[Center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjcyLmZmZmZmZi5UMjF2Y21rLjA/alphabetized-cassette-tapes.regular.png[/img]
[color=black]Level:[/color] 4
[color=white]Experience:[/color] 29/40
[color=black]Currently In:[/color] The Under, Necropolis
[color=white]Word Count:[/color] 4,323 (+5 Exp)
[i]Collab with [@Zoey Boey], [@Double], and a bit from [@Archmage MC][/i]
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Jesse met up with the others in the boss room that someone- the Knight, apparently, had defeated. Normally she might advise against doing it alone, but the Duke of Flies was hardly a significant threat. So it was likely that any of the Seekers could solo any of these rooms, even if it would be a pain in the ass.

As Nadia took the lead, Jesse stood over the hole and looked at the others still yet to leave. "Anyone wanna group up with me for a bit?"

Omori was standing in front of the pitch-black doorway, his attention turning from the goat mounted on top, to Jesse, then back into the room itself. He was curious about it, yeah, but at the same time, it unnerved him. Nadia had the right idea to avoid going in. It had a familiar aura to it. One that said, "You shouldn't be here". And concidering what he saw when the feral took the nightlight? Something like a severed, crimson-colored head distorted into eternal agony was a literal NOPE.

Raising his upper arms up, he backed up from the Devil Room and to behind Jesse.

Right about then came the heavy foot steps of Ganondorf's boots. He had watched the two other Seekers show their hesitation to enter the dark opening. As he walked past he gave them an incredulous look before simply shrugging his shoulders, [color=Red]"Fine then. I'll take point if no one else will."[/color] Given his background, it made a frightening amount of sense why he would have no fear for these sort of places. He was raised, not to fear the dark, but to conquer it and command it. This, he'd long ago decided, would be no different.

Jesse felt like she should pat Omori on the head or something, but decided that would be inappropriate. She squinted and smirked, amused at Ganondorf's expression and interpretation of events. "Well, don't let me stop you, big guy. By all means, show us how it's done." She gestured to the hole.

[color=Red]"Hmph."[/color] replied Ganondorf with a huff, [color=Red]"This place does not frighten me."[/color] he added while he approached the hole. He leaned over and gazed down into it, unable to see where it led. But Ganondorf, true to his word, was not afraid. He offered one more glance to the Seekers behind him and jumped.

Jesse glanced at Omori. "Somethin' about this place means that you don't break your ankles when you fall, right? Otherwise, I dunno, I could give you a piggy back ride or something." Jesse said. She took a step and dropped down into the hole.

Once everyone was down there, Jesse picked a direction she saw that people weren't going.

"This way, fellas?" She said, summoning her Service Weapon. She peaked inside the dark room. "I don't see anything but...sometimes they appear right as you enter."

The Gerudo merely shrugged, [color=Red]"The sooner we're on our way, the sooner we will be able to leave this wretched hole."[/color] he said in what sounded like slightly more annoyed tone. Even if he wasn't afraid of this place, that didn't mean he couldn't get tired of it after a while.

 After a moment to swap out his weapons, Omori peeked into the room with Jesse, machete and flintlock in his hands. [b][color=dcdcdc]"They can pop out of the ground."[/color][/b] He mentioned, thinking back to the Ulcers in the Caves. The boy couldn't help nodding at Ganondorf's statement. As long as they didn't run into any more spiders, he'd have no problem clearing the rooms ahead.

 But something crossed his mind. How were all three of them going to step inside at once? Sectonia could blink into the rooms, but he didn't know what his current teammates could do. [Color=dcdcdc][b]"...So are we all hopping in at the count of three, or am I getting tossed in?"[/b][/color]
 
 "This is my tried and true strat." Jesse said, floating into the air above Ganondorf's head. "Then you guys just go in underneath me. On three. Wait, no, on go. So it'll be three, two, one, [i]go[/i] and then you go." Jesse said.
 
 "So we'll do that right now. Three, two, one, go." She floated into the room, looking down to make sure they were beneath her. 
 
Without giving it too much thought, Ganondorf reached down and quickly grabbed the boy by his shirt and just carried him through the door underneath Jesse. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea of giving people rides on his back like he had previously done with Nadia so maybe this would be next best way to handle this? Omori appeared indifferent to being picked up by the scruff, either way. Jesse furrowed her brow and smirked incredulously, but if Omori wasn't complaining neither was she. 

Once through, he let the boy back down on the floor. It really was inconvenient that these doors automatically locked themselves after only a single person stepped through. He supposed this was why the Hero of Time had to work alone for the most part.

