Spiffy

Reign: Kingdom Come

Reign: Kingdom Come

Chapter 3:D - Firewall

Soundtrack

Col and Bastian moved with painful purpose toward the glowing stone. They found that the flames around them were erratic and moved in no singular direction in particular. They went wherever there was fuel. It did help to warm them, but being so close to the flames began to do more than that. They felt the intense heat on their flesh. They gritted their teeth and bore it all the same. For the alternative was a fate far worse. The Wolfborn surrounded their fire. Always glaring, always watching. Eyes wide in anticipation. Pacing back and forth a good distance away from the flames. They licked their teeth preparing for the group's inevitable doom. There was no redeeming creatures like these whose nature was pure evil. With no other purpose then to extinguish life itself.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo notched an arrow and fired it off toward the beasts. He could not tell if it had any effect. It seemed like a lost cause. Like holding back the tide with a tiny board. Marque felt a sensation of power shoot out from the stone. Then he heard in his own mind a still small voice, "Trust me."

Suddenly, Marque and Lorenzo noticed the stone glow bright red. The ground began to rumble underneath them. At the same time, the flames around Col and Bastian fanned out into two separate firewalls directly toward the stone. They stopped a few feet before it. Their flanks, and rear was encased by the 6 foot tall flames 5 feet from them in all directions. It made the perfect path.. The Wolfborn snarled in rage and howled loudly behind the walls.

Firewalls

Col and Bastian looked on in wonder at the bright display before them. Wasting no time, they began to run toward the stone. The leaves cracked beneath their feet. The fires shot out loud crackling of their own which blasted into the skies. Though the flames originated from Bastian, these flames were of another nature entirely. Further and further they ran, being warmed on all sides. Their bodies felt vigorous and full of energy. Something supernatural was on their side. What kind of place had they come to? Unnatural winds, flames, wolves and stones. In all the years of their lives they had never experienced such things. Strangely, they did not hear the Wolfborn anymore as they made their way to Lorenzo and Marque.

When they arrived, Merlin greeted his master with joy and nuzzled him, licking the warm face of Col. Martyrdom yipped in greeting to Bastian. Obviously happy to see he had made it. When they turned to look behind them they noticed the Wolfborn simply stared at them through the thick walls of flame. What they would do next was a mystery to the party. But the important thing was that they were protected by this stone or whatever was on the other side.

Then what was only a dull rumbling became a loud roar. The ground trembled even more violently beneath them. Earth shifted and fell. Crashing, breaking and tearing below their feet. It was deafening. What one could describe as an earthquake shook the very core of the ground. The party fell over from the shock. Merlin neighed in surprise, but managed to keep Lorenzo on his back. Martydom barked. Through all of this, the stone remained even still and glowed ever brighter at each passing moment.

All at once, it seemed time itself had slowed to a crawl. Everything fell silent. Not even a single sound could be perceived as the dirt caved in beneath them. It was as if the earth was completely hollow under their feet. Only the top layer had any substance to it. An empty black opening that encased them. They felt the sensation of falling, falling below into the silent abyss.

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

I was give it a singular roll with a modifier based on how observant they are.

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

Nice! I was too violent.

One Piece: New Horizons!

Der e is!

One Piece: New Horizons!

Hedge Maze Hunt pt.2

Chaka vs Boone

Runch narrowed his eyes at the sight of Joanne’s pulverized form, barely conscious. The honey badger had captured and nearly defeated the entire rest of the crew single-handedly, so to fall in such a competition, and one that was designed to not create injuries as well… There was no doubt about it, had she been able to use her specialized ammunition, such as her bouncing bullets, then the buccaneer wouldn’t have been able to net this win. It burned in the cereal man’s soul, and he was not alone. Hachirou likewise trembled in anger.

That’s when the fellow captain stepped up to the challenge. Runch turned to look at Boone. ”Don’t just win. Destroy them.”

Chaka paid no attention to the pirate captain. For all anyone could tell, the sniper failed to even recognize Runch’s existence. ”I accept your challenge, Captain Boone. I took notice of your blunderbuss and am prepared to offer compatible paint pellets. Otherwise, you’ll be able to share from one of my weapons.”

”I will take my own weapon for this bout,” Boone replied, extending his hand to whoever would give him his paint pellets. He had seen the previous fight and was dissecting it in his mind to come up with a strategy for victory. This character was could at tracking enemies. Cedric planned to keep him in his direct line of sight as long as he could..

”Since your blunderbuss is a scattershot weapon, you get five shells.” Chaka commented as one of the refs provided Boone with that exact number of shells. ”But every pellet which strikes me counts as one.”

The sniper held up their arms as the other pirates hosed off their helmet and overcoat, the paint washing away into a tie-dye swirl on the ground. ”Prepared, captain?” they asked, taking up their spot at one of the entrances.

Cedric grinned, ”Aye!” He replied. When the referees commenced the match he would take off into his entrance. He would choose a more direct route toward the direction of Chaka in order to close the distance between the two. His weapon contained just the type of ammunition that could potentially take his opponent out in one or two well-placed shots. Provided he got within close enough range of course.

“Ready? BEGIN!”

The resounding echo of a whistle signaled the start of the challenge, and Chaka swept away into the maze leaving behind nothing but a few drops of water. At this point Boone would have no way of knowing which way his opponent went, since they started out separated. Thankfully he was able to get a good look at the maze from above during the last match, though. The only problem being would he remember the layout? It was a truly large maze, after all. Then came the challenge of finding Chaka before they found him. Perhaps his opponent would take the same route as they did against Joanne? Perhaps not.

Cedric crossed off the route that Chaka used previously. Thinking that he was too intelligent to use the same route twice. He went another way for a few minutes at a jogging pace to save his energy and to limit the sound of his footsteps. He kept his ears open for any noises. Boone surmised that sound would be more useful in this competition than sight. At least at first. The maze walls would prevent them from seeing one another until they were right on top of each other.

Focusing on sound was a smart tactic to work off of, as Boone was almost immediately rewarded. He heard a rustling just on the other side of the hedge wall on his left side. If memory served from watching the top of the maze, there would be a left turn up ahead that immediately rounded into the path he was hearing.

