[center][h3]Ms Fortune[/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] Nadia (97/40)
[b]Location:[/b] The Maw
Blazermate's [@Archmage MC], Bowser's [@DracoLunaris], Geralt’s [@Multi_Media_Man], Ace Cadet's [@Yankee], Sakura's [@Zoey Boey], Mirage’s [@Potemking], Link’s [@Gentlemanvaultboy]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1813[/center]

[i]Easy, Nadia,[/i] the excitable feral told herself, taking one breath at a time. Though certifiably creepy, this chef wasn’t nearly as bad as Moreau or Bongo Bongo. Getting around him might be tricky for a cutlet-sized child, but she had food in her belly and fire in her heart. [i]I can do this.[/i] “We can do this,” she said aloud, correcting herself in a whisper strong enough for her gathered allies to hear but much too weak to reach the chopper’s ears. With renewed vigor she could afford to wear her most confident smile while she not just broke but totally annihilated the tension.  “The steaks are high, and we don’t wanna risk a meat ‘n greet, but we’re stroganoff to make it through.”

Rather than waste time making her allies reconsider the value of their lives with terrible puns, Sakura got right down to business. The savvy girl shushed Nadia with a finger to her lips, then emerged from hiding with a plan of attack in mind. Spurred on by both the restlessness of hunger and an even stronger desire to contribute, she maneuvered across the room in search of a distraction. Nobody really knew what the plan was, if one even existed, but it was clearly time to hustle. After the chef proved to be pretty much fixated on his work, the rest of the children fanned out even more, crouch-walking to various hiding spots to avoid the telltale slap of shoes and soles against the cold tile. Assuming that the gaggle of kids would be heading for the unlocked door, rather than try and tear the chef away from his butchery long enough for someone to grab the key, Nadia circled around behind him going north. She almost scurried over the meat parcels piled up in the northwest corner, but realized that their paper wrappings would crinkle if touched, and settled for padding with almost cartoonish delicacy across the open floor.

Keen-eyed as ever, Nadia spotted Sakura as the brunette hefted a jar, and in a flash she realized what was about to happen. Using drawer handles like a ladder she rushed up onto a nearby countertop, then dove into a (mercifully empty) pot. Then a terribly loud crash shattered the peaceful quiet of the kitchen, and a sound erupted from the chef that froze Nadia stiff. It was loud, sudden, like the blast of an elephant, an abrupt yet windy [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq6MndPxeco&ab_channel=Oecobius33]scream[/url] that sounded almost as afraid as it did angry. With that outburst the chef spun around, cleaver in hand, and slouched forward toward the source of the noise. As they felt the ground hudder with every footfall the children scattered through the kitchen shrank into their hiding spots in fear. A moment later the chef came to a stop in front of the smashed jar, looming over the wreckage. In apparent frustration. He scanned the counter, looking back and forth. After a moment he seemed to note the shadowy space beneath the countertop, just behind the debris, and with a grunt he knelt down to extend a pudgy arm and feel around down there for any unwelcome visitors. When his search turned up nothing, however, the chef gave a frustrated grunt and stood. With his loathsome head mere feet away from Sakura’s hiding place, he reached up sausage-like fingers into the folds of his chin, then [i]beneath[/i] them, slipping underneath a layer of doughy, jaundiced skin to scratch at the flesh beneath. If the small street fighter risked a peek, she could catch the most fleeting glimpse of much darker, gray-blue skin underneath what could only be a ghastly mask.

Just then the east-side door slammed open, a commotion far less expected than the reaction of the chef. Into the room barged an [url=https://i.imgur.com/WsoDlOu.png]even bigger butcher[/url], albeit one more identifiable human. Foregoing the proper if rumpled chef’s attire of his coworker, he favored a shirt soaked by both sweat and blood stretched thin by his remarkable girth. “What was that noise?” he demanded, looking straight at the malformed chef. “You drop something again?”

The chef made an angry noise, somewhere between a growl and a honk, which left the newcomer irate. Two missing front teeth added a little hiss and a little spit to everything he said. “Bah, why’d I bother? Bumbling fool. Keep this up and you’ll be the next main course! Ahahahaha!”

Bellowing another elephantine retort, the chef reached an arm across the counter and swept up a whole stack of bowls, slinging them across the kitchen. Being made of cheap wood they clattered harmlessly against whatever they hit, be that the tiles, the door, or Larry Chiang himself, who laughed it off. “Ahaha, that’s right! Just like that...HEY!”

He thrust an accusatory finger right at Sakura, who in a most unfortunate turn of events the chef had unwittingly revealed. Whether she took off running or attempted to fight, the chef turned and lunged with impressive speed, seizing the wriggling girl by the throat and ankles. Like the jaws of a bulldog his meaty mitts locked around her, totally immovable.

