as ordered, Shadow made sure that he had everything he would need on him, and when satisfied changed to his hedgehog form. His motorcycle appeared and he used the Lights of Chaos to invoke a Chaos Control that would teleport him close to the site of the fighting. He wanted to join in and help to stop the madness, but knew he had something more important that he had to do. Remembering what Black had said, he used Chaos Control to move outside of the normal spacetime spectrum long enough to be out of range of the fighting and continued on his way to Nexus's headquarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proto Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "Activating Protocol 666" PROTO's POS energy began surging through his mechanical frame, his arms and chest began glowing even fiercer then they were when he had released the bomb. "Hostile Detected, Initiating Extermination Protocol 1" PROTO charged another large POS bomb and fired it at the hostile's general direction, the targeting system was not perfect but he still had a good idea where the hostile would be, besides a big explosion should make his opponent show himself, and hostiles in clear sight were always easier to kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake the Sage Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Jake had been cutting his way through the lower rankings of Verdin soldiers, but they never counted as they could be easily replaced, and a chill ran down his spine; an indication of his training being actually worth it. Looking up he could see a bright ball of energy heading for himself, or at least near him, and could only guess it as a flare. Dashing towards it he began to wonder if he wouldn't reach it in time and decided to use a special trick he had picked up. Stopping momentarily he crouched and launched himself into a full on shuno technique before slidding to a stop, [i]"D*mn I overshot i-"[/i] he began to think until the bright light erupted in a violent blast; knocking him off his feet and causing him to roll a bit. As soon as he could regain his balance Jake was on his feet again and peering around for whoever had shot the bomb at him, know stupidly admitting to imself that was what it was, and spotted what appeared to be an android, "Alright Jake . . . lets see how many punches this thing can take before I knock its head off . . ." Crouching once more he released the shundo to quickly cover the distance between himself and the android, managing to get the distance right this time, and appear behind the thing. Still crouched he knew it would be better to use his legs than have to stand back up and throw a punch so he spun around and let his legs sweep at the metal legs supporting the robot. [i]"Sir if I may have a moment of your time,"[/i] Nic's voiced chimed in as metal met flesh, [i]"Kinda buisy here Nic . . . call back later!"[/i] [i]"But sir this is incredibly impor-"[/i] [i]"Nic whatever it is do what you think is best,"[/i] Jake interrupted as he backflipped away from the fallen android and rubbed his hand over where he had connected with it. No way didhe ever think hitting something like that could hurt so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proto Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "Error, Initiating Counter Protocol 00110011" The robotic android toke a glance at the man, he looked like a ordinary person he had no information on him in the Nexus Members database, except for the unusual ring on his hand. The machine forced itself up and picked up his dropped rocket launcher, just a ordinary human, but then how did he manage to appear nearby him with such speed, his calculations were sky rocketing. His CPU then toke over and PROTO had calculated to leave this question for another time, he aimed his rocket launcher at the man, toke a short second to calculate dodging probabilities and shot a large rocket at Jake at nearly point blank range. Hopefully if the stranger managed to use that technique again he would be open for another assault, though the calculations were not positive enough to insure that success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghoulish Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Hyabusa continued to run to the source of the green attack, upon turning a corner he noticed a rocket fired at the man known as jake by a big robot like creature, Hyabusa clapped his hands togetehr and called, "Quad-Hyabusa!" Sudenly to rubbery arms appeared agttached to hyabusa's back, the arms suddenly stretched out intercepting the rocket's movements and catching it. The extended arms than ascended high into the air, throwing the rocket high up. (assuming that the rocket exploded in the air) The arms returned tot heir original size and Hyabusa dashed on the same side of Jake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Warden Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Broken realized watched as the Verdin entered the base with Nexev, but he wasn't interested with that. He was enjoying the explosions, and he wanted some himself. From it's holster with a skilled twirl, Broken drew his ray-gun. He aimed it at his legs. 'Let's kick it with some speed, I want in' he declared and fired. (Rumble blend: 15). There was a bright flash and his lower half was replaced with a pair of tank treads. 'Well, not exactly fast, but it works' he said and rolled onwards, the treads proving quite swift indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Anata smiles quietly, "Vell it would take me a couple of days....... And we need to gather an energy source zat can handle the Large Scale Summoners output of energy. But its theoreticly posible..... Nein~ I gurantee it can work~" Anata says shyly at first but then shows confidence, as she ends the little rant she turns to the Demi Daemon' and smiles sadisticly at them. She then says a fiew words in german as the, Daemon start to change, "Wandel und nützlicher sein!