Murder Game XIV: Monokuma's Awakening

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Zinnia..."

She couldn't hide the pain of remembering Aster from Jack any longer, not after having heard her tell the tragedy on many occasions before now. His hold on her hand tightened, hopefully reminding her of what she currently had in her life. A friend who loved her (perhaps as more than just friends) and an adopted daughter who currently needed her were her current 'possessions', her precious things, and she needed to keep that in mind before she rushed forward.

"Have you considered that perhaps I and little Aster, once we find her again, could fill that hole of yours..."

However, before he could say anything else, the sound of havoc being wrought reached theirs ears. With one last assuring squeeze of her hand, Jack released his grip and began to run towards the danger.

"I do not know, but we shall investigate!"​

Even through her deep wound of pain, Jack's words were like a flicker of light in her heart. They caused a pitter-pattered within her chest. Soundlessly, she glanced toward him. You really care about me a lot, don't you? I don't know how you do it, but you always make me feel better. I don't think you know just how right your words are. When I'm around you, the pain is bearable. I wouldn't mind you helping me fill that hole if you wanted to. Somehow, I feel like you could. You're just as precious as the sun. You glow like Aster did. I-I want to tell you how much you mean to me. Saying nothing is an unbearable weight...​

...but what would I do... if I poured my heart out to this very, very precious person and I lost him?

I could barely handle losing Aster. It almost killed me, and it still hurts. I don't think I could make it if it were to happen again...

Unable to ponder her thoughts further, Zinnia could feel Jack release his grip on her hand. She followed after him to check and see what exactly was the source of the ruckus going on nearby.

@The Tactician​

 

[Takumi]

"..."

Well, that was annoying. Not Jack yelling after her, or him following after- though those were annoying in their own rights -, even. But rather, the fact that the first person she ran into was not only that guy from earlier, but was also wearing a mask. Rather than bothering with answering him, she stared in silence, reminded of how fed up with the place she was. But, whatever... She slowly reached up and batted at his mask with her hand, anyways. Surely it'd come off that way, right?

Wrong.

Nothing happened, causing golden eyes to narrow with annoyance. Damn it all, what was this guy's problem?! Without a thought, she reached up and batted at it with her other hand, and when it bore no fruit? Well, the tantrum came. "....Nnnnnnnnn c'mon, meow!" she exclaimed, beginning to scratch and claw at the mask. Nothing. So she began doing everything she could think of to get it off, moving all about in her attempts in a cartoonist manner. Soon she was practically perched on his arm, pulling and tugging. Next she was back where she had been, clawing again. The next, on his shoulders, yanking and clawing from there. But the damn thing wouldn't budge, and she only felt even more drained... then she paused, looking up and away as she noticed another figure walk in. Ah, opportunity! A bare face, oblivious and talking--

Tail swishing from side to side like a predator on the prowl for a moment, Tarlotte grinned faintly, crouching slightly before springing right off of Genji's shoulders, pouncing on Yurick and... kissing him, if she succeeded!

Oh goodness, why.

@york @BarrenThin @Atomyk @Takumi @Reception​

Yurick had no idea what he was looking at exactly when he had approached and asked his question, but before he could get a proper answer, the poor slightly sleep deprived mercenary was practically tackled by Tarlotte and kissed.

Being pounced on so suddenly caught him off guard enough to cause him to stumble and nearly fall flat on his back. The kiss caused his cheeks to heat up and his lone eye to widen in shock. Sadly, he realized that this was his first kiss, stolen by the Ultimate Tantrum no less. Once it was all over he would of stood there, shocked as his tired brain would try to process all that had happened just now.

He didn't sign up for any of this.

@Atomyk @BarrenThin @Hospes @york @Reception

 

[Midnight Maiden]

Genji didn't budge throughout the ordeal, though he did occasionally laugh. He turned around as she sprung off him, the mask coming off with a hiss as he pressed two buttons on the side of his head. "It's really not that... What are you doing?"

@Takumi @Hospes @york @Josh M​

Yurick had no idea what he was looking at exactly when he had approached and asked his question, but before he could get a proper answer, the poor slightly sleep deprived mercenary was practically tackled by Tarlotte and kissed.

Being pounced on so suddenly caught him off guard enough to cause him to stumble and nearly fall flat on his back. The kiss caused his cheeks to heat up and his lone eye to widen in shock. Sadly, he realized that this was his first kiss, stolen by the Ultimate Tantrum no less. Once it was all over he would of stood there, shocked as his tired brain would try to process all that had happened just now.