Boone slowed his pace to a fast walk. He turned left and raised his blunderbuss up as he rounded into the path he heard the noises from. He would fire at anything that caught his eye if it was within a medium to close range distance. Otherwise he would attempt to close the distance with his opponent. If it was his opponent..

Lo and behold, about forty feet from Boone’s position was Chaka. Well, their backside, at any rate. The enemy marksman did not give any indication they had noticed Boone’s presence, and were actively moving. In less than a second they had rounded another corner, disappearing from sight.

Boone quickened his pace, but tried to silence his footsteps as best as he could. He wasn't the most dexterous of individuals and would find it hard to maintain his speed while remaining silent. As he approached the corner he slowed down and pressed himself against the wall. He breathed quietly and after a 3 count he quickly rounded the corner blunderbuss raised.

The last thing that Boone saw as he rounded the corner, blunderbuss up high, was Chaka standing in perfect position, rifle pointed directly at the captain’s chest. A single paint round shot out from the barrel, splattering square against Boone’s left breast, where his heart would be. They were ready for him. Then Chaka suddenly grew taller and taller and taller, as a rock wall rose up! Wait, no, that wasn’t right at all. It was a trap! Boone, in his haste to chase down his opponent, had run right into a pitfall covered by a thin layer of turf! He couldn’t see how far down the hole went, or even what was at the bottom thanks to the turf that fell below his feet. It could be dangerous to just fall, but did he have any other choice?

Boone yelled out as his feet slipped through the air. The shot surprised him more then the trap. In a desperate shot he fired reflexively as he fell down below. It was hard to tell if his shots would connect. Though, the distance between them would aid Boone’s pellets in hitting their target. As he fired, Cedric jammed the butt end of his blunderbuss into the dirt in order to prevent a full fall. If successful he would attempt to use it as leverage in order to reach the ground above.

Unable to tell how effective his shot was, Boone reacted quickly to the sudden drop. The butt of his gun jammed into the soft earth deeply, sinking into the semi-moist dirt. Thanks to catching onto a hard rock, he was able to effectively stop his descent altogether. A quick glance told him how lucky he was, and how painful hitting the ground would have been, as the bottom of the pit had been lined with nearly two dozen sharpened bamboo chutes as spears. Chaka wasn’t just playing with paint…

The danger wasn’t over yet, however. A single grenade fell into the pit, right by Boone, which quickly exploded to release a thick cloud of purple toxic fumes. The same fumes that had blinded and overwhelmed Trickshot Jo not too long ago. With a mighty heave, partly thanks to his great stamina and partly thanks to the leverage provided by his gun acting as a lever, Boone was able to throw himself up out of the pit before too much of the smoke had affected him. The fumes still burned his nose and eyes, but they only watered rather than debilitated him. Unfortunately Chaka was nowhere in sight, having taken the opportunity to depart somewhere deeper into the maze…

Cedric coughed for a few seconds while he reached below for his weapon stuck in the wall. As he pulled it out he wiped his eyes. Then he made his way around the trap in the direction he thought Chaka went. He covered his mouth with his shirt and made his way around. He looked for any footprints in the earth to determine the direction he went.

Chaka was nothing to be underestimated. An excellent trapper and marksman indeed..To think he would use such underhanded tactics by setting the maze in his favor. It angered Cedric. Now he knew what to look for. Cedric scanned the areas ahead and around him for any discrepancies which would indicate something was tampered with. That way he could find the traps before they found him. He also loaded a single round of trap shot in his weapon. There was no rule against traps, so Cedric planned on trapping his opponent with his own.

Tracking Chaka turned out to not be so difficult at all. They left noticeable footprints in the grass. No doubt holding so many weapons in a heavy trench coat made being a lightfoot borderline impossible, but who was Boone to complain about such good fortune? He tailed the trail through several turns, down multiple pathways, thankfully not running into anymore traps, until… The trail simply ended. No more footprints to be followed. How could this be? Boone was left halfway down a path, enclosed by a hedge on either side, with nothing but a small gathering of bush leaves to show for his tracking.

It appeared as if he’d hit a dead end. Boone thought for a moment. ”If I continue pursuing him I will put myself in even more peril. It would be best for me to go another route entirely and make him follow me.” Then Cedric turned back.

No sooner than he turned round, did the Red Rum captain feel a sudden sharp impact on the back of his head, from an upward angle. ”Bullseye.”

Boone grunted at the impact of Chaka's shot. His hat slumped off his head. Then he instinctively looked up to see Chaka coming toward him, rifle in hand. Boone raised his weapon to fire at his center mass and attempted to roll out of his way.

The net from Boone’s trap shot spiralled out from the barrel, twisting and expanding outward to ensnare the ambushing attacker. Chaka was clearly thrown off by the sudden tactic. They came across as a much better planner than improviser, if this were any strong indication. The net wrapped around their body, restricting their movements so they collided into the ground with force, completely lacking any grace. ”Unacceptable,” they muttered, producing a knife from their sleeve. In a quick flash, the net was sliced open and Chaka was back on foot.

Boone fired off scattershot at the man as he cut the net open. A big blast of paint pellets directly at him. At close range. Even if Chaka hit Boone a few times previously, it would only take Cedric 1 or two well-placed shots to end the contest.

Unexpectedly quick, Chaka had dodged the majority of the pellets by leaping directly into the hedge bush as they escaped the net. Boone could see some color on his opponent’s leg, but only a few hits. With such a low-point value target, would it have made a significant difference in the match? Maybe, maybe not, but he wasn’t out of the woods (bushes?) yet. Chaka left a nice big hole to follow through, or of course Boone could try to navigate the maze proper, but they had since moved to an area he couldn’t memorize from his brief above view.

Boone decided to take another route. Following Chaka seemed suicidal at this point. Being an expert trapper and all. He would have to catch him away from his traps. Possibly lead him into Cedric's line of fire.

Cedric began to jog another way and made a few turns down another path. Then he went to one side of the hedge and rustled the leaves around to make it look like he went through them. He went to the opposite side of the path and hid within it. If and when Chaka came by, Boone would have a clear line of fire on him. Until then he waited..

