[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h6OCm6X.png[/img] [h2]+[/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/zwmtO3n.png[/img] [color=a187be]Level 9 - EXP 63/90[/color] [color=#FF5349]Level 8 - EXP 50/80[/color] The Midnight Walk - Glacial Strata [b]Word Count:[/b]777 +1EXP [/center] [hr] [hr] Among the chaos of the slowly dispelling swarm of ice-ridden pests, Ramattra battered and diced as many of the insectoids attacking the group as he could reach. He attracted a lot of attention, mostly because of his large stature and the array of quips he spouted on his slain foes. There was enough room to move about the cave now, that much was clear, but how much longer would they need to fight their way through armies of bugs before the breach ended? There were quite a few routes within the cave to take, and many other members had already scouted ahead while the rest played their defenses safe. It sounded like, from their exploration, the other Seekers had managed to find equipment and other avenues to explore, but with the threat of another possible invasion, whatever options they managed to find in the cave itself would have to do. Along with Blazermate, the Omnic traveled deeper, where their Eugief companion had discovered a large drill contraption, which Ramattra hoped could be directed towards the outside of the cave systems, and back on track to their destination. The spirit Blazermate summoned seemed to be doing the job on its needed repairs, when Ramattra spotted the Bulborb gulping down a chunk of ice containing their companion. The creature was colossal and certainly capable of doing the same to Ramattra and his allies if he wasn’t careful. His options were limited, and running head-on to attack the insect would not be the brightest move. “Grumpy Pants!!” A familiar voice shouted from a geographical crack above. Tenna had been chased by the Praetorian-class bugs along with Kashmir, offering a valuable distraction to their offensive players. However, with many of them assisting in matters geared towards pushing the Stagecoach forward, he had been acting more aggressively, using his Puppet of the Future's Welder to focus more on the ice-based enemies that were weak to high heat. “Try using this to POP! those bugs! Some of them just shrivel up!” With that, Tenna clumsily tossed the heavy lance toward the Omnic from the adjacent cavern. Now with his Comedically Large Spoon, the TV-host and two of his minions paraded around, wacking and shooting any bugs. Ramattra, who clutched it in his singular palm, gave the weapon a twirl to feel its weight before using it to attack. After hiding his staff away, the Omnic was quick to turn his attention in the direction of the Bulborb. It had its eyes set on Blazermate and her summon, stalking as if its humongous form was entirely concealed. It was distracted, and more importantly, those icicles on its back gave Ramattra a hunch about what the beast was weak to. Clutching the new blade with confidence, now that he had been trained to wield more weapons, the Omnic deployed his Mimic Tear in its inactive form, allowing Ramattra to bounce upon it like a trampoline. Propelled high in the air, the odd creature finally took notice of Ramattra and snarled alien-like as it snapped its snubby jaw into the air, attempting to swallow the Omnic while he was midflight. He slashed with the blade of the lance, torquing the handle to release red-hot heat into the Welder. In a matter of seconds, the blade carved through the ice rocks spiked on the beast's back, resulting in a dramatic flail from the blue menace. It was enraged now and set its sights on Ramattra, gaping its maw to spew a storm of icy breath towards the Omnic. Having seen the Bulborb’s trick earlier, however, allowed Ramattra enough time to roll left out of the way and quickly pierce through its weakened flesh with the searing point. It didn’t take long for the beast to begin fading to ash, leaving behind an ice-blocked Heismay, who Ramattra was very VERY careful thawing the Eugief out, making sure the hot metal only touched ice until Heismay could free himself further. [hr] After crashing his way through more patrols and breaches of insectoids, Ramattra was finally able to investigate the frozen-over bunker Heismay alerted the group to. While two warm-blooded companions might be able to thaw the frozen-over buttons with enough pressure, there was no telling how long they would need to wait before the ice gave in. Thanks to the tool Tenna gave to the Omnic, however, Ramattra was able to easily melt the crusted ice off of each button individually, then summoned his Mimic Tear once again to copy his form, and reach down together to unlock the dual controls. Once both buttons were pressed, a short alarm played, opening the iron wall to reveal a supplies cache.