[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISM1z9BSED0][img]https://i.imgur.com/5B3hkEZ.png[/img][/url]

[sub][@Izurich][@Crusader Lord][/sub]

[color=#bd71e8]”Understood, proceed with caution.” [/color] Fritzi sounded a bit more professional than she had earlier. Less jovial. [color=#bd71e8]”I’ll notify the other squad about the military weaponry.” [/color] 
 
Merry may have covered her mouth and lungs, but the concentrated coal mixture found in tear gas was a natural irritant to one’s eyes. No amount of holding her breath or shielding her mucus membrane would clear her vision. But before momentary blindness set in, she managed to get off a single shot. Practiced hands ensured it went straight through the machine gunner’s head. The armor did little to slow the round down. Nor the barriers that were behind him, and certainly not the people hiding behind those barriers. Good thing most of the locals had fled the area, otherwise someone four blocks down would be getting a very rude wake up call. Once Merry moved to fresh air, her sight started to clear up. It seemed they weren’t using military grade tear gas. That was a relief at least.

But as short lived as her blindness was, it masked a subtle bit of movement at the other end of the building. Someone had stuck their hand out the window, pointed towards the apartment complex and then just vanished! 

What Merry did notice was how the bullets entering the apartment building seemed to stop. The gangsters backed away from the windows and headed further down the hall. The grenadier dropped a smoke grenade to block their exit. No one could accurately fire at Merry, nor could she fire at them. What was going on?

But on the same floor as her was a helmetless individual wearing a gas mask, sporting neon hair and an impressive bomb suit. They had an empty shotgun, but opted to leave it by the fire escape before entering the building. Now was the time for Viper’s knives, their fangs, a pair of twin ka-bars.She spun the knives while keeping herself out of sight. Their prey had run into the hallway, not too far away from their current position. They wouldn’t need a gun at this range.

Viper tied a bandana around her head before listening for Merry’s footsteps or her breathing. She had just run away from a slew of bullets, and there was no reason for her to think that now wasn’t a good time to catch her breath.

Viper didn’t wait for their prey to move. Viper shuffled up to Merry and wrapped her arm around the barrel of her gun. This was to prevent her from trying to fire at them. Merry might have been able to wrestle the gun free, but would she be able to do it before Viper’s other knife wound up in her chest?

[hr]

[sub][@SilverPaw]@TheGMbby[/sub]

Shortly after the gun brute emptied his entire clip into Su’s shield,  he charged her. They whipped the empty gun at her face, but it just harmlessly bounced off her shield. Once the brute  closed the distance, he grabbed Su’s shield and managed to pull it out of her grasp. He was strong, but he stumbled backwards as the shield was pulled clean out of her hand. This gave Su a clear shot at his legs, which she capitalized on. A single shot shattered his tibia, dropping him to one knee. Most thugs would have called it quits after taking a shot like that. But these convicts had seen a lot of fighting, and had fought through more grievous wounds than that. With his good leg, the thug lunged towards Su.

[color=peachpuff]”Gah!”[/color]

He nearly flattened her under her own shield, giving her a concussion from the impact. He was going to make use of her state of vertigo to climb over her and drive his fist through her face. But Su wasn’t one to stay down for long. She used her knees and elbows to lift her shield and dump the thug onto the floor. Su rose to her feet as soon as she was free. The brute grabbed Su’s leg, and the agent retaliated by dropping her metal shield on the thug’s arms. He roared in pain as both of his forearms were crushed under the force of the blow. He was no longer a threat to anyone. Her ears were still ringing when she stumbled towards her partner. [color=peachpuff]”Still okay?”[/color] There was a hint of concern in her voice when she examined Jacqueline’s wound. It was nothing serious, but it was like a mother to worry about such things, even if the children in question were not her own.

Jacqueline’s assessment of Rottweiler’s plan was pretty much on the mark. He hadn’t radioed for backup, but the brutes they fought were there to stall for time. Rottweiler had made it to the other end of the jail where he kneeled before a beautiful, if unkempt woman. She had a round face with mature features, and golden strands of hair that tumbled down the full length of her back. She wore no clothes, save for a tattered robe that was due for a trip to the washing machine, if not the furnace. She dragged a thin blade along the former police officer’s palm and clasped her hands in prayer. A red circle appeared around the woman, which shot rays of light upwards. The entire cell was basked in a red glow, and her robe looked like it was getting swept up in some sort of wind storm. The light dimmed seconds later, leaving Rottweiler with an eerie glow. The woman turned to the chain brute, who had just limped over. She held her hands together in prayer, and again, the red light and localized wind storm returned. When it expired, he too was given a red aura. The gash on his chest was no longer bleeding, and had scarred over.

