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[img]https://i.imgur.com/zwmtO3n.png[/img]
[color=a187be]Level 8 - EXP 16/80[/color]
[color=#FF5349]Level 7 - EXP 18/70[/color]
The Midnight Walk
[b]Word Count:[/b] 3870// +4 EXP [/center]
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[center][h2]Siren's End[/h2][/center]
[center][h3]The Midnight Walk - Ice Swamp[/h3]
[color=bc8dbf]Featuring:[/color] Ace Cadet, Ramattra, and Tenna
[b]Word Count:3870[/b] // +4 exp[/center]
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Though there was a layer of water that the Seekers had to wade in as they moved through the swamp, since it was only about calf-high (if that) the Ace Cadet hadn't expected it to be much of a problem while he, Ramattra, and Tenna faced off against the pair of monsters. He was unfortunately wrong; the leviathans were able to use their serpentine bodies to utilize even the shallowest water to move swiftly over the area, and so they were upon the trio of Seekers much faster than Ace had anticipated.

He was undaunted, but also embarrassingly unprepared with the barrel still in his arms, so he had to shout for the other two and request, [color=salmon]"cover me for a sec!"[/color]

As long as a shipping container with deadly hooked claws the size of a human arm, the monsters were on top of their attackers the next moment. The first reared up, exposing its scale plated belly with a curious design in the center before it crashed down to try and body slam the lot of its challengers. The second slithered around to flank the group of Seekers, then twisted to whip its thick piscine tail at any that evaded its fellow monster's attack.

With the signal to go, the rest of the seekers used the monsters’ aggravation to escort their mobile headquarters, leaving the three of them behind. While Tenna was more aloof toward the attackers, he examined the threats from afar before they made their offensive efforts on the trio. To evade the attack without getting caught in the pincer attack, Tenna quickly split himself into 12 miniature copies of himself, pixelating into existence, one getting squished in the process. A necessary sacrifice for a rather painful-looking attack. If Tenna could make some distance from these monsters, he could sneak behind one and distort it…

While their ally made a short disappearance, this left Ramattra with the task of providing cover for Ace. For the front attacker, Ramattra used his nanites to form a hardlight shield behind Ace and him, providing short-term resistance to the attack. With the flanker now the new threat, Ramattra quickly converted his body into Nemesis-form, the alchemist fused flesh now flashing on his biceps. The canisters of the Alchemist Cocktail emptied into Ramattra’s bulky arms, allowing him to counter the other monster’s tail attack with a grab, minimizing the impact on the two while Ace concluded whatever he had been preparing. [color=bc8dbf]“This… is going to be the best I can give you."[/color] The Omnic pushed into the scaled tail, impatiently looking down at Ace. Where could Tenna have gone at such a crucial time?...

They'd definitely seen the TV-headed man split up to escape being squashed, an action that would have been shocking if the nature of this world was still a mystery to them. Honestly Ace wouldn't blame him for taking off if it guaranteed the entertainer's safety. With the thought that Tenna was probably alright, the hunter's voice was steady and strong as he replied to Ramattra. [color=salmon]"It's more than enough!"[/color]

The Cadet slipped by Ramattra's side, and not a second later the leviathan that he'd caught by the tail screeched in pain. The scales along the side of its serpentine length shattered and bled, and the monster yanked its tail out of the Omnic's grasp so it could curl up and regroup, hissing and glaring at the pair. Its partner slid in and swiped a massive claw at the Seekers, but it wasn't able to connect - there was a loud [i]clang[/i] as its nails met metal.

In Ace's hands now was a long gold-colored sword studded with a single amber gemstone, with curving horn-like designs on the guard and pommel. The parry lasted for only a moment before the monster hunter twisted, redirecting his quarry's claw to the ground and slashing straight up its arm. The somnacanth was now between the two Seekers, craning its long neck to look at both. Then it dug its claws into the icy swamp bed below them and lurched, throwing itself into a wide spin attack. 

Ace evaded backward, his weapon at the ready. He glanced over at Ramattra. [color=salmon]"I think it's time we put these things to bed!"[/color]

The second somnacanth didn't wait long before it took its chance to rejoin the battle; it stayed where it was, just outside of melee range in order to raise its head and sweep its hair-like fins, shooting a few razor-sharp scales out at the Seekers.

Just as the second Somnacanth swung at the duo, the small microlings of Tenna would regroup, forming a mildly wounded TV-Man behind the monster. While he had no opportunity to stop the monster’s intent to attack, his gloved hands began forming an electric wave around them, before he chopped the back of the creature’s head with great bravado. [color=39b54a]“ACTION!”[/color] Tenna shouted, as his attack connected.