Immediately, he and the others got a good look at what they'd be up against this time. Three bizarre organisms, or perhaps collectives or organisms, patrolled a room of boulders arrayed with regular spacing. Each one appeared to be a chain of empty-eyed heads that dragged themselves along at a surprising pace with grubby little mits that extended from their cheeks. From their gaping mouths extended a tongue that they used to latch onto -or God forbid, [i]into[/i]- the creature in front of them, allowing them to hustle along in a grotesque game of follow-the-leader. These Buttlickers happily charged toward the Seekers in an attempt to both heabutt them and rip at their skin with their centipede limbs.

"Okay, who comes [i]up[/i] with this shit? Omori, stay away these from things!" Jesse said. Not entirely out of concern for his safety, but just because they were really gross and Omori wasn't wearing big shoes like Ganondorf. Jesse switched to Shatter and took point out of the three of them. She used Shield and formed a wide wall in front of her, forming a psychic bulkhead to force the abominations to crawl around it. She could move or readjust the wall or herself as she pleased as long as it was infront of her. Ideally this would give her teammates enough time to kill some of them while they tried to maneuver around the wall. 

[color=dcdcdc][b]"This would be easier if I had my red hands back..."[/b][/color] Omori tiredly sighed. Sticking with ranged weapons seemed like the best option in this place, but he was low on ammo for one gun, Revolver didn't work like that, and the flintlock he held now required him to face these...eloquently named centipedes head on. With Jesse constructing a barrier to force the creatures to go around, the boy went to one side and began stabing what he could in their ugly heads, if not cutting their bodies up into sections.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the wall, the King of Evil had already drawn the white sword from its scabbard, [color=Red]"Tch, disgusting creatures."[/color] he scoffed with a scowl. Even he was getting to be sickened by the sight of these abominations. When one of them got close enough to his end of the psychic wall, Ganondorf wasted no time in stabbing at it and hacking it apart with the despicably holy weapon he held in his hands.

One of the buttlickers' tongues wrapped around Omori's machete, seemingly in an attempt to disarm the boy. He wrestled against it in a dangerous game of tug-o-war, a few other centipedal creatures beginning to swarm after seeing an opportunity to attack.

 Until Omori fired his gun point blank, catching the few in an explosive blast and freeing his blade. ...It still had the tongue wrapped around it. Gross.
 
 Lastly, Jesse flung her Shield wall at the last centipede, shredding it into pieces. "Nice!" She offered the two of them a pair of high fives- Up High for Ganondorf and Down Low for Omori. Ganondorf just thought she was waving for some reason and decided to raise a hand to wave back if only to humor. He didn't expect her to suddenly slap her hand against his, which left him with a quizzical look on his face. Omori on the other hand, casually took the offer without any words. Jesse nodded and smirked at the noble effort.

As the last gruesome Buttlicker exploded into ash, a silver chest dropped onto the smeared blood in the center of the room. Popping it open rewarded two coins and a silver key, a far luckier bounty than most of the fighters had received thus far. With the promise of greater reward for the greater risk they now faced in mind, they could proceed to the next chamber, unaware of the change in pace it would present them with.

Ganondorf reached down and picked up the key and then examined it with curiosity, followed by exasperated sigh, [color=Red]"Look at me, grabbing silver keys out of chests. Just like [i]Him[/i]."[/color] he said the last word of that sentence with a sharp degree of venomous hatred.

 The monochrome youth picked up the two coins in turn. His brow rose at the vague mention of someone Ganondorf didn't seem to like, but didn't bother asking. [Color=dcdcdc][b]"Might be useful."[/b][/color] He said, looking at the silver key. He didn't know if a locked room was down the direction they were moving or if a golden chest will appear. [Color=dcdcdc][b]"We'll just have to keep moving. Let's go."[/b][/color]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/RY06JTn.png[/img][/center]

What greeted the trio next was a room of stone brick, with floors of dark gray tiles of varying sizes and white walls illuminated by fiery sconces. They stood on an overlook in front of the door connected by a bridge lined with red masonry to a rectangular center area. Just a few feet below the bridge lay a knee-deep pool of water, a far cry from the bottomless pits encountered before now, but the Seekers' focus lay on the enemies that awaited them across the span. Rather than more fleshy or fecal monstrosities, a gang of giant living bullets stood there, with cylindrical gold-colored bodies, silver caps, and little faces. A bullet with a darker gray hue and an eyepatch sat at a table in the middle of his squad, but at the sight of intruders he flipped the table onto its side to use as cover, and the Bullet Kin opened fire with magnums. The shots whizzed through the air much slower than real bullets, but with four shooters they filled the air, and the Bullet Veteran did not hesitate to add his own much faster and better-aimed gunfire to the mix.

