Helloo!

First of all, I'd like to apologise for the major lack of updates these past couple months. This has mostly been due to a combination of unemployment-induced apathy, a very busy household and the juggling of variour projects on my other regular forums. Fortunately I've been feeling rather more active and creative the last month or so and thanks to some great nostalgic banter and ye olde forum-trekking, I've finally gotten off my bum and written the next round.

Thanks for being so patient with me and here's hoping this was worth the wait. Here we go again!

THE VAPOURBOT GRAND PRIX 2010
ROUND 3/10: THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX
ARENA - Black Hole Labs
HOUSE ROBOTS- Ansgar 3

For this fight, Slammer VI will be using the anti-spinner 'mask'. This is spinner country, after all.

Roboteers, stand by...
3...2...1...
ACTIVATE!

Flick of the Wrist and Killobite are first off the mark, clashing head-on. As Flick begins pushing Killobite away, our four spinners are making themselves right at home by starting up their weapons. Axeon is tentative to attack, while Slammer leaps into the fray (quite literally) and charges Delirium Tremors...
CRRRASH!
Slammer flies away as Matt's giant drum is brought to a halt. He's only just started spinning it up again when O.I.D. darts forward...
CRRRASH!
Oh dear, is that a slice in Delirium Tremors' drum, I see? Matt tries not to look too concerned and deftly dodges another charge by O.I.D. to get the mighty spinner going again. A well-timed turn allows Delirium Tremors to avoid another Slammer charge, itself being pursued by Richter. Alex fires a flipper to hop away, but Richter just manages to clip his machine with that horrid 'eggbeater'!
CRRRASH!
Woo, look at that Slammer go! Alex barely has time to regain control when Richter rockets towards him again!
CRRRASH!
By an odd stroke of luck, the latest blow sends Slammer tumbling far away from Richter and towards Axeon, who is currently engaged in a battle of wits with Eye of Ran. The two robots hover near the north-east Kill Saws, unsure how to attack each other. Joey finally gets the ball rolling as he spins Eye of Ran around and manages to clip Axeon's side with his large spinning blade. Axeon in turn takes advantage of the blade's sudden slowing to try and grapple Eye of Ran. The axe misses its mark, but Andy simply ploughs into the axlebot and slams it into the nearest disc in the wall! Ooh, look at all the pretty sparks!
CRRRASH!
Oops, no time for that! Here comes Flick of the Wrist, who slams Killobite into Axeon's rear! It seems that Kody's creation has been given the runaround by Martijn since the battle began, but now he's able to escape and have a nibble on Eye of Ran! Joey sweeps the crusher aside before too much damage can be done, but the Canadian's still managed to leave a nice scar in the bodywork.
CRRRASH!
Blimey! Watch for low-flying Slammers! The oldest competitor in the VGP is being tossed like salad by Richter's 'eggbeater'! It's a credit to Alex's design that it's holding so well against this much punishment - and here comes Delirium Tremors to join in the mad cluster!
CRRRASH!
This is starting to resemble a pile-up in a demolition derby! Delirium Tremors clips Richter and Axeon, just as Killobite darts in and tries to bite a wheel off! Oh no, and here comes Flick of the Wrist for a ram-raid!
CRRRASH!
Delirium Tremors takes a terrible blow and winds up pinned against the wall, while Killobite nudges Richter onto the nearby Kill Saws! Danny drives off in a flash! Looks like the tyres held up well, then. No time to rest up, though, as here comes Slammer tumbling his way! Richter dodges and gets in a quick blow, while Axeon and Eye of Ran resume their tense tango.
Now, I know what you're thinking - where's O.I.D. in all this? Glad you asked, because if you'll look to the top-most corner of the arena, you'll see Jack's spinner tentatively attacking Ansgar 3. Jack's trying to press the golden button, but the House Robot isn't budging an inch. O.I.D's already taken a couple of nasty-looking bumps and blows from Ansgar's spinning axe, but Jack is determinated to find out what that button does!
CRRRASH!
Ooh, and this could be the chance he's looking for! A ragged-looking Slammer has just been slammed into Ansgar by Flick of the Wrist, who promptly darts off to attack someone else! The House Robot smacks the veteran with its spinner and pushes it away from the CPZ - giving O.I.D. ample time to sneak behind Ansgar and hit the button!
Meanwhile the multi-robot pile-up has started to break up - and what a time to do it! No sooner are the robots starting to spread out again than a familiar air-raid siren echoes acros the arena. The teams look in horror as the huge circular pattern in the middle of the floor begins to open. Now you know why they call it 'Black Hole Labs'...
Slammer, the closest to the hole, tries to get away, but is cut off by Delirium Tremors...
CRRRASH!
The flippers fire in frustration as our oldest competitor tumbles into the Black Hole! Matt quickly backs Delirium Tremors away, but seems to have some trouble doing so, no doubt thanks to the lab's patented suction technology used in the Hole's construction. The remaining robots have all retreated to the sides of the arena. Nobody wants to go near the Black Hole - nobody except the Dutch Grand Prix champion! Flick of the Wrist is caught with Eye of Ran and Axeon near the eastern walls, and has just managed to snag hold of Joey's axlebot! Martijn drags Eye of Ran away (taking a blow from Axeon in the process) and dumps the low, low spinner into the Black Hole! Flick backs off...
And falls into the Hole itself! Axeon's crept up on Martijn and dumped him down! What a shocker - and it doesn't look like the only one! Delirium Tremors is being ganged up on by Killobite and Richter near the western wall, when Richter gets nipped by the Kill Saws while revving for a ram. Killobite takes the oppertunity to charge underneath and have a nibble at Richter's wheels. Kody misses the tyres, but gets a tight grip on the Welsh spinner's bodywork! Killobite tries to drag Richter towards the Black Hole, but Dan is proving incredibly stubborn, resisting against Kody's hard tugs! To make matters worse, here comes Delirium Tremors, all revved up and nowhere to go...
CRRRASH!
The two robots remain locked together, though now with a few more scars and dents than before! Back at the CPZ, meanwhile, Ansgar has had enough of O.I.D's camping-out and shoves the spinner back into the arena, just as Axeon carefully makes its way over. O.I.D. clips the hammerbot, but Axeon holds up, ploughing under Jack's machine and pushing him towards the spinning disc on the eastern walls...
CRRRASH!
Ohhh, and there goes Delirium Tremors again! Killobite and Richter are still at loggerheads and seem to be paying the price for it! Kody finally relents, loosening the claw's grip to try and reposition itself. This, however, is all Dan needs. Richter bumps Killobite, followed by a smack of the not-yet-fully-revved 'eggbeater'. Killobite nudges back, allowing another attack from Delirium Tremors!
CRRRASH!
Killobite is knocked towards the Black Hole, one last charge from Richter sending it over the edge! Dan barely manages to avoid going down with it, but finds itself backing straight towards Delirium Tremors!
CRRRASH!
Now it's Richter's turn to face near-defeat!
CRRRASH!
Oh right. Better make that just defeat, then.
Delirium Tremors spins with delight as Richter plummets to its doom, but it's not out of the woods yet. O.I.D. has escaped Axeon's grasp, though not without taking a couple of slices from the arena disc, and charges straight into Delirium Tremor's side!
CRRRASH!
The drumbot goes spinning, barely having time to recover before Axeon barges it into the arena wall! Andy's having a hard time grappling it with the axe, so he decides to give Delirium Tremors some wriggle room. Matt begins to escape, but the drum has hardly started moving again when Axeon is back on its case. One little boost of speed and Delirium Tremors is on its way to meet Richter at the bottom of the Black Hole!
Two robots remain, but for how much longer? Not much more, it seems, as Axeon and O.I.D. grapple mere feet away from the Hole. Both robots are starting to seem a little bit tired. Andy isn't using the axe as often as before and O.I.D's flywheel appears a little slower. Nonetheless both are still very much active, with O.I.D. getting a couple good clips on Axeon's armour. As Jack repositions himself to rev the disc up, Andy scrapes under its side and fires Axeon's titular weapon. The hammer head seems to have a firm grip, as Andy spins Axeon around and puts on a burst of speed. O.I.D. tumbles into the abyss...
And Axeon follows right behind.