The neck of the monster whipped into the ground with cartoonish force, leaving the other Somnacanth heavily dazed and disoriented. While the scales dented off of Ramattra’s metal chassis, he tried his best to body-block the rest of the attack from Ace, his human flesh possibly more vulnerable to their punctures. The Omnic seemed mildly impressed at Tenna’s ability to control the battlefield.

Being separated by the spin attack of the solo enemy, however, left Ramattra with the disadvantage of being separated from the other two, and with no good way to escape, and his cocktail expanded for the time being, his first thought was to engage with another attack. The Omnic, still bulked in his Nemesis form, would hurl a ball of nanites that glowed purple as they began to pull the monster into its gravity. The motion of the spins was partially slowed now, allowing Ramattra a chance to catch the monster by a limb, and halt it to a stop as his feet scraped by yards of sediment from the swamp and water.

The monster thrashed in Ramattra's grip, making any intrepid opportunist's approach nearly impossible to get through unscathed. Still Ace went for it, eager to pay the Omnic back for the earlier protection - which he was appreciative of, though also a little amused by. Maybe he was just still covering the Cadet like he'd asked, but obviously Ramattra didn't know yet how tough a monster hunter could be. It was time to show him!

Weathering a tail swipe as he moved in, Ace set about slashing the monster and testing weak points. As expected, the spines on its back and arms were well armored. The scales on its other extremities were less so. 

[color=salmon]"Don't let up on it Tenna! Go for its neck or tail!"[/color] he called to the other Seeker, glancing over just to make sure the guy was alright. Against two monsters at once, every opening needed to be exploited when possible, however short they ended up being. 

With Ace’s order to target one of its vital areas, he quickly puckered his screen-lit lips and pushed out a loud whistle, which, as if it were a magical pager, summoned two cartoonish shadow guys into thin air, each equipped with a two-dimensional saxophone. They would form large strands of magic that wrapped around the neck of the adversary. The two flat-faced thugs made a musical commotion with one another as the second Somnacanth was withheld for a moment longer, though it seemed stronger than the cartoonish magic Tenna unleashed.

Now Ace should take his own advice, since Ramattra still had the first somnacanth locked down for the moment. It snapped its teeth at the beefed up monk while the gill-like slits along its neck, ribs, and tail opened up. A soft blue glow was the only forewarning they were going to get before it disseminated its sleep gas. Close enough to see it, it was the only warning Ace needed. 

[color=salmon]"Watch the sleeping gas!"[/color] He struck with a heavy overhead slash at the space between the somnacanth's shoulders, dug the blade in as far as he could, then used it almost like a lever to increase his jump height. Rather than go for a falling slash like he usually would, Ace swung with a diagonal cut to the monster's face as he moved in the air. Its head jerked to the opposite side from where the Cadet landed, far enough that he wouldn't easily be caught in the gas cloud. 

While Ramattra very well could have been immune to the gas due to his robotic nature, he was not willing to test the waters and see if he could withstand its drowsiness-inducing effects. With no incredible options, and Ace now on the scene, Ramattra called to his previous teachings of Nanites, remembering how he could use their complex technology to create an aura around him that harmed enemies, and was safe toward allies!

[hider=Level Up ability: Annihilation]
During Annihilation, Ramattra enters Omnic Form without directly activating it (meaning he can enter Omnic Form again once Annihilation ends). In this buffed form, Ramattra gains a purple aura of nanites swarming around him. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the aura's 10m radius are slowed, and have their health slowly siphoned. The duration of Annihilation lasts 10 seconds, however downing, eliminating, or killing an enemy can extend the duration by an additional second (with enemy content and variety being accounted for in fairness, of course). As an ultimate ability, Ramattra must charge its gauge by dealing damage, defeating opponents, or (somehow) healing. This ultimate ability can only be used once per combat encounter.[/hider]

Before he had lost time in Nemesis Form, Ramattra quickly activated Annihilation to deal slow chip damage to the attacking Somnacanth’s scaly skin, unleashing deadly blow after deadly blow to the opposing monster’s neck and mouth, attempting to terrorize it out of whatever sleep attack it was about to unleash. Ramattra had no clue how weak these beasts were and was unsure if he would be able to handle them out of his beefy form. [color=bc8dbf]“If you can find a weak spot, hit it now!”[/color] Ramattra’s command was clear, with the other Somnacanth temporarily dazed, the trio had only a moment before there would be two monsters attacking again.

Ramattra's assault worked out very much in his favor, as the leviathan only managed a small puff of its sleep-inducing gas before it flinched under the monk's attacks. As soon as it was clear Ace launched himself back in, smoothly moving into a spirit combo with his sword. The blade drew deep cuts along the somnacanth's side, from its back leg up to its head. Battered and badly wounded, the monster attempted to disengage, slamming its tail down to make a splash and pushing against the water to dart away from its attackers.

It would have been enough to repel the beast, but of course that wasn't possible. 