[b]”The hell is going on here?”[/b]

Of course the situation was plainly evident to the Gemini Agents. The woman in the cell had to be a blood magi: one who practices the taboo art of blood magic. Magi were relics of the past when there wasn’t enough mana in the air to make espers viable. Rather than being conduits of mana via grimoires, Magi relied on artifacts designed exclusively for the art of casting spells. They did not enjoy the types of enhancements espers did, and casting spells took more concentration and time.  When that wasn’t the case, there was usually some other cost. Blood magic was infamous for its potency as well as requiring blood to activate its spells. There were stories of people being sacrificed by the hundreds to summon cataclysmic events. 

[b]”You’ll be free soon, Lada.”[/b] Rottweiler stood back up and turned towards the espers. [b]”You know, it’s been one hell of a week. One minute I’m a mild mannered martial arts instructor, the next I’m some coward who cohorts with gang members to save his own skin.”[/b] He chuckled as he walked closer to the espers. The prisoners didn’t stop screaming for blood, but they had quieted down after Rottweiler received his dark blessing. [b]”Ten years of service, and in just a few days my biggest fans have all lost faith in me. Man, people sure can be fickle, huh?”[/b] He shook his head with a smile. [b]”I don’t think I need to tell you guys there’s a hidden government complex around here, right? That’s probably why you guys are here. They take magically gifted convicts down there for research. I had Cobra Gang move Lada up here for me. But even they don’t like the idea of her walking around freely.”[/b] He sighed. [b]”We don’t have to fight, I just want to get Lada out of here. I don’t really care what happens to the gang.”[/b]

Su fret her brow and leveled her pistol with Rottweiler’s head. [color=peachpuff]”Alliance or not, experiment or not, I only imagine what blood magi was convicted of.”[/color] She shook her head. [color=peachpuff]”She can’t be free.”[/color]

[b]”Hah! I guess that’s fair.”[/b] 

The chain thug Took a deep breath and charged Su with refound determination and power. She managed to fire a round into his shoulder, but his only reaction was for his shoulder to swing back like it had been shoved. There wasn’t any indication that the bullet penetrated his flesh. Su raised her shield and fired several more rounds before he slammed into her shield with his other shoulder, knocking her back. All of the gunfire had shredded the shoulder of his jump suit, revealing a cluster of bruises. Whatever the magic did to them, it made them incredibly durable. While gunfire wasn’t too effective, did that mean a giant war pick would be just as ineffective, or even their melodies?

[b]”I feel like a mountain!”[/b] The convict cheered.

Rottweiler had a pistol and billy club in his holster, but drew his hand held metal detector instead. [b]”Let’s have some fun.”[/b] He brought his detector across his chest and sprinted for Jacqueline. He dropped his radio with his other hand and reached towards her weapon. It was too early to tell if he was going for a disarm, or was going to attempt pushing the weapon out of the way. But it was clear she was going to have a master martial artist on top of her if she didn’t act soon.

[hider=specs]
[center]32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest 
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm , Flight ], Push, Pull, Build, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: E | 404[/center][/hider]

[hr]

[sub][@FamishedPants][@OwO][@mantou][@ERode][/sub]

With the second floor in chaos, and the guards on the stairwell trapped, there was little barring the advance of the freelancer team. Aria spear headed the team in the metaphorical and literal sense, plunging her weapon through the opposition before hurrying upstairs. She kept moving forward before unleashing the strongest pull melody she could muster. Though regrettably, it still had to conform to the nature of the notes she cast it with. The range on an AoE note was only five feet in all directions around Aria. Her magic also had no way to distinguish between a gun and a person. Aria’s power came from drawing in the flows of mana, which was something inherently in the air rather than something found in metal. Her magic was more akin to a gravitational force than a magnetic one. But there were loads of guns from the divine explosion Apollo unleashed earlier, and many of those guns were drawn to her feet. So if Apollo wished to swap his pistol for one of the many AK-47’s strewn about Protector’s feet, that was viable. Another, perhaps unintentional effect of her melody was that she could hear some people fumbling in the stairwell above her. Were the stairs not in the way, they may have fallen directly on top of Aria. The older waiter and the cronies beside him were unaffected as they were just too far away.