He didn't sign up for any of this.

@Atomyk @BarrenThin @Hospes @york @Reception

Having successfully managed to capture Yurick in her pounce, the younger female didn't hesitate for so much as a second before moving to capture the male's lips with her own, kissing him calmly with her tail flickering back and forth. Oddly enough, one could see her brighten... literally, almost. Not only did she seem to visibly perk up, she also seemed almost as though actually glowing faintly. The kiss was soft and didn't last especially long before Tarlotte pulled away, seeming refreshed as she wiped her lips with her sleeve. "Ahh, much better~" she purred to herself, hardly seeming to notice or care about Yurick's shock and embarrassment.

It was quite clear she didn't really care to answer, or even pay attention to, Genji's question.

She was a little confused by the conversation ongoing with the receptionist, though.

@york @Atomyk @Takumi @BarrenThin @Yun Lee @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yang Lee​

 

[BarrenThin]

Having successfully managed to capture Yurick in her pounce, the younger female didn't hesitate for so much as a second before moving to capture the male's lips with her own, kissing him calmly with her tail flickering back and forth. Oddly enough, one could see her brighten... literally, almost. Not only did she seem to visibly perk up, she also seemed almost as though actually glowing faintly. The kiss was soft and didn't last especially long before Tarlotte pulled away, seeming refreshed as she wiped her lips with her sleeve. "Ahh, much better~" she purred to herself, hardly seeming to notice or care about Yurick's shock and embarrassment.

It was quite clear she didn't really care to answer, or even pay attention to, Genji's question.

She was a little confused by the conversation ongoing with the receptionist, though.

@york @Atomyk @Takumi @BarrenThin @Yun Lee @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yang Lee​

The cyborg quietly shook his head and put his mask back on. "You're an odd one. You never did tell me your name."

@Hospes @york @Takumi @reception​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

The cyborg quietly shook his head and put his mask back on. "You're an odd one. You never did tell me your name."

@Hospes @york @Takumi @reception​

"Hmph!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks with annoyance at being called odd. "You're the odd one! Call me that again and I'll kill you, meow!" Silence followed after this, as though she simply hadn't heard his request for her name, or simply didn't give a damn. She didn't have to tell any of these people anything, after all! But hm....

With a very serious and annoyed expression on her face, Tarlotte crossed her arms, holding her head high and closing her eyes. "...Tarlotte, and you better not mess it up, meow! Or I'll just have to crush you like I'm gonna crush that stupid bear, too, meow~!"

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

 

[York]

Replies

Yurick had joined the reception group once they had gotten there, not up to seeing another dead body so soon or going to the medical wing. Besides, he was slightly curious about what was going on here.

He could of sworn he heard some noises coming from another area too.



He glanced Genji and Tarlotte's way. He had a feeling they didn't hear what he heard. Or thought he heard. Maybe he should stop staying up to read his father's journal.



"Did any of you happen to hear something just a second ago?" he asked the three, hoping he wasn't going crazy.

@Atomyk @BarrenThin @Hospes @york @Reception

"..."

Well, that was annoying. Not Jack yelling after her, or him following after- though those were annoying in their own rights -, even. But rather, the fact that the first person she ran into was not only that guy from earlier, but was also wearing a mask. Rather than bothering with answering him, she stared in silence, reminded of how fed up with the place she was. But, whatever... She slowly reached up and batted at his mask with her hand, anyways. Surely it'd come off that way, right?

Wrong.

Nothing happened, causing golden eyes to narrow with annoyance. Damn it all, what was this guy's problem?! Without a thought, she reached up and batted at it with her other hand, and when it bore no fruit? Well, the tantrum came. "....Nnnnnnnnn c'mon, meow!" she exclaimed, beginning to scratch and claw at the mask. Nothing. So she began doing everything she could think of to get it off, moving all about in her attempts in a cartoonist manner. Soon she was practically perched on his arm, pulling and tugging. Next she was back where she had been, clawing again. The next, on his shoulders, yanking and clawing from there. But the damn thing wouldn't budge, and she only felt even more drained... then she paused, looking up and away as she noticed another figure walk in. Ah, opportunity! A bare face, oblivious and talking--

Tail swishing from side to side like a predator on the prowl for a moment, Tarlotte grinned faintly, crouching slightly before springing right off of Genji's shoulders, pouncing on Yurick and... kissing him, if she succeeded!

Oh goodness, why.