Meanwhile its partner monster struggled in the Shadow Guys' musical hold, eventually overpowering them with a mighty leap that dragged them where they were connected to their instruments up into the air and back down onto the icy ground. It whipped around towards Tenna swinging its bloodied tail at the man, then flopped onto its back to swim away and reunite with the other somnacanth. Compared to the first, it was doing better - and it let out an ear-piercing roar loud enough to make someone want to throw their hands up to cover their ears and protect their eardrums.

Tenna, now at the risk of being attacked by the Somnacanth that escaped his cronies’ attack, fled its reach while returning to the other two. Ramattra was pleased that Tenna was able to make some use of himself during this fight, and while his aloofness only ruffled his feathers, began to see himself tolerating the CRT because of his battle prowess.

The monsters didn't hesitate to try and lash out again after that, splitting up to swim in a circle opposite each other and surround the Seekers. They were poised to lunge at any moment, which was when the Ace Cadet fished a small device from his bag. 

[color=salmon]"Cover your eyes!"[/color] he warned, hoping his teammates trusted him enough to do so. He threw the flash bomb down at their feet as the somnacanth reared up to strike, the sudden shock of bright light blinding the monsters and sending them into confusion. 

With the three huddled up, and Ramattra’s sensors turning off at Ace’s warning, along with Mr. Ant Tenna covering his non-existent eyes dramatically, allowing the makeshift flashbang to blind the monsters. With a moment to strike, Ramattra quickly used the last of his energy in Annihilation to plant a firm and swift strike into the chest cavity of the first Somnacanth that had attacked them, hoping to deal a fatal blow to the most weakened of the two. The creature would begin wildly flailing, as if trying to recompose itself from the blindness and crushing blow from Ramattra, allowing him to end his Annihilation as he fired his staff into the hardened flesh on it’s underside. It wasn’t long before the creature would let out a shrill cry, weaseling its neck into the air, before fainting from the wounds. 

At the same time, Ace had pivoted to take advantage of the flash bomb he'd set off and sliced into the healthier somnacanth while it was still disoriented. The long sword struck cleanly over its softer scales, and when it finally managed to blink the spots out of its vision and went to snap its teeth at the hunter, Ace swung his weapon in a quick reverse motion upward, cutting a chunk of its head fin as it screeched.

With its “friend” retired from the battle, the second Somnacanth, recognizing its own injuries, would attempt to flee the trio and go for attacking from afar rather than up close, using the shallow swampy waterways to guide it toward deeper expanses of water. Given how fast it was leaving, and whether or not Ace was ready to fire a ranged attack, Tenna pointed his hand to the sky with a dramatic shout. [color=#FF5349]“Show that beast the star of the [color=fff200]SHOW![/color]”[/color] A hail of large, chaotically chuckling stars would rain onto the battlefield! Their trajectory was completely random, and while trying to escape, the Somnacanth had been pelted by their sharp ends! Unfortunately, given that Tenna had been standing not too far from Ramattra and Ace, the two would need to dodge a couple of attacks.

Which caught the latter off guard as his wariness of all things magical hit him suddenly at full force due to the falling stars. He dove out of the way of one only to get clipped by another. He sucked in a breath, and his next words came out shakier than he would have liked. [color=salmon]"Can you watch which way you're sending these things? We could do without the hex-tra danger to keep track of!"[/color]

He needed to get a hold of himself, but rather than disengage the hunter opted for more familiar combat movement, straightened his arm and fired his clutch claw at the somnacanth. It connected to the base of its tail, and as he flicked the switch to reel himself in towards it Ace pushed off the ground and swung himself, using the chain to sling himself around the monster in an arc. He ended up nearly on its complete opposite side, standing as an obstacle between it and the lake. But he couldn't quite make himself dive back into offense until the star shower ended - though at least with Tenna's sharp rain and the threat in front of it, the remaining somnacanth was going no where now.

Heeding Ace’s command, Tenna would stop his star-studded attack, realizing it had left his friends in an incredibly vulnerable position. He looked back with a saddened expression as he pouted slightly. [color=0054a6]“SoorrRry…”[/color] Ramattra would appear behind him to collect his spirits as Ace and the Omnic grew closer to his position. His hand gently clasped the CRT’s shoulder as he charged ahead. 

[color=bc8dbf]“Now is not the time! Come with us.”[/color] Which seemed to be enough to rally the TV-Man to their aid.

As soon as it was over, the monster growled and struck out with its claws. With a wide horizontal slash Ace avoided it and retaliated with a Sakura Slash, cutting through the siren's scales with a spray of blood. It flinched backward away from him, closer to his allies, though when all three pressed closer it was well and truly trapped.