Seconds passed by, becoming moments, and minutes. Either Chaka simply hadn’t been nearby to hear the rustling, or had seen through the ruse. It seemed as though Boone were waiting for nothing, only depleting the timer on the clock. But would that be enough? He hadn’t seen how many of his shots landed, would he be the winner if he simply hid for the rest of the time? Suddenly, a rustling behind him caught his attention. He suddenly noticed a red glow emanating from behind. ”Don’t think you can hide from me.”

Splat! Another paintball hit him in the back of the head!

Enraged, Cedric spun around and charged at a slight angle from Chaka but in his general direction. If he was shot a few more times that was no matter...as long as he got a full spread on the man's torso. Cedric yelled out and brought the barrel a few feet away from the hunter and pulled the trigger.

In his haste and rage, Boone hadn’t fully assessed the situation, and let loose his shot with abandon upon his opponent… Or, as it turned out, what looked like his opponent. The full spread of paint balls saturated the torso of a scarecrow made up to look like Chaka’s armor. The same scarecrow the hunter had used in the previous match against Joanne. Luckily, he could see Chaka’s real legs positioned behind the scarecrow, and at least two of the splatter had struck the real target.

Splat! Splat! Two more shots were fired from Chaka’s rifle, piercing through the thin mock-coat of the scarecrow and hitting Boone in the chest.

”AGH!” Cedric stumbled forward at the scarecrow and the man behind it. He had to keep him close to maximize his shots. The further away they were the less of a chance he had to win. Once he regained his balance, Cedric slashed at the scarecrow with his bayonet. When it was clear he would blast the hunter at point blank range.

”Always prepared.” Chaka’s form jerked back violently, midsection first, as though punched by some invisible force with tremendous strength to send them flying. It took a second to recognize what was actually occurring: Chaka was being pulled back by a cord! Probably on some manner of winch, but a cord nonetheless was attached to Chaka’s waist and was yanking them back through the hedges! Boone wouldn’t get the blessing of a point blank shot, but his blunderbuss fired all the same at this opportunity. The last the Red Rum captain saw was a somewhat painted Chaka flying through several bushes, until they were no longer in sight.

He had the terrain advantage and the trap one too. Boone would have to improvise better than him if he would be able to take him down. Then an idea came to him. Cedric took the slashed scarecrow and headed back toward the first pit trap. Spikes and all. It took a few minutes to remember and navigate the way. But Boone's footprints were fairly easy to spot.

Then Cedric took his hat, colored coat, shoes, pants and placed them on the scarecrow. Cedric coated himself in the wettest ground he could find. From head to toe. Even the outside of his rifle. He was going for camouflage. Maybe the hunter would consider Cedric dumb enough to fall in the same trap that he would let his guard down. That's when Cedric would strike.

Then he pushed the scarecrow over into the deep pit. When it was impaled by the stakes He yelled out as loudly as he could, ”AGHHHHHHHHHHHH! HELP! HELP ME!” He quickly dug himself in nearby the pit to the side. Only the tip of his blunderbuss pointed out, covered by some leaves. Lets see if the hunter could figure this one out in time..

Crying out for help certainly did the trick, as Chaka appeared quick as the wind. However, they did not behave entirely as Boone had predicted. Passing by, they offered only a quick glance into the pit before moving on, out of Boone’s sight. ”If you think I will be fooled by such a pedestrian ruse, you are mistaken. Even if you had died just now, your corpse would still be warm… And yet I do not sense your heat, but you must be nearby. The hunter becomes the hunted, is that your game?”

Realizing he was up against someone who was not just well trained, but well equipped. It was time to take some desperate measures...Cedric slowly reached for his flame shot rounds attached to his weapon. As long as he didn't use it directly against his opponent he believed he would be in the clear. Once they were loaded he fired them off into the hedge Chaka turned from and the opposite side of it as well. Once the green was caught ablaze it would mess with his heat sensing abilities. Then he loaded another paint round.

”What?!” Chaka twisted around, viewing the sudden flaming wall and immediately diverting their gaze only to be met by another wall of flame. ”Gah!” Seemingly disoriented, Chaka covered their face with one arm, still holding their rifle in the other. The sniper took off running down the pathway, fleeing the flames.

Cedric heard the man's displeasure. Surely it was affecting his vision! In a flash, Boone burst from the ground and ran in the direction he heard Chaka go, past the flaming walls. While running he loaded his explosive shot into his weapon. If a little flame messed with Chaka's vision then an explosion would be even more effective. Cedric fired it into the sky in the direction he thought Chaka was. The explosion would likely deafen and blind him for a short period. Enough time for Cedric to move in and finish him.

Boom! Boone’s explosive shot resonated across the maze, followed almost imperceptibly close by a cry of pain, filtered through a voicebox. The captain’s suspicions were confirmed a moment later when he came across Chaka lying on the ground, rifle some feet away… Right next to the sniper’s mask, cracked and broken. Chaka trembled on the ground, gripping their face in both hands. How badly were they hurt?

”You… Monster! What kind of sick bastard are you?!” Despite the tone, Chaka’s voice, Chaka’s real voice, was quite soft. Quite smooth, quite, dare I say, sexy. ”You knew my weakness! That says enough about you, but what speaks volumes is your willingness to CAPITALIZE ON IT!”

The downed gunner turned toward Boone, allowing him to see their face for the first time, and what a face it was! A perfect visage of beauty! Gorgeous green eyes, flawless caramel skin, perfectly sculpted lips! She wasn’t just a woman, she was a woman! ”You’ve exposed me to the world! To my comrades! To your friends, my enemies! Shown them my horrible, putrid face! How dare you?!”

Boone’s jaw dropped in wonder upon seeing beauty itself. In contrast, he stood there, half naked, covered in mud, balding head and beer gut. Boone couldn't help, but wonder what she was complaining about! He could not bring himself to fire upon the woman. Her self esteem was so bad, she even believed she was so ugly that she needed a mask to hide her own face! Cedric replied exasperated, ”WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE GORGEOUS!” Her beauty drew him toward her at a running pace. When he got close enough he put her in a bear hug and squeezed tight. His mud would cover her insecurities and he made sure to muddy her face up good too. There was something otherworldly about her beauty..