@york @BarrenThin @Atomyk @Takumi @Reception​

Genji didn't budge throughout the ordeal, though he did occasionally laugh. He turned around as she sprung off him, the mask coming off with a hiss as he pressed two buttons on the side of his head. "It's really not that... What are you doing?"

@Takumi @Hospes @york @Josh M​

"Ahuh..."

The guy gave Honda a suspicious look over, but soon his facade was dropped and the man was smiling in amusement. "Hey, whatever you say man, no worries. You see, I'm looking into the missing girls myself, so, here's the thing, maybe you should be telling me what you know... you know?"

The man's tone was casual and relaxed, carrying the suggestion that all this was just no big deal at all.

"Stephen Holder." He reached into a pocket to flash a badge. "Detective Stephen Holder, that's right. I guess your previous sheriff felt some outside help was needed considerin' he pulled my ass down here. Been a boring ride so far, at least until that body showed up, you know what I'm sayin'?"

@Takumi @Hospes @york @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Yang Lee @Reception​

"Why hi officer." Poison replied as he came over to the detective leaning over a bit to expose her feminine assets a bit better as she on top of that also ramped up the sultriness in her voice. "I don't suppose a guy like you could help us out with that. I mean we're only junior detectives after all...a real detective like you surely have somethin' more for us."

@Atomyk @Jeremi @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Yun Lee @Crow @CrunchyCHEEZIT @LuckycoolHawk9 @Reception

"You're a detective?! PERFECT!!!!" Honda beamed, happy that at least a real cop was looking for these poor girls. "Well actually...you see, yesterday, we found out Jefferson had a connection to these girls. What it is, I don't know yet, but there may be a chance his murder is tied to these disappearances!"
​

@Atomyk @Jeremi @Yang Lee

Yurick had no idea what he was looking at exactly when he had approached and asked his question, but before he could get a proper answer, the poor slightly sleep deprived mercenary was practically tackled by Tarlotte and kissed.

Being pounced on so suddenly caught him off guard enough to cause him to stumble and nearly fall flat on his back. The kiss caused his cheeks to heat up and his lone eye to widen in shock. Sadly, he realized that this was his first kiss, stolen by the Ultimate Tantrum no less. Once it was all over he would of stood there, shocked as his tired brain would try to process all that had happened just now.

He didn't sign up for any of this.

@Atomyk @BarrenThin @Hospes @york @Reception

Having successfully managed to capture Yurick in her pounce, the younger female didn't hesitate for so much as a second before moving to capture the male's lips with her own, kissing him calmly with her tail flickering back and forth. Oddly enough, one could see her brighten... literally, almost. Not only did she seem to visibly perk up, she also seemed almost as though actually glowing faintly. The kiss was soft and didn't last especially long before Tarlotte pulled away, seeming refreshed as she wiped her lips with her sleeve. "Ahh, much better~" she purred to herself, hardly seeming to notice or care about Yurick's shock and embarrassment.

It was quite clear she didn't really care to answer, or even pay attention to, Genji's question.

She was a little confused by the conversation ongoing with the receptionist, though.

@york @Atomyk @Takumi @BarrenThin @Yun Lee @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yang Lee​

The cyborg quietly shook his head and put his mask back on. "You're an odd one. You never did tell me your name."

@Hospes @york @Takumi @reception​

"Hmph!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks with annoyance at being called odd. "You're the odd one! Call me that again and I'll kill you, meow!" Silence followed after this, as though she simply hadn't heard his request for her name, or simply didn't give a damn. She didn't have to tell any of these people anything, after all! But hm....

With a very serious and annoyed expression on her face, Tarlotte crossed her arms, holding her head high and closing her eyes. "...Tarlotte, and you better not mess it up, meow! Or I'll just have to crush you like I'm gonna crush that stupid bear, too, meow~!"

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

Jack Frost
@Takumi @Hospes @Atomyk @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Yang Lee @Reception Folks

Hmm... Jack Frost observed Tarlotte kiss someone for the first time, and he noticed something he hadn't been able to last time, shen she had caught him almost completely off-guard. Though Yurick was the one to have that happen to him this time, since Genji had his mask on juuust long enough to make Tarlotte lose interest in him... From what it looks like, she was suddenly filled with energy again! Could it be that kissing people somehow... Gave her energy? Maybe that's why she didn't seem to have the appetite that he did. Come to think of it... If he had his powers, he probably wouldn't have to eat either, so... Maybe it shouldn't be so strange to him.

"Tarlotte, huh..." He murmured to himself, as he heard her introduce herself thanks to Genji's efforts.