The second somncanth was definitely weakened enough for a final attack if the group had any great options, but even without them they could manage just fine. Spread out in a triangle formation they could attack it while it was busy focusing on someone else, and then swap to defense when its attention turned. Between Ace's expert bladework, Ramattra's precise martial strikes, and Tenna's surprisingly effective bag of tricks, it didn't take much longer before the monster fell before them, succumbing to its wounds. 

With a flashy display of monk-esque performance-type moves, Ramattra would firmly place a deadly palm strike into the previously weakened neck of the Somnacanth. With the nature of this monster unknown, Ramattra thought it best to finish the creature off now, rather than waiting for it to surprise them later, and with a cracking blow to the neck, the creature would begin to fade to ash, leaving behind its Spirit for Ramattra to collect. He recalled how Edward explained the uses of spirits left behind by dead beings, and how one of these creatures’ spirits may come in later use. He would safely put this with the rest of the spirits later.

A moment after Ramattra had claimed the monster's spirit, Ace sheathed his sword (metaphorically, as it didn't actually have a sheathe) and flashed the Omnic and Tenna a grin. 

[color=salmon]"Gargwawesome work,"[/color] he said, and to Tenna in particular mentioned, [color=salmon]"no hard feelings about the star, uh, thing."[/color]

Honestly it was better to figure out stuff like that before the group ran into something really, [i]really[/i] dangerous. Friendly fire now would save them a potentially devastating mistake in the future.

The Omnic gave the command for Tenna and Ace to collect the remnants of the first monster then. Seeing that Ace was the master monster hunter (and had already planned on doing just that), he could leave the monster itself to the man while he would help Tenna gather up fallen scales and other monster parts for later crafting use. Who knew, maybe the hunter could use it for more tricks like the Alchemy Barrel later!

While they did that, the Cadet approached the other somnacanth, which still lived in spite of its wounds. Ramattra's final attack against it hadn't punctured its chest armor, but it must have done some interior damage as the beast's breathing was weak and rattling. Ace placed his palm against the monster's pulse point. It would probably die within the day, but if it happened to survive -scarred and deprived of its partner- it would become an even more dangerous threat for anyone following the Midnight Walk. Either way, it would be better to put it down.

[i]This would be the perfect time to turn its death back to 'normal,'[/i] the hunter thought. So far the Seekers hadn't seen any sign of the mysterious order that was said to have that ability, but it would really have come in handy now. They could have cut the monster up, partition off its edible parts and used the rest to fashion items out of, sending most of it to the Avenger's stockpile. Alas, they'd only be able to scrape by with what few pieces they could get before it passed away and its entire body turned to ashes. 

Ace pulled out another weapon, though compared to the rest of his arsenal it was rather small. With a carving knife in one hand and a curious (and sort of gross) book in the other, he glanced back at his comrades. [color=salmon]"Give me a few minutes before we catch up with the others?"[/color]

He worked to take pieces off of the somnacanth; its talons, chunks of its scales and shell. Unfortunately it expired before he could get deep enough to try for its sleep-producing organs or the like, but at the very least he'd ended up a hunk of meat thanks to the cookbook. When he was finished packing its spirit and everything else away save for a scale he planned to give to Edward as a bio-sample, he used the shallow water to clean his gloved hands before standing up straight. Almost immediately the scoutflies in the cage at his breast fluttered out and formed a loose trail in the direction the stagecoach had gone. The trio would be able to follow the path it had taken through the icy canyon, ensuring they wouldn't run into anything that the other Seekers hadn't already taken care of.

[color=salmon]"Alright, all set! Let's get back before they run into even more trouble."[/color]

The three of them trudged through the cold swamp, passing by the fishing hole and the barren lake where the water was still churning ominously. Though interesting, they didn't stop to investigate since they knew the rest of their group had already been through these areas. Knowing some of them, they most likely stripped the places for anything worth taking anyway. They continued as the swap petered out and the road returned to being packed snow, and ahead of them lay metal structures that stuck out among the icy plains.

By the time the trio had arrived with the rest of the group at the Stagecoach, the threat of android-fused parasytes had already been dealt with, leaving the trio with little to do other than explore the area or help the rest of the group with matters ahead. That was, until Ramattra had seen the spoils Roxas, Ganondorf, and Edward had gathered! He remembered that his group members are not all from technological worlds, and offered an explanation as to what many of the objects’ uses could be. Particularly, the cybernetic heart caught his eye. [color=bc8dbf]“This… looks like it would connect to a machine. Maybe it ought to come to use later- if not…”[/color] He looked at his chest, where such a device might go. While he would not ask for the item now, if they found no use for it, having a backup plan would be nice…

Meanwhile, Tenna would take on less of a brainy task and forge the path ahead! His plan was relatively simple: go ahead of the rest of the group and clear any hazards or obstacles that lay in the path ahead! Using his tired henchman from earlier to help, he would help to clear any major debris or rocky paths that lay before the stagecoach, just to make the path ahead a little easier and less bumpy!