”No! Stay back! Don’t look at meeeeee!” The closer Boone got, the more and more wild she thrashed, all the while trying to hide her face from view. Up above in the stands the Buccaneer Pirates were absolutely swooning.

“I’ve never seen her before!”

“I never knew she was a her before!”

“I have seen the face of Heaven!”

“She’s even hotter than Launcher! WAAAAAAAAAAH!”

As a man was sent rocketing over the horizon by a certain offended redhead, half the audience suffered spontaneous nose bleeds, while the other half collapsed from weak knees. Chaka noticed the attention, but it did nothing to improve her attitude. If anything, it only made things a teeny weeny itsy bitsy bit tremendously worse.

”NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” As Boone grabbed her to cover her insecurities with mud, the close proximity to a man with her bare face was too much to bear. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she foamed at the mouth. Chaka had completely lost consciousness.

Cedric saw her foam at the mouth and realized she was out for the count. With no one left to fight, Boone took her in his arms like a bride and made his way toward the entrance of the maze. The fires had been put out and the referees awaited their arrival to tally up their scores. On the way, Cedric pondered how someone so beautiful couldn’t even realize it. He was reminded of his late wife, Amber. Ah! How he wished he could hold her in his arms again, just like this!

The two referees had to pick their jaws up from off the floor. Each one had tissue paper stuffed up their nostrils to stymy the high pressure nose bleeding.

“Uh… Hm. Uh…”

“Wow. So, uh, yowza.”

Simultaneously they shook their heads back into the task at hand. “You tally the splatters on this guy, and I’ll count the ones on Chaka Ram.”

“Uh huh,” the second ref nodded absently. “Wait, what? No way! I want to count her splatters!”

“And let a pervert like you ogle her? No way!”

“Pervert?! Look who’s talking!”

Just as the two were ready to trade blows, Mag Launcher descended from the stands and stood between the two. Her eyes were literally burning with flaming anger. ”I will count both. Problem?”

Both men gulped nervously, shaking their heads. She pushed them aside, and went to counting. After a few moments, the dodgeball queen was ready to announce to all the results.

”The winner, by a narrow 7 points, is the captain of the Red Rums!”

Boone leapt in the air and shouted aloud, ”YAHOO! When he realized he had jostled Chaka he looked apologetic as he whispered, ”Sorry..” He set her down carefully and went back to the pit in order to reclaim his clothing. He would have to figure something out on how to retrieve them...Perhaps Lilly's grappling gun?

Foreign Legion - First Contact is First Contract

I'd like to join up! I have a character in mind I can adapt to the situation if needed. I'm looking at taking the squad leader position.

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

Cicero Bladewalker

Cicero smirked as he watched his opponents come forward. It was like being back in the Colosseum again. Ah yes! The Colosseum that he would not see until his name was cleared for the framed murder of his own king! What a cruel fate. Cicero's smirk turned into that of a fierce continence. Then he went to block his opponent with his left and gave a haymaker punch to his opponent's jaw at the same time with his right.

Even though he was more suited to using weapons, he was no slouch in the many bar fights he found himself in. His fault or otherwise. Even still, his shoulder did ache as he went for the move, but he was confident some scallywag sailor would be no match for him. If they ganged up however...

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Lethal Developments, Part 4: Deus Ex Meets Reality

Soundtrack

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Revelations

”... ngh…” Farce was the sibling that awoke in the smoke and dust first, pushing up to her knees and looking around at everything she could see, which was heavily limited to her allies and one mysterious figure. ”Is everyone okay?”

Mantis came to and got on one knee. He thought to himself, ”More triggers?!” Mantis nodded at Farce’s question. Then he attempted to gather some information on the triggered being. He quietly spoke to his team, ”No one approach. I'm getting some information first..” Mantis focused his attention and empath ability on the one who stood up. He waited to see how they would react. What powers they had. This was a risky endeavour, but it didn't look like they could escape now.

“Wait...is that what happened to you guys earlier? And...does this mean one of the bad guys got a superpower?” Allison said to the others, still behind the barrier as she spoke, a distinct hint of concern in her voice.

The figure became noticeable and the sight that met them was disturbing. One of the goons stood, his body covered in a shiny metal not unlike what Excal's blades seemed to be made of, the material seeming to stab into them. As they watched more of the metal grew from the injuries, some falling to the ground.

With an idle curiosity he picked it up, a small blade not unlike a shiv, before he threw it at the group. It embedded into the barrier as he let out a laugh.

And then, before their very eyes, he seemed to shimmer and shift before he was replaced with another man who was covered in a multicolored thread from the waist down. He looked at it, running a hand along it, and his hand began to bleed. Quickly it stopped, blood replaced with more of the material.

He said something, quiet, and then the other was back in his place.

He took a step forward, grinning at Lethal Force, as the metal continued to spread and grow and fall off into little weapons.

Mantis, during all of this, could feel the triumph and confidence growing, the surprise and wonder, and above all the anger.

It was clear: this Cape, these two men, were out for blood.

Whip swung her string, cutting deep into his chest. The same thing happened again, the very same string she just used growing and coating the wound.

She hesitated, glancing at the others. Was that… Fear?

Mantis looked on in amazement. Their powers seemed to complement one another within the same body. The feeling of confidence flowed through them. This was a real problem. Whipstitch's razor sharp string seemed to have no effect.

Different scenarios ran through Mantis’ head. They could try to run. They would have to move the barrier or escape another route. They could throw everything they got at it and pray that something affected them. One of their bodies wasn't harmed by physical damage. However, that was no guarantee their minds wouldn't succumb to repeated emotional and thought manipulation.

Since they were members of The Community, Mantis already knew that they were brainwashed into following Patriarch. Trying to get them to change their ways was a lost cause. He decided to play into their confidence, making them overconfident. That way, they would become foolhardy with no regard for themselves. At that point, he would possibly be able to get them to focus in on Limbo and how hideous she was. She was still considered a lieutenant and in command of them. If he played into this superiority complex he could turn them against her. What need would a super powered being have for a weak and disgusting lieutenant? He could even get them to think they could take her place if she died..