He had been meaning to ask this himself, but well... Hadn't been able to in all the chaos that had happened, but in the end... It was for the best that someone else had asked for him, someone less likely to get their eyes clawed out by a furious cat-girl that is.

"It's a nice name." He said, thinking out loud.

Then, he immediately covered his mouth realizing he had actually said this; maaaybe drawing attention to himself like this wasn't a good idea? Hmm, on the other hand, there appeared to be a detective in their presense, as he was looking around the room before this moment... Perhaps he should ask him a few questions in a moment?
​

 

[BarrenThin]

"Hmph!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks with annoyance at being called odd. "You're the odd one! Call me that again and I'll kill you, meow!" Silence followed after this, as though she simply hadn't heard his request for her name, or simply didn't give a damn. She didn't have to tell any of these people anything, after all! But hm....

With a very serious and annoyed expression on her face, Tarlotte crossed her arms, holding her head high and closing her eyes. "...Tarlotte, and you better not mess it up, meow! Or I'll just have to crush you like I'm gonna crush that stupid bear, too, meow~!"

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

"I suppose I am, too. And, yes, of course you'll kill me." One could almost feel him winking. The cyborg felt like teasing her, too. "It was Tar-Lottie, right?" Judging by his tone, he was probably just being ornery.

@Hospes @york @reception​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

Oh jeez, it was this freak again! Did this undead serial killer actually trail the group here from the campsite? That was pretty much the only reason she can think of, and it just happened to be when she was alone with this scientist.

"Oh, back for round 2, huh?"

Her eyes a vibrant blue, Lapis gave off a confident air by just staring at Jason. While she didn't have much else to back her up this time around, she felt the need to beat some sense into this one. Yet, she would be momentarily pulled to the side by Herbert, the man stashing his handiwork beforehand and then aiming a few pistol shots at Jason. Well, it didn't do so much from what they can see.

"As much as I want to say that I'm a better shot with a firearm, I don't think some bullets are going to do the job."

Just as she says that, she took a quick glance over to see that Jason was occupied with the corpse that was reanimated with that weird substance the scientist had worked up.

"...but hey, that kinda works too. Unless you want to do anything to help out, I got myself work to do. Like how you have this whole bringing life from the dead thing, I'm an expert in... putting death into the living."

For a moment, Lapis cringed at her own words, but she at least got her point across. Yanking her arm away from Herbert's grip easily, she darted towards what would be her makeshift weapon: the chair she was sitting on earlier.

Not wasting the time she had while Jason was busy with that reanimated corpse, Lapis charged right towards the undead man, swinging the chair at his torso with all of the force she could muster up.

"Your skills of observation are quite keen. Has anyone else ever told you this?" Herbert snapped sarcastically as he saw the various holes on Jason's chest from where he'd been shot. Usually all it took to put down one of Herbert's zombies was a few well placed shots to the chest or one right to the brain. Yet this goliath kept moving even after being pumped full of lead. Interesting enough of a specimen. If Herbert could get him down on a slab then he could see just what made this titan of a corpse tick. But he couldn't do it himself that much was certain.

Though he glanced back at the storage room where he had kept a couple of cadavers in case of a rainy day. Or if one of their experiments got too rowdy and had to be destroyed. Waste not want not after all. Watching as Lapis broke free from his hand and rushed towards Jason, Herbert scoffed.

"I hope your fighting prowess is half as good as your taunting capability!"

But no more time to waste on idle chit chat. Who knew how long it'd take that mask wearing creature before it disposed of the cadaver and the ignorant girl? Rushing into the back room, Herbert unzipped his bag and drew out a canister full of Reagent. Pulling out a syringe from his pocket, he began to pull out as much of the serum as the syringe could hold.

"30% of an increase in Reagent doses seems to yield the best results at the moment. Further testing will have to be done to prove if it can be made even more efficient."

Herbert muttered to no one but himself. He really regretted leaving his clipboard on top of the cadaver when Jason had made his abrupt entrance. No doubt it was smashed to pieces and with it so went Herbert's logs for the day. No matter, he'd simply deal with this little interruption and carry on with business as it had been. He'd also make sure to give Lapis another piece of his mind.

But first he had some re-animating to do. Looking at the two cadavers he had laying in body bags in the storage room, Herbert drew his loaded syringe.