(Change and be usefull!)" The Daemon change and take on a more human-like shape, Anata then Barks more orders in german to them and points at the LSS, the Daemon start to work. "Leader.... I have them complete instructions on what to do, they will have it done bye tomarow evening. I would like to ask if I could go along with you? I need to test the new PDS, I need test subjects! Looks at the two visiters in a creepy way, as if she was thinking of testing it on them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake the Sage Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Jake's eyes grew wide as he saw the rocket aimed for his skull. Even if it wasn't at point blank range he'd of had no waay to dodge it. He let out a small laugh as his mind raced to figure a way out of this when two hands stretched out of seemingly no where and hurled the rocket into the sky before it exploded. Moving back an inch or so from the shockwave Jake couldn't help but smile at his fortunes as the man who'd saved him landed beside him, [i]"That was too careless . . . way too careless"[/i] he thought whilst looking over at the man. It was easy to say that he didn't recognize him from the Cirque and, using his astounding ability of deductive reasoning, if he wasn't out to kill him then he was part of Nexus. Shifting his position he nodded his head at the man and spoke, "Thanks for the assist. I'll have to repay you someday for that . . . But for now!" Without another word Jake unleashed a shundo the brought him right in front of the android and he let his fist slam into it's steel plated abdomen before another was landed right on the lower chin. The blows had been so hard it raised the android up a bit and once it was high enough Jake spun around and kicked the side of his enemy's head, [i]"This things going to take a while to beat to 'death' . . . like hitting titanium or diamond! Hurts too . . ."[/i] With his master caught up in his own fight Nic had been keeping an eye on those within the weapons facility. All of the informatioon he was hearing was being stored via a special technology Jake had "acquired" during their travels. He had remained vigilant up until the female spoke of a large range summoning using the devices stolen from here. This he coulnd't allow, yet a full on attack was suicide. But hell he was a ninja . . . and without the lights it would be awefully dark in that room. Slipping out of the vent without being seen the slithered, as best we can describe, down the wall and then beside it until he had found an appropriate vantage point. Revealing a kunai he waited until the exact moment all heads were turned . . . and let it fly, cutting the lights off. [i]"Stage 1: Lower Enemies Sight Range . . . Complete."[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "God damnit Biggs!" Tenkai yelled in frustration, "You're supposed to be in the damn walls! I can't trust lowly grunts to take on Nexus and Cirque head on by themselves! Gah! Get your ass back into that city!" Tenkai ended the rant, turning his back from his A-rank soldier and to Nexev, goaning a little as he thought about what could ber going on inside New Forum. "Well Nexev, if the power's out, I'm going back into New Forum to fight some government pricks, so is it out yet or not?" He said with a sigh. [i]Man, I need to get my army to actually listen to my plans for once... seriously![/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight2030 Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 (may I join do i need to put a profile in to join ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexev Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 "Oh, yeah it's down and out, they may have a backup but it wouldn't be as efficient and it will take awhile to go online anyway. I can handle the Cirque myself, the surrounding destruction will keep them from taking up my time too long, guilt does that to people. Make sure to take up some of the weapons here, a vehicle or two would also be necessary." Nexev then once again turned to Anata "Don't worry about test subjects, just yet, thier is a war going on. We will soon be attacked, you can use the PDS on them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andx Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Before Lora could respond to Andx's questions, Saint Dane burst out of his room, sounding very tired and a little irritated. He then apologized for the rather rude first response and then asked if he could get a brief version of what was going on. "Sorry to keep you up then Dane. But there's not a whole lot of choice in the matter. Anyway, Black is moving the whole group out. He wants you and Spazix, who I've still yet to see, getting over to Nexus soon. I'm still not entirely sure what Black wants you two to do there, but I'm pretty sure it involves helping them out or acting as a communications line to us. You should be able to get some more rest once you're there." Andx said. Lora then answered Andx's questions. She reported that several large explosions had gone off and that Verdin was now invading New Forum. Jake had gone off to help Nexus fight. "Dammit. Black needs to know now. Dane, I hate to ask this of you, but I need you to find Spazix quickly and meet up with Black and me at the entrance to the base. Lora, if you wouldn't mind coming with me." Andx said. Andx then took off running, then realizing as a dog he ran faster than most humans he slowed up a bit to let Lora, who was already tired, keep up. Before long he came to Black's door. As he approached Andx finally transformed back to his normal form as he would need to knock on Black's door. He wore a large