Mantis began putting his plan into action by sending the thought to his allies, ”Throwing a flashbang. Try not to engage them directly, I have a plan.” With that he released enormous swells of confidence toward the two enemies. More than they experienced already by far. Then he targeted their thoughts by imparting, ”They have nothing on me. Time to step forward and destroy them.”. While he did this he threw his second flashbang at that very area in order to blind them. It would help Lethal Force buy some time..

”This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

Not at all.

”Dammit.” Farce turned her eyes away from the flashbang as she heard Mantis put his plan into action. Her gun was grabbed from the ground, and it was prepped and ready to fire, though how many bullets it had was up to chance. She didn’t know the exact amount, and that’s one of the scarier things here.

The other scary thing had just occurred to her, and she couldn’t help but speak out loud.

”... where’s Limbo? She’d have made a snarky comment by now... right?”

Allison felt the fear of death creeping into her upon seeing what these two…”new” parahumans could do. She’d only heard of such sorts of things as they could do in the textbooks or other matters and theories her professors talked about when it came to parahumans. If she had to place a guess, an educated one at that, this was what was called a “multi-trigger”. Or in layman’s terms, people developing powers in the middle of a giant clusterfuck of superpower usage. This could happen at Endbringer events, but….shit, to see this right now was far more terrifying than exciting to her mind.

Then it seemed that Mantis was going to be trying something, a plan of sorts to deal with them. But would they be able to resist his efforts or deflect them? That she didn’t know for sure. If Mantis’ power had been at play, or even potentially just influenced, what these two guys had gotten in powers that could be a bad sign...er, potentially that is.

“This is why we need a damn escape plan…,” Allison mumbled to herself under her breath, not wanting to distract the others but also wanting to somewhat vent the frustrations within her at how things had gone thus far. They needed to think of an escape no matter how it went down, have some plan of some sort (in her mind) to try to bolt.

Looking upwards, through the gaps in the upper barrier part she had made, Allison tried to briefly analyze what it was like in hopes that...well, something could be done. Even caving a bit of the place in could help, right? At least if it was possible...

As Allison looked up, looking for anything that could be helpful, she would be disappointed. There were no obvious flaws to the cave roof here, and it would obviously take some effort to create any form of collapse. She could try, though.

Farce's thought was a solid realization, but still Limbo didn't reappear and it didn't seem like she was planning on doing so anytime soon.

Mantis' impulse, however, worked as planned. The man started walking forward, a grin on his face, right into the flashbang. He staggered, blinded, before he shimmered and the other was in his place, moving forward slowly and picking up one of the metal shivs from the ground.

”You just had to fucking come after us. You couldn't just fucking fuck off.” The man growled the words, walking forward and engaging with Whip. The blade went through her body, as normal, over the course of several swift stab attempts. Whip, unused to fighting in close combat and having a fit of wanting to attack and run at the same time, was slow to react as he grabbed her by the neck and forced her head up.

The next stab didn't phase through and her shocked gasp seemed to almost echo through the cavern. In a second her body exploded with string, shoving him back and cutting into his skin. Again it seemed that he grew that odd mimicking armor, and several more metal bits fell down and pooled together into a small shield shape.

”I'll kill you all for what you did to us.”

Whip, now on the ground, pushed herself back with a grimace as she held her stomach.

Seeing Whip get stabbed for the first time was shocking to Mantis. If they were to take this thing down it would be through their concentrated efforts. Mantis imparted the thought to their enemies, ”These characters are sooo weak. We are strong. What need do we have for our lieutenant now? She is hideous..”

Even though Limbo had disappeared, Mantis hoped he could compromise their actions through getting them to think on her. Mantis stepped out of cover and fired another burst from his submachine gun at the shiv they picked up.

Farce sprung up as well and shot her revolver at the two thugs, thinking Mantis’ SMG firing was an opener for her to attack. It wasn’t entirely that, either. The girl genuinely cared for the well-being of Whipstitch, and seeing her get hurt like that was alarming to say the least. She wasn’t a fan of that at all.

”You asked for this!” Farce shouted in response to the thugs.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Allison mentally noted how the situation was turning out, taking side glances at Mantis and wondering if he was trying to do some work on the guys with some emotional manipulation. Internally she was panicking, but as she took some controlled breaths and began to think. This was bad. Possibly blocked escape, not obvious points to cause a collapse that could provide an escape chance, floating mutilated looking ghost thing floating in the air before them, and two thugs who had apparently multi-triggered….well, at least triggered in general. Taking in one last, long, deep breath, Allison steeled herself for what was to come….what she would do.

”Ah...when in doubt, see what shit sticks to the wall.”

Before she could wait for a response, she popped up and began to fire streams of blades….at the cave ceiling...trying to create a circle of forceful, wide, thick blades to crack up the ceiling as badly and deeply as possible, all in order to collapse a circle of cave roof down on the enemies below. She would keep an eye out to move back down as needed, but even if so she would pop up again to try to continue carving out her plan as time went on. Even so, she attempted to embrace the fear of death coursing in her veins right now, generated by the intense fight or flight response that so desperately wanted to kick into full “flight” mode right now.

Whip was leaving a trail, thick and slippery, of blood as she slowly moved backwards. Her breathing was shallow and labored and it looked like she was using all her willpower to not just fall over. With almost careless ease the goon kicked her wound, bringing about a pathetic whimper from Whip.

“Pathetic." He turned away, his boot grinding against her wound, as the others opened fire. Mantis knocked the blade from their hand, bullets tearing into flesh, as Farce fired several rounds that landed in his shoulders and chest.

Overall it seemed… Ineffective. More metal was spreading across his skin, pooling into a larger looking shield at his feet. Almost casually he switched to the other form, picking up a knife that had formed on the ground. It was larger than the shiv and he started moving towards the group behind the defensive cover.