But not out of range of Samuel’s magic.

[color=0099a6]"Master Wade!"[/color] The old crow waved his hand at one of the gunman. [color=0099a6]"Move your feet! Something bad is about to-"[/color]

As Wade would soon learn, talking isn’t always a free action. Silhouette's horrific melody triggered just moments later, but by the time the shadow enveloped the poor bastard, it was already too late. Many of them opened fire on Samuel’s melody, which cracked the shadow and revealed what remained of poor Wade. He didn’t even look like a human anymore. Just a sack of meat with his bones and organs scrambled about, filled with bullet holes from his companions. Cobra Gang was largely made up of criminals who preyed on people they perceived as weaker than themselves. It made them feel powerful to steal, rape, and murder as a group. Their friendship was based on how strong they made each other feel, and watching one of their own get crushed by a shadow did not reinforce that image. A fair fight wasn’t worth picking, these espers were so far above them they were little more than roadblocks to them. Many wore a look of terror on their faces and fled at the sight. They ran to the opposite end of the building to escape out the windows. They would try their luck with the drop rather than face something that could do [i]that[/i] to them. Plenty of the fleeing thugs fell to Apollo first.

During all that, Fritzi’s voice came over the freelancer’s earpieces. [color=#bd71e8]”Military arments have been spotted on the upper floors. Expect heavy resistance moving forward.” [/color] 

But with all the chaos afoot, nobody noticed Viper was no longer present. One does not simply watch their prey jump out of a window and stand by idly as they rally their friends. Viper had entered one of the offices before the freelance squad made their way up the stairs. Once they were alone, they spoke into their intercom.

[b]”Hey hun, got some espers in here, wanna swap?”[/b]

After receiving a reply, Viper stuck their hand out the office window, pointed it at a distant building and just...vanished! Some yellow powder soaked into the floor, and there was no trace she had even been there. 

Though their exchange here was about to make things much more interesting for the freelance team.

It looked like the freelancer group had cleared the second floor pretty well, with just the butler and two other cronies that were too stubborn to flee. The old man had two of his fingers pressed against his temple when he suddenly smiled. 

[color=0099a6]"Very well. If a group of low-brow rabble wishes to dance, what am I to do but oblige?"[/color] The waiter pointed his hand down the hall at the freelancer team, still keeping his fingers pressed together. [color=0099a6]"Servant Sofron, at your services!"[/color] At that moment it all clicked. The funny outfit, the eccentric personality… Sofron was an esper. Maybe he was a new addition to the gang Fritzi didn’t know about, or maybe he was a hire for extra muscle, but there would be time to think about that later.

A burning, screaming skull flew out of his fingertips. Most projectile melodies travel at the speed of a stone throw, and can usually be dodged if you see them coming. But this one was moving quickly. Its disembodied scream grew louder before diving into the floor and filling a [b]zone[/b] of the hallway with burning ash. The effects weren’t obvious to start, but Aria, Apollo, and Samuel could feel the heat baking them. Their mana felt like it was being limited, and their bodies were starting to catch fire! They only had a few seconds to clear out before they were fully engulfed. That wasn’t even accounting for the bullets that would fill the hallway once the gang opened fire again. And that would resume shortly judging by how they were looking down their sights.

But that was not where the freelance team’s troubles ended. The “men” on the stairs turned out to be a single man clad head to toe in black armor. Visually they looked similar to viper, save for “Mamba” had a different name sprayed across their chest, and they had an orange cattle prod in place of a shotgun. [b]”Smells like dinner’s cookin’!” [/b] They sprint down the stairs after Apollo. It wasn’t hard to imagine someone wanting to shock someone like that.

Klava seemed to be relatively safe. She was still on the stairs, and there wasn’t enough room at the top for her to squeeze in. Not that she’d willingly enter a hallway filled with fire and bullets anyway. (Unless?) But that didn’t mean the stairs weren’t going to get exciting. She could hear some people moving around on the first floor.