The Abyssals reacted immediately and without hesitation. From her vantage point Rika appeared with guns at the ready, while Bella emerged from hiding with a spin, looking over her shoulder as her tail prepared to fire. Nadia, still hiding in her pot with only her fingertips, folded-back ears, and upper head over the rim, watched as the Abyssals took their shots. Just as planned, Rika blasted one of the hooks to knock off its load. With the nearest being one on the hookline, that meant dropping a meat parcel right onto the chef’s head, crushing his toque in the process. At the same time Bella shot the chef right in the chest. With an alarmed yell he flinched, staggering backward from the tiny explosion, but he did not drop Sakura. Larry, meanwhile, drew back his off hand and with a grunt of exertion hurled a kitchen knife straight at Bella. She got out of the way not a moment too soon, and the blade embedded in the wooden leg of a table behind her, but as she readied another shot Larry lowered his head and charged like a bull, arms extended. “MEEEAT!” he howled, zooming across the kitchen. Before Bella knew it he clasped a hand around the throat of her leviathan tail and hauled her into the air, dangling like a hooked fish. In his other hand hung Rika, grabbed by her gauntlets. “Live ones!” he marvelled, sounding surprised. He gave both a good, violent shake, quelling their struggle. “That damn janitor must be getting lazy!”

Nadia’s grip tightened on her pot. Part of her, maybe figuring that these crazy cooks could only hold so many kids, wanted to leap out and join the attack. If everyone struck at once, their numbers advantage would surely put them on top, right? But at the same time, her heart was beating wildly, like a drum in a hailstorm. Larry had just inadvertently let slip a small but crucial detail about the meat, one that chilled her to the bone. And even if she managed to shoulder that terrible knowledge, there were more practical concerns at hand. These enemies were tough, strong, fast, and perhaps worst of all, clever. When it came to horror, not being an idiot meant even more for predators than it did for prey. What could she honestly do?

Then again, could she live with herself if she did nothing? Although she’d known them for less than a day, these people were her friends. How in the hell could she cower and let these freaks turn them into hamburger? No doubt the others felt the same. Not one of them would stand idly by. As all the cafeteria kids except the Runaway fled Nadia clenched her teeth and leaped from the pot, her fan held up like a shield. “Hey, uglies!” she yowled, running over to a few loose carrots. “Over here!” With one airburst at a time she sent the carrots flying, a volley of orange missiles.

As soon as children started appearing in force, wielding various weapons, Larry reconsidered the situation. The arrival of Blazermate, however, sealed the deal. “Gah! They’re everywhere!” The outburst of his fellow chef caught his attention, and when he made a run for it, Larry followed suit with another armored charge. Nadia ran after them, not even thinking about what would happen if she actually caught them, but it quickly came to nothing. Amidst a hail of projectiles the butchers absconded, slamming the eastward door behind them. Nadia slowed to a stop as she heard a padlock click into place on the other side, at a loss for words. Just like that the children were alone again, down three of their number, and armed with the knowledge that the three little girls might end up as mincemeat any second.

“Ahahaha, you kids settle down, now!” came Larry’s voice from the other side. “We’re gonna take our time makin’ the most of our fresh meat! Just sit tight and wait your turn. Hahahahaaaah!”

With the way east sealed only two options remained. One was the locked door to the south, the key by the cutting board now unprotected. The other, Nadia realized as she looked around, was a [url=https://i.imgur.com/sOlSAiD.png]tiny vent[/url] not too far from the door. She scurried over and yanked it open, but even after leaving her fan behind, she realized that she could not squeeze through. By the smallest of margins, she was too big. “Grgh!” she grunted, trying in vain to fit her shoulders inside. Even if she somehow manages to clear the entrance, she’d be too stuck to advance any further unless painfully shoved through one centimeter at a time. “I can’t…guh!” It took some help to pull her back out. When she stood, frustrated, she realized with a little surprise that she stood taller than any of Mirage, Link, or Geralt. “Wait, what? I thought...I mean, nevermind! We’ve gotta save ‘em! Hurry and squeeze through”

Peach laid a hand on her shoulder. “Just a moment,” she squeaked. “I want to save them as much as you, but not everyone can fit through there, and those butchers could be waiting right on the other side! If we blindly rush in we could be throwing our lives away!”

“But we’re practically throwin’ theirs away if we don’t! Ugh!” Nadia kicked at a nearby table leg in frustration, predictably stubbing her toe. “Ow, oogh!” She shook her foot out and winced after placing it, her anger plain to see. “Well...what are we gonna do? Push through? Go around? Look for a key? This might be the only way in!”

Doing her best to keep her composure, Peach did her best to come up with an answer, giving the others a chance to do the same.