Above some rubble and dust fell…

Their weapons were ineffective. They would have to kill it in one move or at least immobilize it with something. That's when he saw the rubble above. Excal was trying collapse the ceiling on their foe. Mantis sprung into action, heading for the fiend. He shot his remaining rounds from his submachine gun. Mantis aimed at the head and weapon in their hand. Hopefully a good hit to the brain would kill them immediately or at least disarm it.

When he ran out of ammunition, Mantis dropped his gun and drew his combat knife. It was apparent he was going in hand to hand. He angled himself appropriately in order to maneuver them right underneath Excal’s cave in. Mantis also implanted the thought, ”I’ll end him there.” Referring to the area in question.

Once he got in close, right outside the falling rubble, Mantis would unleash a flurry of slashes, kicks and elbows at them. If one replaced another he would continue his onslaught on the other. Years of training in Krav Maga made him more comfortable in situations like these..

Farce noticed the rubble above her fall down. ”Uh… guys? This place is coming down I think…!” She immediately went into a panic as she ran over and grabbed Whip, struggling to keep her up in her arms. ”Forget them, Mantis! We’ve gotta go!”

With that, she ran in a direction she thought was the way out, and didn’t look behind her as she moved. ”C’mon Whip! We’re getting you out of here.”

Allison continued to fire off blades of the same style as before at the cavern roof, aiming for vulnerable weight-bearing points as well now, seeking to collapse the entire cavern roof in upon everything….and everyone. Maybe the group could escape if this gave them a chance, perhaps the new bad guys might be buried in the rubble temporarily so they could get out. This was a dangerous development overall, and the fact they had walked into this was a terrible idea. If enough of them lived beyond this, she was going to give them a piece of her mind-.....oh.

The idea of potentially most of them dying shook her a bit. She hadn’t gone through a trigger event for any of this….what if….what if this event potentially complicated her situation? Could a parahuman have a secondary trigger if they used, well, whatever vial thing she had acquired from these people? Or had her brain chemistry and body been altered to not be able to “evolve” her current state any more?

Wait…...why was she considering this in the first place? She was trying to help them all get out of here!

“Mantis, get the fuck away from there ya’ damn pancake!“ Allison yelled at him as she continued to play out her plan as teammates scrambled to get away and Mantis seemed to be outright getting into her line of fire.

Mantis’ shots went wide, but that wasn't what he was looking for anyways. He came into close combat, and while this cape had the basics… Mantis was well above his skill level. Soon he was bleeding, and bad, before he switched to the other. Their little duel continued, Mantis being hit several times by the metal on the guy's fist, but Mantis was undeniably winning.

And that's was when there was an ear splitting crack above them. As the roof started to collapse down, bits of Excal's blades coming with, Whip hooked Mantis with her string - cutting into his waist a little - and pulled. As rock and metal fell, there was only the new cape underneath.

The cave in was thunderous, shaking the ground, before it was over. Mantis, Whip, and Farce were on the opposite side of the crash as Excal, but the blade shooting girl could crawl over the rocks to reach them if she felt so inclined.

Whip, meanwhile, was limp in Farce's hands. She looked up at the other woman in concern, her lips moving without making a sound. And then…. The light in her eyes faded and Whip was no more.

”Guys! We’ve got to go NOW!” Farce didn’t care if Whip was limp and lifeless, she wasn’t leaving her there to be buried by rubble. She was gonna get Whip out or die trying! ”COME ON-WAUGH!”

Farce fell forward with Whip, a sudden uttering of ”Sparce!” coming into play as the twins kept running. Sparce could more easily carry Whip’s body, but he couldn’t do it for long.

Mantis jumped up as quickly as his bruised and cut body could. He reached for his weapon on the ground as an afterthought. Then he yelled out, ”Limbo is in here and I'm going to find her! Follow me or get out! We can regroup at my place!”

With that said, Mantis ran deeper into the tunnels. He sensed for any emotions that he could identify as a human being. It wasn't a stretch to assume Limbo's body was close to her projection. Anyone who wished would be able to follow Mantis deeper into the tunnels. Limbo's time had come…

”Hey! Er, Farce! Are you guys alive over there? Whip, you ok?” Allison shouted from her side of the rock wall now blocking her from the others. Albeit, she knew the way they had come in was just behind her.

Yet…

She was worried. It didn’t sound like Mantis was going to stop this “mission” anytime soon. What….what an idiot! The brand-new parahuman couldn’t believe that this mission was worth potentially throwing everyone’s lives away at. Allison noted to herself how she had thought this would be a proper heroic mission, albeit not with the same blind idealism a comic book character might show. She hadn’t heard Whip calling out though…..she could hear Farce and Sparce talking though. Mantis had said something about them being able to leave and regroup at his place, but then again she had no idea where the place was. She knew where the car was, at least, but could she even use the thing if she got that far and ran?

But if she stayed….was Mantis going to sacrifice them all for this shit revenge?! A pang of frustrations suddenly washed over her, albeit briefly. Sure one could say they needed to get things done no matter what, but at the same time was it worth being the Captain Ahab of all of this? She had no idea if the two other superhuman multi-trigger guys were alive or dead, and at that there had been that ghostly gross looking chick from before...wait, where had that woman gone to anywho? That was another potential worry. Plus if one ambush had seemingly been waiting for them…..ah hell it could be worse.

Mantis yelled back to Excal, ”No! Everything is not fine and we need your help NOW!” He continued his way into the tunnels. Hopefully the others would follow him in.

“Excaliblast”....no, Allison had followed along with all of this….she chose to stay instead of run. Despite her anger at Mantis for sounding like a madman, with this….Captain Ahab sounding pursuit! She couldn’t leave them behind. Sparce and Farce had sounded desperate, she couldn’t hear Whip, and Mantis…..dammit even that damned idiot might need help too! They’d walked into what seemed like a trap...and been ambushed in a bad spot. They’d gotten into a firefight, the first in her entire life, and the reality of death had begun to sink in. She’d desperately sought to do something to save them….but she had no idea what effect it had been on them even. She’d experienced being in the presence of a trigger, a multi-trigger at that, and seen a terrifying couple of powers approaching them like monsters emerging from the ether into this world. She’d even seen a ghastly looking monstrosity of a...a phantom floating in the air.