Ganondorf had to dive out of the way to avoid taking any bullets, [color=Red]"Bah, cowards!"[/color] lemented, having always hated this sort of ranged weaponry. But that didn't mean Ganondorf was above returning the favor. He did just that, summoning the Duke of Flies to unleash a volley of twelve flies that would home in on as many targets as possible for their single attack.

Jesse sprinted forward and created another psychic Shield wall. Once again her Saturnus symbol glowed brightly and seven projectiles of the ground began to circle around her, ready to strike defensively. The bullets' bullets slammed into her Shield, but Jesse held firm and tried to offer her teammates a safe fall back position- while she closed the gap. [i]If it ain't broke..."[/i] She thought to herself. 

After the Duke of Flies had cleared out what it could, Omori casted Sad Poem on the Bullet Veteran to slow it's firing speed, then rushed in to clear out the rest. Of course, having to rely on getting up close to the enemy meant taking a bullet here and there was inevitable. Though he didn't mind at this point, he was willing to bleed. [i]Just[/i] as long as they didn't shoot at his backpack. Collecting the spirits of these Bullet Kin would most likely give him the ammo he needed for his other pistol, so showing no mercy here was necessary. For every couple of strikes the boy managed to connect, he'd fire his flintlock to gradually snuff the Bullet Kin out. But someone still had to take out the leader.

As soon as the Duke of Flies vanished, after Omori rushed in following his spell, Ganondorf readied the White Sword and followed suit. Since the boy was focusing on the Bullet Kin, the Gerudo took it upon himself to focus on the Bullet Veteran. It was tougher than its weaker cousins, but being slowed by Omori's spell would render it practically helpless against Ganondorf just the same. With enough powerful swings of the white sword, the Bullet Veteran fell soon enough. And the King of Evil elected to ignore its spirit, remembering that spirits like that didn't prove to be of much use to him. One of the others could have it if they wished.

Even after the last Bullet-Kin rusted away into ash and a spirit, the acrid, almost stinging smell of gunsmoke hung in the air. To compensate the Seekers for their fresh assortment of bullet wounds, a most interesting reward manifested itself in the center of the room where the firefight went down: a gun. At least, it looked like a gun, but the bulbous red shape on the end of the barrel poked a couple holes in that theory. If nothing else, it looked like it packed a punch.

[hider=Boxing Glove][center]You have acquired:
    [b][url=https://i.imgur.com/ArQMKG0.png]Boxing Glove[/url][/b]
    [i]A gun that shoots a limited-range boxing glove with a chance to stun. Each time it kills an enemy, it gains a star up to 3 stars. When at 3 stars, it can be charged to consume the stars and fire a high-damage super punch.[/i][/center][/hider]
    
[color=Red]"That's an... interesting weapon."[/color] Ganondorf mused, though he did not bother taking the object, [color=Red]"I don't much care for this type of weapon. So one of you can have it instead."[/color]

After crushing all the spirits in this room for extra ammo, Omori eagerly grabbed the Boxing Glove. Ranged attacks seemed to be a good option down here, so he'd take what he could get.

...He'll need a moment to heal himself before moving to the next room, though. The boy searched his inventory for any health items left.

Jesse had dropped her Shield, looking over Omori's shoulder at the boxing glove gun. "God, I hope that thing actually works." She said, admiring the novelty weapon. "And, uh, by the way, you don't need to get yourself shot for no reason. We're not in any rush here." She said. 

Omori glanced back at Jesse. He simply shrugged in response, letting the snacks restore most of his health. [b][color=dcdcdc]"I can take worse."[/color][/b] The boy told her. Though the amount of damage he took in fights so far [i]was[/i] a bit concerning, he could admit it. [b][color=dcdcdc]"I think I got enough ammo from those bullet guys to use for my other gun. It's just that this one doesn't work like that."[/color][/b] The boy held up his flintlock as he explained. [b][color=dcdcdc]"...Sorry for not being careful."[/color][/b] He softly apologized after a moment.