[b]”See? I told you those zip lines would come in handy! Just rappel down from the offices and-” [/b]

[b]”Save it, Adder. Just be prepared to shoot anything that comes through.” [/b]

A tear gas grenade was thrown into the stairwell, filling the staircase between the second and first floor with smoke. This was followed by the sound of gunfire filling the staircase. 

[hider=Important notes on Sofron’s “Balefire”]
[Diamond Projectile][Quicken][Zone][Ignite]

The Ignite note has a grade of “B,” which means that someone with B grade arcane defenses will become fully engulfed in flames after six seconds. Every grade below that will quicken the engulf by about a second. So C takes five seconds, D takes four, and E takes three. The zone is not entering the stairways, but is filling up twenty feet of the hallway’s length. That’s roughly six meters for those of you who don’t use the imperial system. 

Everyone hit by Sofron’s melody are also under the effect of “Baleful Flame,” which makes it so that your next melody can’t cost more than 50 mana
[/hider]

[hr]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oMNwI4Gyq0][img]https://i.imgur.com/rtlB6LL.png[/img][/url]

[sub][@The World][@Hammerman][/sub]

A daring escape prevented Regina from being fatally skewered, as the Huntress slipped out from the brawler-ape’s grapple and blinked herself away, landing in relative safety near the warehouse’s entrance...until the mangled corpse of a rat struck her face. Looking through the entrance, she was greeted by the surreal sight of Billy Black being clothed in carnivorous rats, while a squadron of chefs with very tall hats sat down and patted their duck fat.

[color=lightgray]”Ya gotta be five finger fuckin’ me!”[/color] Billy turned to face Huntress, not too pleased to be doing battle with so many rats at once. Though he also seemed to be in good condition, all things considered. [color=lightgray]”Get your- I say get your ass back in there and do what I’m paying you for!”[/color] He looked to the sky as a caldron filled with a murky green liquid was launched into the air off of a catapult. [color=lightgray]”Hell’s bells!”[/color] He quickly nudged Regina aside, causing her to stumble through the illusionary field and avoiding a bath in rat broth. 

Insane as that was, however, her escape was only temporary, and the two apes continued to follow her doggedly, rushing her down with the spear-ape now taking the front while the brawler-ape lagged from behind. The poison still slowed him down, but in time, the effects of that magical affliction would fade, and if Regina didn’t find a sniping position soon, she’d undoubtedly find herself back in a two-on-one melee.

Of course, compared to Marrie, Regina had it easy. Suddenly incredibly vulnerable due to the loss of her Esper form, the depowered girl sprung into action, morals forgotten as the situation became much more dire than expected. With desperate force, her kick landed right between the legs of the longsword-ape, pummeling something soft and inexplicably moist. He let out a gasp in response, doubling over in agony and giving Marrie just enough time to dive for her instrument. The shark tooth necklace vibrated within her grasp, and in the next moment, she reclaimed her superpowered form! Blood soaked her left arm, but her right was strong, and with her opponent still shaking, the Apex Predator lunged for a killing blow!

Only for her right foot to be yanked backwards by the whip-ape’s accurate strikes, and for her chin to strike the ground in a skull-shaking impact. Of course. In a fight between multiple opponents, to ignore the one with the longer range was to leave yourself exposed at any time.

And while the world around her blurred and loosened, swirled and ached, Marrie could see the longsword-ape stand up once more, raising his sword to thrust into her back before she could recover. A miserable end, to a life that had seemed so full of promise. But as death neared, a strange smell bloomed in the area. A smell of mold, of old sweat, of high school locker rooms. The smell…of old socks! A wave of decay burst outwards near Marrie, driving both monkeys and bees back before the finishing blow could be delivered. And, standing before her was Tetrad, in that moment smelling both weirdly sweet and also incredibly repugnant. Both espers now had time to recover, and the menace of Tetrad’s newly-acquired hammer caused the apes to reflect on their plan of attack…though it certainly didn’t stop the bees from rushing T at all. With an angry buzz, they swarmed for the only sweet-smelling individual in the vicinity, ready to lay stingers on Tetrad and dedicate their hearts to the cause.