She had witnessed something incredible not too long ago, as if waking up from real life and moving into a dream. She, fulfilling that childhood dream, had gotten powers. She had become a parahuman, the type of people she had sought to understood, been studying for a good time by now. All of that time and money spent, all of the parties and sexy times with cuties….all of the stress and the struggle over tests and projects even. And as she had climbed over that rock barrier, as she had desperately followed the group with adrenaline pumping through her system, she had even so hoped….hoped for the best.

Even without an immature idealism clinging to her heart, wasn’t that one thing humans and parahumans had in common? Hope. The one thing that had clung inside Pandora’s Box whilst all the evils had left it to swarm about the Earth. A force that could move gods, as it had during the tale of Orpheus in the Underworld, and something that even poor Oedipus clung to as he had sought to defy his fate. It was something even the common man in all walks seemed to cling to even in this day and age.

She had, in this line of thought, placed her hopes into this. On taking the dive, seeking to become a hero...and why so? To merely fulfill a childhood dream or some fancy? Had she done it out of the best goodwill of her heart, with the best possible intentions? Or...had she impulsively done it to escape the loops her life had become? To remove herself from the monotony of rising debt and increasing stress, and the nagging of some family who didn’t like her choice of future already? Perhaps it was to get away from the pressure to succeed, or financial support from home might cut out despite its limited nature?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t all altruistic. In a sense….it had always been a selfish desire, hadn’t it?

Mantis, Sparce, Excal and the body of Whip headed further into the cave, following a small tunnel. Excal could now either follow… Or abandon them and try to escape the way they had entered originally.

It came to an end fairly quickly, Mantis able to pick up hints of anger, and as they stepped into a small room Limbo's ghost appeared directly in Mantis’ face and several gunshots went off. Surprisingly none of them hit Mantis, who was in front.

Even more surprisingly, however, was the bullet that planted itself directly between Sparce’s eyes, causing Farce to immediately appear, falling forward with Whip’s body underneath her immediately limp form.

And then Limbo, Excal, and Mantis collapsed…

Allison had darted into the room. She bore witness to the horror as a bullet rang true, and….Farce’s body collapsed to the floor. Similarly, she too collapsed to the floor….only to arise shortly after as the other two in the room had. And in doing this, she felt a cold sweat on her back, certain realizations hitting her mind, glancing at Mantis and then Limbo and then at Mantis again as if she had seen a ghost. Then she looked to her side...at the limp bodies in the room...lying atop each other.

’Oh no. Nonono. NONONONONONONON!!! her mind seemed to say aloud within itself, the sound growing louder and louder until it was like a scream ringing between her ears.

Allison crawled in the dirt and grime over to where Farce’s body lay limp over Whip. Frantically, desperately the new parahuman tried to check for vital signs, first on Whip, and….cold. Lingering warmth seemed to be there, but...ah. Whip wasn’t alive...not anymore. That glazed look in the body’s eyes, the lack of a pulse... And that bullet, and Sparce….and now Farce was limp like this. She felt she didn’t even need to check the other “body” right now.

Her face felt numb, or perhaps hot, her mind like a live wire of the worst kind. Her pulse raced more than before, and before she could speak her guts lurched and her head turned to the side….as vile green vomit poured out of her lips and splatted wet on the ground next to her and the bodies. Her eyes were too glazed over a bit, disbelief and a mix of emotions writhing within her. Her stomach couldn’t handle this, the contents of it emptying as the realization of things hit her. This was her fault. She, that damn fool of a girl who had thought herself a potential hero….this was HER FAULT.

She had collapsed the cavern, and now Whip was….dead. She had followed these people in, but….she couldn’t prevent Sparce and Farce from dying. She had taken on the responsibility to go with these people, but what if she had refused? Might they have come anyways to die here? Might they have gone back home safely, if they merely hadn’t acquired another number to come along for this...this SUICIDE MISSION?!

When Mantis came to, he had tears welling up in his eyes. He slowly got on his hands and knees. Liquid began to dot the cold, damp floor. Steadily, emotion began to fill the entirety of the room. Rage, anger, and fear.

Mantis reached for his balaclava with one swift motion and pulled it down off of his mouth. He looked toward the ceiling and screamed at the top of his lungs in agony, ”AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The sheer intensity of the feelings were overpowering. Pure dread fell upon whomever had the misfortune of being in the wave that crashed over the room.

Suddenly, Mantis jumped to his feet as he lunged at Limbo's true form. He had no regard for his own safety as he charged at the armed woman. She stood behind a metal desk with her gun in hand. Mantis leapt over the desk with a flying kick. A steel toed boot made contact with Limbo's torso. She flew backwards and crashed into a bulletin board. She lost her grip on her weapon as it clattered to the floor. Papers scattered everywhere.

Mantis stepped forward, staring right into her eyes with the intensity of a ferocious predator. Limbo trembled from the fear. Her hands went up to protect her face from whatever came next. It would not be enough.

When he got within range, Mantis began to throw violent punches at her torso. Limbo keeled over, gasping for air. Then he took her head in his hands and used it as leverage to deliver a devastating knee to her face. A loud crack could be heard as her nose broke from the impact. Blood gushed on Mantis and the floor below. He didn't even notice. It was like his combat instincts had fully taken control.

Then Mantis slammed his elbow down upon the back of her head. She crashed to the floor as her blood splattered around. Limbo groaned in agony and pleaded, ”Please...don’t kill me...I was only defending myself..” Seeing her apart from her apparition made her seem like a normal woman. Groveling and frail. But Mantis wasn't finished with her yet.

He began to kick her repeatedly in the ribs. One by one they cracked from the blunt trauma. Finally, he stomped her right arm which snapped backwards. She cried out in horrible pain as Mantis looked on, breathing heavily. He stared for some time while Limbo quietly whimpered in a pool of her own blood. Then he finally asked in a strangely calm voice, ”Give me one good reason why I should keep you alive.”