"Nothing to say sorry about, [i]you're[/i] the one getting shot." Jesse said. "We seriously need to invest in some real firepower for you. Not a literal flintlock. Your...magic? Abilities? Whatever it is you do to them is good stuff, even without guns and knives. So in the meantime feel free to play it safe. I can move with my Shield up, so if you want me to advance just say the word."

Omori nodded, the corners of his lips quirking up into a faint smile.
    
Two down, two to go. The next stop on the heroes' journey looked like a normal one, although it presented an unexpected new hazard. In addition to the four creepy little Vis that tottered around the place, just waiting for someone to step into the same row or column so they could pull open the wound on their stomachs and unleash a beam of caustic blood, four blocks of spikes lay in a square around the center of the room. If a Seeker steeped in front of one of its sides, it would slide at high speed across the floor in an attempt to impale the tragic hero, then slowly grind back to its original position for another go. Everything in here seemed to operate by the cardinal directions, but without those limitations, the newcomers could form a plan of attack to overcome the dangerous threat.

Jesse got to work, using Grip to shoot the Vis from a safe distance one by one. With no greater swarm of projectiles or enemies to worry about, she was making quick work of them. When there was only two left she stepped in the path of a spike block. "Shit!" She swore and as a gut reaction Evaded backwards, turning into a blur of speed before reappearing by Ganondorf and Omori.

The spike block began to retract to it's fellows. "Uh, watch the spikes. They bite."

Omori furrowed his brows at the Pokies. [b][color=dcdcdc]"It's either an elaborate trap, or those things are alive somehow..."[/color][/b] He said, trying to figure out a way through without having [i]more[/i] holes made in his body. He held a hand under his chin. [b][color=dcdcdc]"Think we can break them?"[/color][/b] He suggested.

"If by 'we' you mean 'me.'" Jesse joked, extending a hand out wards the spike blocks. The one that had just tried to get her jostled, cracked, and was ripped from the ground before being promptly flung into one of the other critters, splattering it. It tumbled and fell into pieces. 

She shook her hand, flexing her fingers.

[color=Red]"So be it."[/color] muttered Ganondorf as he concentrated dark magic in his hands and then focused that energy in front of him,[color=Red]"Times like this call for more... expendable allies."[/color] he summoned Phantom Ganon, who at first stood in front of his master before floating upward and over the spike blocks where it could then slay the remaining two Vis by stabbing at them from above, outside the range of their vision and attacks.

The monochrome boy wasn't in range to stab the other two pokies or use Bread Slice on them, so Omori casted Mock to gradually shatter them, the red hands stabbing into the spike blocks until they broke.

The reward for their thorough efforts was...a nondescript pill. It barely made a sound as it appeared and fell onto the ground. Omori glanced at it and rose a brow. Should any of them even take the gamble? He didn't exactly trust it, so that left the other two to decide.

Jesse warily eyed the pill. She glanced down at the symbol on her hand that was relatively unobtrusive and granted her a new ability. On the other hand... "If there was one thing I learned from moving to New York, it was to not pick up random pills on the ground and eat them." She said. And the previous power she acquired activated on touch. Could a pill activate on touch? "I think I've pushed my luck enough for the day."

 Regardless of their choice, the trio would find that the last room was...already finished. Somehow, Sectonia managed to get ahead of them, from the item room nearby if what she explained to them was any indication. Omori had to respect the queen bee for finding a way to skip ahead. The red symbol in the center of the room did have him curious. Unlike the grotesque and peculiar the team had seen so far, this room and the reward it held had a different air to it itself too. The boy walked up to the Boon of Ares, and reached out to it.
 
 As Omori's outstretched hand grew nearer to the blazing red emblem, a sound gradually filled his ears, subtle at first but swelling fast in intensity. It was a cacophony of impassioned voices, a tumultuous song of war cries and screams, punctuated by the percussion of weapons against one another. By the time he worked up the courage to actually touch the divine insignia, the roars of battle became deafening, but in the instant he made contact they faded away. So to did the world itself, trapping the boy within an infinite dark space with horizons of flame. Distant silhouettes waged an endless struggle; arrows flew overhead. And before Omori loomed the majestic visage of [url=https://i.imgur.com/514Giy2.png]Ares,[/url] the God of War.