white cloak with a hood loose about his head. His hair was light blond and his eyes bright blue. He began a rather energetic knock on Black's door. "Black! I know you wanted some rest but there's no time for that now!" Andx said as he continued knocking a bit. He stopped knocking knowing Black wouldn't like it if he continued. "Verdin is already attacking New Forum. Jake's out there by himself, and Nexus will need help shortly!" He called out so that Black could hear him through the closed door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headmaster Monokuma Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Dane watched as Andx ran off, and silently cursed to himself. He was used to be kept out of the action, but he wasn't exactly pleased to be heading to the Nexus Base. He had no wish to meet anyone there currently, but he would have to get over it. "Fine, I'll find the kid, then I'll meet you there." He murmured as Andx ran off. Making his way down the hall, he pounded each door and called out, "Spazix! Get out here! I don't care what you're doing, we have orders from Black." As he called out, he added, "And if I don't see you out here quickly, I'm going on without you!" [i]Get out now. I'm not waiting for you forever.[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Zero Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Shadow rode his motorcycle away from the fighting and, thus far, had not met with any trouble. [i]Good. No tails, no blasts coming my way. Everything is proceeding smoothly.[/i] Shadow shook his head as he thought about the fighting that he had seen and the knowledge that he was more right then he had thought. Verdin had come to New Forum, and sooner then he had expected. Soon, Shadow reached the Headquarters for the Nexus Faction and slowed the motorcycle to a halt. Placing a hand on the symbol that was on top of what would be the gas container or something similar on a normal motorcycle, causing it to glow along with the motorcycle. In seconds it transformed and instead formed a close fitting armor on Shadow, his eyes concealed by shades not unlike a mix between the battle network and original versions of Protoman with only the lower half of his face being left uncovered. Shadow jumped into the air and began sliding along the wall until he reached the top, his speed carrying him along until he reached the roof. Shadow then placed a hand on the ledge of the roof upon reaching the top and did a forward flip, landing as quietly as possible on the rooftop before searching out and walking down the stairs from the roof of the building. He then walked down the stairs until he reached the floor that the leader of the Nexus faction Roxas was in and quietly exited onto it. The hallways on this floor had a few people on it, but Shadow was able to avoid them by using the triangle jump and running along the walls, moving as quickly and as quietly as he could. A few minutes later he reached the door of Roxas and knocked on it. "I have a message for Roxas. He is in, I hope?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake the Sage Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Lora watched as Andx ran off in his dog form after giving Dane his orders; which was to find Spazix and bring him along. He then turned and asked if she would be willing to accompany him to get Black himself, which she readily agreed too, and began to follow. He was faster than she first thought, getting a full two feet ahead of her, and then took a big breath to fully recover. Taking a double step she sped up and passed Andx, as he had slowed down, and looked back in emberrassment. Smiling shyly she slowed down and ran the rest of the way beside him until they reached their destination- Black's door. As they approached Lora watched as Andx finally transformed back to his normal form. She was amazed by his natural appearance, the light blonde hair and his bright blue eyes caught her attention easily. She only looked away when he began a rather energetic knock on Black's door and began to speak, bringing her back to reality. She addressed the person behind the door with her own frantic voice, "Sir we need you to get out here now and mobilize the troops or something!!! Please dad's all alone out there and I don't know how long he'll be safe!!!" While Lora and Andx attempted to wake the leader of the Cirque and Jake faced down the Verdin's android . . . Nic's actions had remained unnoticed. He had attempted to cut the power but he had no way of knowing they were able to work on a backup generator, so the moment he cut the power it kicked back on; almost seemlessly in its fluidity. Cursing under his breath he took three calming breaths before thinking of something to do and he found his eyes constantly glancing back to the mass of weapons surrounding him, [i]"I wonder if I could somehow use those to my advantage . . ."[/i] Crouching down he brought his hand around his back to dig in his pouch, blindlessly groaping for something in particular, and then pulled out what looked like a small metal circle with a red marble in the middle. Nodding his head he uncovered his mouth, placed the device in it, and began to form seals ith his free hands. Setting them to the ground a small black rat appeared and took the device before scurrying across the concret floor towards a very large gatteling gun. Once it reached there the rat crawled along the surface so it could reach the control pannel and tossed the device on it, which quickly activated and sent very strong metallic cordes into the war machine. Now having remote access Nic pressed a button and the gatteling gun rose form its stand and prepared to fire at the Verdin members who had made their way inside, [i]"Stage Two . . . Complete!"[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.