Soundtrack pt.2

Turning her head to the side, as if feeling stuck in a dream, Allison watched in pale horror as Mantis went to work. Pure dread coming from him washed over her like a tidal wave, and his rage, his anger, his fear as well in turn came into her mind. She could see the terror of Limbo as this”enemy” was pummeled into a bloody pulp on the ground, and began to torture her with ribs blows and breaking her arm in front of her. Almost poetically, this person looked as frail as those bodies did next to Allison herself….and Mantis as vengeful as the multi-trigger monsters that had attacked them all not too long prior.

Heh….so easily the roles could reverse, the victim becomes the monster. The monster becomes the victim. These weren’t Endbringers, beasts of an entirely different scale and might level, but merely….humans. Humans beating each other into a pulp, releasing their anger and emotions, seeking to slay each other for some reason or another like animals.

It made her sick….sick to her stomach, though dry heaves were all she might get now. But as she watched this, a now wave of something rose within her, as if spurred on by whatever Mantis had been emanating. Angry. No….hated, fury, pure spite of the deepest kind, all darkened by the color of the blood spilt here into a shade of tainted crimson.

Mantis, no better than what he had perhaps sought to destroy or bring vengeance upon here. “Limbo”, as this one was called, no better than a murderer trying to tap into the emotions, the closing curtain upon them as they tried to in their weakest state beg for a mercy they perhaps never would give...if she had to make some inferences here.

…..this was no dream, though. This was a darkened nightmare, the more vile side of the world made manifest. Not all the world’s evils, but merely a fragment of them.

“Stop...Mantis…..please stop…..i…...i……we’re supposed to be…...“

Her voice felt weak, her throat hoarse as if she had been screaming. Her body as if about to collapse from it all. Yet right then, as if a fine rope had at last been cut….something snapped. Her arms silently raised up, hands and wrists in the right position, pointed at the two individuals as Mantis merely stood there over Limbo at the time. She felt the emotions surge through her towards those wrists of hers, the pain, the shame, the guilt, the fury, and everything that was roaring within her right now.

“BOTH OF YOU FUCKING STOP ALREADY!!!“

At the same moment, blades began to pour forth out of her wrists like a stream….like a raging river unleashed from behind the wall of a dam. At the speed of bullets, like a true machine gun firing off on the battlefield, they flew to their marks….towards mainly one of the two figures. Several sunk into the neck and skull of Limbo, those in the neck cutting off the head of the snake…...but those aimed for the head being so large they were gruesomely splitting open the skull of the “villain” and splattering brains and bone splinters and blood all over the ground in front of Mantis. Other embedded themselves in the corpse of the woman, exerting a level of overkill as they cut and maimed it horridly.

Then again, several blades landed around Mantis as well, embedded into the ground around him as if like a...fence.

Slowly rising to her feet, slightly shaky at first but eventually gaining some strength, Allison stood tall, her wrists still aimed in Mantis’ direction, her eyes keeping track of the man’s movements. Several tears were running down her face….no, it was more like a cascade of rain in effect really, as they streamed down her face. Was she some naieve baby? She didn’t think so….but regardless of that she knew she wasn’t one right now.

”I just want answers. But if you even try any of your mind tricks on me, and even if i just suspect it, i will shoot you and this entire underground until it is nothing but a solid steel cemetery for the three of us. It’s as natural as breathing to do this, so do not fucking try me.

Now….answer me this…..was this worth it? Was it worth all their lives…...just for this?! Was it all worth this bitch’s death, just to watch her squirm like an ant underneath you? You look like a monster, Mantis, just as ugly as that damn ghost we saw in the other room. No different than what i’ve seen people call parahumans more than enough times in my life to be sick of it, and what people describe cold-blooded killers as being at that.

This isn’t some idealistic bullshit, i just want to know, Mantis!!! Answer me dammit!!!”

As Excaliblast impaled Limbo with her blades, Mantis simply stared down at her lifeless body. Then he quietly muttered, ”Nice work..” Suddenly, more blades surrounded him in a makeshift cage. He slowly turned his head toward Alison as she interrogated him, tears in her eyes. She was so...innocent. So human. She reminded Mantis of his early days on the police force. Ready to change the world, one call at a time.

The longer she continued the more his mind became clear. The rage had subsided. Replaced with a soberness. Mantis looked back at Limbo's corpse. When Alison had finished he quietly replied, ”Was it worth it..? I've been asking myself that question ever since I lost my friends and gained these powers...I'm too far in this to go back now, Alison..”

Then he looked up at her with a solemn resolve in his eyes and stated, ”So are you.”

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

@cyrania the first time I played I outright killed most of the characters because I thought I had to. I was very sad to hear I was wrong haha.

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

Cicero Bladewalker

Cicero nodded as Gwyn revealed her plan to him. The crew looked more and more oblivious the longer the evening went on. It was now or never. He whispered back to her, "Be careful and stick to the shadows. I only need my weapons, leave the armor. Not like you could lift it anyway." Cicero smirked at her. Despite their situation, a little levity could be helpful.

He turned back to the merry crew. Cicero walked over to the tankers, picked one up and filled it with grog. It wouldn't hurt to play along with them and enjoy a drink while at it. Cicero took a long swig from the beverage. By no means was it good quality. Though it had the effect of getting someone drunk, "This is quite the crew you have here Captain Joss! Finest band of sailors I've seen this side of the sea!" Around them lay several incapacited men. Some drooling others snoring. A few stumbled around the deck, clearly drunk.

That's when he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. The former Captain. He snuck along the railing and headed for the Captain's quarters. Cicero took another swig of his drink thinking to himself, "Should I give him away or distract the crew more?" Cicero did not trust anyone who called this vessel their own. However, perhaps having another man to fight the crew if it came to it would be advantageous.

Cicero began laughing boisteriously. He stood up suddenly and announced, "I'M IN THE MOOD TO FIGHT! WHO HAS THE GALL TO STAND UP TO MY CHALLENGE?!" Cicero began shadow boxing at the various crew members. Any drunk sailor worth his salt would step up to the plate. Cicero smirked to himself. Despite his previous injuries, he figured he could put on a good enough show to distract the men.