Meanwhile, the Queen of Bees, still basically untouched and still basically having not drawn any aggro this entire time, strutted forward menacingly as her subs pumped up the honey water within their Super Soakers once more. Those Neanderthals, not knowing that the true threat laid with her and her Hyper Larva Growth magics! Those peons, fit only to massage her feet with their pitifully soft and weak hands! To think that their brains were so underdeveloped that they chose to fight each other rather than group up on the mightiest threat in this warehouse!

[b]“Take aim!”[/b] She shouted, her minions lining up their guns once more. [b]“Fire!”[/b]

[i]KABOOM![/i]

An explosion sounded behind the Queen, completely drowning out her yelp of surprise as a wrecking ball smashed through the entire back wall of the warehouse. Chunks of rubble flew out, pasting one of the subs as the light of day pierced through the storm of dust. The music could be heard loud and clear now, accentuated by the rumbling of behemothian engines. Two bulldozers flanked a tall crane, all their lights pointed in one direction to backlight the squat businessman who strode into the room like a true American psychopath. He wore a yellow hard hat that didn’t match his custom-tailored Italian shoes, and the grin he had on his face was undoubtedly one of a man who had more money than sense. Pulling out his megaphone, he let it crackle annoyingly, then called out.

[b]“Alright, ya freaks and sheeps! Time to clear the fuck out. This shitty little warehouse has been blotting the cityscape for far too long. Pax Septimus Holdings has just cleared demolition for this here building, so clear the hell out and find some other warehouse to squat in!”[/b]

He sneered, supremely arrogant of his position and also totally unaware of what was going on at the other side of the warehouse.

[b]“Maybe if y’all worked as hard as I did, you’d be able to afford to lease one of the rooms for the mega-apartment I’ll be building up after this!”[/b]

[hr]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Pzx1NDTtI][img]https://i.imgur.com/OYSa6cT.png[/img][/url]

[sub][@Majoras End][/sub]

Children are little more than adults in training. Be they six, twelve, or even eight-teen, they are still learning how to behave like someone who can handle responsibilities. One of the more difficult lessons children must learn is the appropriate amount of force to use in a given situation. It’s a tricky one to learn, one that many adults haven’t mastered.

As an example, when Mary saw Betty in zir seat, ze could have asked her to move before resorting to magic. That could have made Mary seem reasonable in the eyes of others. Instead, Fable was filled with fear, notably so as ze drew closer. Though much like zirself, Fable was also a child. Throwing a hot cup of coffee into someone’s face was a perfectly reasonable thing to do if they made him feel uncomfortable. 

Maybe the coffee had cooled for a few seconds, maybe a minute, but hot coffee was still hot coffee. Mary’s scream could pierce glass, but it didn’t stop Fable from running off. As he disappeared out the door, Mary fell to zir knees, still screaming as the coffee trickled down zir elaborate shirt. Denny stuck out his big tongue and tried to clean as much off it as he could. Mary eventually calmed down enough to where ze could reach into their blouse and retrieve a handkerchief to clean zirself off with. They cleaned up most of it, though ze still looked miserable. Zir dress was wet with coffee, and ze couldn’t stop themselves from crying. Mary’s cheeks were bright red, and zir nose was running all over the place.

[color=9b83de]"Mastress! This won’t do!"[/color] Denny shook Mary. [color=9b83de]"It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have tried to hook you two up! But after seeing how bad things have been going-"[/color] But Deny went silent as soon as Mary decided zir skills as a ventriloquist wasn’t going to cheer them up. It was depressing, really. Pretending to be a puppet to overcome zir crippling social anxiety.

But while ze was content to just sulk, someone else wasn’t going to let zir do that.

[color=662d91]“Ahhh...”[/color] A gloved hand slid under Mary’s chin and lifted it up. Ze immediately stopped zir crying when ze was able to see who the hand belonged to. It was a slender man with short blond hair and some of the most regal clothes ze had ever seen. He looked like he had just stepped out of a castle in Transylvania. Ze couldn’t see his eyes because they were closed, but that didn’t stop him from “looking” at zir. [color=662d91]“What a beautiful flower I’ve come across. But why, her pedals are stained with coffee, and her eyes run over with tears.”[/color] The man offered zir a handkerchief, which ze took and blew zir nose into. [color=662d91]“What is your name, madam?”[/color] 

[color=1462ba]"M-Mary."[/color] Ze fret zir brow. [color=1462ba]"And it’s ze! I’m a demiboy!"[/color] 