CEASE!

AXEON 4.0 WINS THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX 2010!

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GERMAN GRAND PRIX 2010 RESULTS:
1. AXEON 4.0 = 10 points
2. O.I.D. = 8 points
3. DELIRIUM TREMORS = 6 points
4. 9.9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE = 4 points
5. KILLOBITE SIGMA = 3 points
6. FLICK OF THE WRIST = 2 points
7. EYE OF RAN II = 1 point
8. SLAMMER VI = 0 points

Congratulations to Andrew Jackson, Jack Orr and Matthew Fowler!

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Three grand prixs in, here's the points table:

TOTAL RESULTS (3/10):
1. FLICK OF THE WRIST = 20 points
2. KILLOBITE SIGMA = 19 points
3. AXEON 4.0 = 18 points
=. 9/9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE = 18 points
5. O.I.D. = 11 points
6. DELIRIUM TREMORS = 8 points
7. SLAMMER VI = 5 points
8. EYE OF RAN II = 3 points

It's still a very close race for the top spot, so let's move on to Round 4!

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THE VAPOURBOT GRAND PRIX 2010
ROUND 4/10: THE SWISS GRAND PRIX
ARENA: Clockwork Valley

Tick-tock, tick-tock...
It's 'time' to move on again, specifically to Zurich's largest disused cuckoo clock factory. Clockwork Valley is named for the large dip in the middle of this fully-enclosed arena, creating an unusual two-storey design. The 'raised' sections on either side each contain the same hazards - a single open pit, a large spinning drum and a 'Silly Spring'. Picture the Floor Flipper in the UK arena, but firing vertically whenever something drives over it.
The titular valley is no safer, mainly because hanging around there too long will activate the trap door covering most of the floor! To make matters worse the valley is also home to Clockwork Valley's resident House Robots - the Clock King (a golden pocketwatch-on-wheels with Splinter-esque grabbing arms and axe) and his loyal bodyguard the Swiss Army Knight (a wide silver box with sloped top and four different kinds of hammer)!

The starting positions of the robots have been determined based on their current points standings:
LEFT SECTION: Flick of the Wrist, Axeon 4.0, O.I.D, Slammer VI
RIGHT SECTION: Killobite Sigma, 9.9 on the Richter Scale, Delirium Tremors, Eye of Ran II

Crap Paint image ahoy:


Get thinking 'bout your tactics, thanks again for being so very patient and I'll see you next time.