In armor of gleaming gold and spotless white he stood tall, his silver hair parted to one side and adorned with a laurel wreath, black like the spikes on his shoulders. In his hands he held a glossy black blade with a wicked edge, and in his empty red eyes and knowing smirk there lurked not malice, but the capacity for infinite cruelty. However, he did not move or animate in any way; instead, he seemed more like a vision, or a projection, than a living, breathing person here with Omori. "Well, well," he began, his voice deep and smooth. "Just who is it that has come seeking the blessing the God of War? Don't answer, mind you, this little chat of ours is strictly one-way. Nevertheless I can sense quite the fighting spirit...could you be a fellow dealer of death? I know that you must have many aspirations, my petitioner. To be plain with you about my own motive for a moment: As long as you continue bringing swift and steady death, you shall have my unyielding support."

A scroll of parchment appeared before Omori, and it unraveled as it floated in the air. Three options were listed out on it:
[list][*][b]Curse of Pain[/b] (special/abnormal weapon attacks inflict Doom on opponents, which causes a bloody sword to appear over their heads for a couple seconds, after which it descends for extra damage)
[*][b]Blade Dash[/b] (full-body evasive maneuvers that cover enough distance will leave a Blade Rift behind. These horizontal spinning blades, essentially bloody red saws, deal constant damage to enemies they cut into in the brief window they're active)
[*][b]Battle Rage[/b] (after slaying a foe, your next attack or special/abnormal weapon attack turns blood red and deals more damage)[/list]

Omori's eyes were drawn from the projection of War to the parchment, then thinking over the options shown to him. It's not every day you'd be offered a bit of extra help, from a god no less! He'd probably have to choose wisely, and they all sounded strong too. But if he had to pick only one...

 Not wishing to waste more of Ares' time, the monochrome boy decided to take the Blade Dash ability for himself.
 
 The visage of Ares seemed pleased. "The more you slay your enemies, my friend, the stronger the bond between us, I think. War's such a wondrous thing, in truth. It solves so many different problems, whilst perpetuating its own inevitability. Let's keep it up, then, hm?"

Then the realm of war receded, like a dream lost upon awakening. Omori stood back in the Necropolis once more, surrounded by the black stone and eerie green spirit-flame of Tartarus, with the other Seekers all around. To them, the divine sigil had merely burst into light, with no other strange occurrences. Yet the spirit of war now burned inside Omori, marked indelibly, like the pilot light of a flamethrower. All it needed was fuel.

...Had he just made a pact with a god?

...

[i]Awesome.[/i]
 
As Omori did that, Jesse glanced around, pleased with this development. "Hey, nice to meet up with someone else. Good to see you, Queen Bee." She said.
 
[color=Red]"Hm, so the Insect beat us here?"[/color] asked the King of Evil, but merely shrugged afterward. Less work for them to do, he supposed. And it seemed the only items to be found were a sigil in this room - similar to the one that appeared after the Duke of Flies was defeated - and a rotten fruit in a recently unlocked adjacent room. Well neither of those were of any consequence to the Gerudo. The meant that the only remaining direction to go would almost certainly lead to the boss room.

[color=Red]"Well then, who wants to venture into the last room and challenge the boss of this floor?"[/color] he asked the Seekers currently present, [color=Red]"I imagine they get stronger the deeper we go, and I suppose I could use a new servant to call upon."[/color] he faced the ominous door on the eastern wall, but decided to wait for a spell in case anyone desired to follow him in. Sectonia eyed Ganondorf, questioning why he would want abominations under his command.

"I'm down." Jesse said. "We're kinda on a roll." She crossed her arms and casually leaned by the door. 

[color=92278f]"I should see what one of these 'bosses' look like myself. I missed the last two, and I could use a release for my fury."[/color] Sectonia said, thrusting her swords down to clean the blood off of them. Sectonia observed what happened to Omori, as he was a perspective minion, if a bit diminitive. Perhaps this boss would show Sectonia what everyone did, as she hadn't observed much thanks to the nature of this dungeon.

She then glanced at the item room, asking. [color=92278f]"So, are any of you intereested in the rotten fruit? It seems to give a power over the creatures here, but as to what that is I do not know. And I for one do not want to eat a rotten fruit."[/color]

[color=dcdcdc][b]"Concidering a literal nightlight imbeded itself into Nadia when she grabbed it?"[/b][/color] Omori spoke up, stepping back over to the others. He shook his head in distain. [b][color=dcdcdc]"I'm not risking turning my head into a tomato. As for the boss room..."[/color][/b] He glanced at the door, trying to see what was waiting on the other side. [b][color=dcdcdc]"I guess it was a matter of time before I tossed my hat into the ring."[/color][/b] 

 Admittedly, Omori felt better with a 4th fighter on their small team. With their combined strength, this boss could be cleaned out in no time!

 ...He quietly hoped his friends were still okay.