[color=662d91]“Ahh, I apologize.”[/color] He bowed. [color=662d91]“I am Justin. You may refer to me as a ‘he,’ if that is acceptable?”[/color]

Mary’s face broke into a smile. [color=1462ba]"I don’t see a problem with that, Justin."[/color]

[color=662d91]”I see you’ve had a little mishap with your cup. Would you like me to get you another one?”[/color]

[color=1462ba]"T-this was not a mishap!"[/color]  Ze folded zir arms. [color=1462ba]"B-but yes, I would like some coffee. I haven’t had any luck getting a waiter over this way, and some guy just threw ‘this’ one at my face!"[/color]

Justin was taken back by this news. [color=662d91]”My condolences, Mary. I knew Pax Septimus was a rough place, but any neanderthal who would do such a thing to a flower as beautiful as yourself is truly depraved. Do you know anything about him?”[/color]

Ze sighed. [color=1462ba]"I saw his face."[/color]

[color=662d91]”That may be enough.”[/color] He looked back towards the counter and raised two fingers. The shop owner gave a nod before disappearing behind the counter. [color=662d91]”Perhaps you can help me out, Mary. It would mean a lot to me. I’m looking for a girl. She has silver hair, pale skin, and she was playing the violin a few minutes ago. I was going to leave, but I simply must have her autograph.”[/color] Justin smiled. [color=662d91]”You wouldn’t happen to know where she is, would you?”[/color]

[hr]

Fable ran. He ran and ran and ran. There was no destination in mind, just the desire to escape. Unfortunately for Fable, it is not possible for an Esper to run away from trouble. Without a location in mind, an esper will always be drawn to places where other espers or monsters reside. And since Fable was avoiding the former, it was just a matter of time before he encountered the ladder. 

And boy did he encounter one!

He didn’t see anything at first, but he heard it. The ground quaked with every step the monster took. Before he could even consider running away again, he caught a glimpse of it as it barreled through the streets. At a distance, it looked like nothing more than a [url=https://listenonrepeat.com/?v=abGOef39uV0#Noisestorm-Crab_Rave(monster_cat_release)_%5B1_HOUR%5D]giant crab[/url]. One that was several stories tall maybe, but there wasn’t anything especially unique about its construction. Though he did notice lots of small cracks running all over its body, and it’s shell seemed to… move? It shifted, punched, and skidded about as it drew closer to Fable. But as it did, Fable would soon realize it wasn’t a giant crab, but thousands of normal sized crabs locked together. Swinging their pincers and dancing about.

Below the creature was a [url=https://i.imgur.com/e5tOW74.jpg]green haired woman[/url] with the longest legs he had ever seen. She was wearing a doctor’s coat and had all manner of doctor’s equipment hooked up to four metal arms mounted on her back. Bone saws, an oversized injection gun, and various other implements that were too big and cumbersome to be used to heal anyone. There was even an overhead light rigged up to shine on whatever she was looking at. Despite the bulk of her equipment, she moved with the grace of an ice skater, twirling through the air as the crab swung it’s claws at her.  

[color=baddab]”This would be a lot easier if our teams were the same size.”[/color] Despite the doctor’s quip, it was clear that it was taking everything she had to not get flattened under the monstrosity’s claws.

Then, Fable’s phone would blip with a notification from the Shimr app.

[indent]Request From: G.E.M.I.N.I. (Vermillion Veronica)
Details: BEHEMOTH ELIMINATION
[color=#bd71e8]Behemoth-class monster “Crab Rave” has appeared on Richter ST. Espers are being hired to assist with the elimination of the threat and help vacate the vicinity of civilians. Help is required ASAP. Payment will be distributed based on contribution towards Crab Rave’s elimination and evacuation of the battle area. Crab Rave’s elimination is 80% of the reward.[/color] 
[/indent]

Richter? That street ran right past the Great Escape!

The crabs on the behemoth’s head shifted apart, and two clusters of crabs were blasted out of it. as they flew through the air, they scurried around each other until they looked like two smaller versions of the behemoth they spawned from. They landed on their “feet” a few meters away from Fable’s position and started to close in on him. One rolled onto its head and started to spin, breakdancing towards the wee lad. 

Crabs to his back, a giant crab to his front, and walls on either side of him. Would Fable attempt to continue his daring escape, or would he stand and fight?