"Let's get to work.."

~~~

Back in the main autopsy room, Jason was growing more and more furious by the second. This thing that had clung to his back was tearing out chunks of his shoulder and spitting it right back in Jason's face as if it were some kind of childish animal. Which given that the average corpse brought back by Herbert had the mindset of a wild beast no matter how intelligent they may have been in life made some sense. Jason couldn't feel pain in the same way that someone like Lapis or Herbert could. But this still felt irritating all the same. Sheathing his machete, Jason reached back and smashed his fist right into the cadaver's face. Caving the nose in and sending them flying off his back.

As they flew through the air, they'd crash into a table Herbert had set up with some of Dan and his own tools. One of the items on the table that Herbert hadn't been too fond of was the radio that Dan insisted on having around because it brought some ambiance to the otherwise bleak and depressing atmosphere of the autopsy room. Herbert thought it annoying and wanted on many occasions to smash the blasted thing. But he didn't want any to give any excuse for Dan to rag on him so the radio stayed. As the cadaver stumbled to the floor, his hands windmilled off to the side and knocked the radio to the floor.

As the radio cracked against the floor, the power button would have inadvertently been switched on and music began to blare throughout the room.

The music had very little if any effect on distracting Jason for as once the cadaver was off him, it was back to business as usual. His hands reached out to grip onto the chair Lapis had swung. Glaring down at her, he sought to rip the chair from her hands and hurl it up against the wall. The force of the impact alone being enough to shatter the chair into two halves as Jason started toward Lapis with his hands clenched into fists at his side. She had tried leaping at him but she had underestimated the zombie's reflexes. He may have not been the fastest runner since coming back from the dead but he could still bust out a quick move every now and again. Like smashing Lapis face first into the ground and tossing her away like yesterday's news.

Meanwhile, Herbert had just finished injecting the last drop of Reagent into the cadavers in the storage room. He of course had heard everything that was going out in the main room. But it wasn't the chair being broken, the cadaver being knocked around that annoyed him. No, he reserved that hate for something far more deserving.

"Damn that atrocious soundtrack! I knew there was a reason I didn't want that thing in there!"

But the radio wouldn't be Herbert's concern for long as shrieks rang out in the storage room. The cadavers tore through their body bags and stumbled off their slabs. Screeching to the heavens above, they charged for Herbert who barely managed to get enough time to zip up his bag and brace himself as he was smashed against the door which tumbled down as the cadavers rushed past Herbert. Jason stopped dead in his tracks, completely caught up in trying to kill Lapis that he didn't take note of the two other cadavers rushing right for him. That was until he heard the one he had punched crying out in what could have only been interpreted as joy.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Jason's head snapped back to the injured cadaver and then back at the other two who were charging at him. One grabbed Jason around the waist in a football style tackle while the other one leaped onto Jason's chest/wrapping it's legs around his waist and digging into his neck with it's teeth. Black blood streamed down Jason's neck as he nearly toppled over from the abrupt collision against his person. Where did these dead people keep coming from and why were they attacking him like this!? Picking out shards of glass from his person, Herbert winced as he sat up and saw the Cadavers all clinging onto Jason and attacking him.

"Your business is in taking life, you said? My business? It's giving life to what was once dead!"

The cadaver that Jason had injured saw how much Jason was struggling and rushed forward. Leaping onto his back once more and this time chewing on his arm. Tearing off the sleeve from Jason's jacket, the cadaver began to dig into the decomposing flesh of Jason's arm. But Herbert wasn't pleased by the success of the corpses. He was far more interested in weakening Jason so he could get the big oaf down on his operating table.

"Would someone shut that damn radio off!?"
​

Using the hand Jack had grabbed, she lifted his own hand up and placed it over her heart. "It hurts. I feel like there's a hole in my chest. I'd do anything to bring her back if there was a way..." What else can I do to fill that void she left inside me?

"I did lose someone," she finally replied to Dan, her eyes tearing up as she tried to explain her painful situation. "I had a daughter. She was as beautiful as the ocean, as bright as sunlight, and had the heart of a dragon. My grandmother used to tell me that she looked just like me but... I don't really even think I could compare to her. But I-- I couldn't protect her. She was right in front of me and I couldn't stop the sickness that drained her life away."

Suddenly, she looked Dan intensely in his eyes. "I'd do anything to get her back. I want to be with her again. If I can use this reagent--"

Dan froze up as Zinnia began to explain herself. He knew full well what it meant to lose someone and to want them back more than anything in the world. Dan for better or for worse was an optimist by heart. Which is most likely why he was the only one who could stomach being around Herbert. He saw good in the anti-social scientist even if he couldn't deny that Herbert was indeed off his rock. As Zinnia finished, Dan's face had broken out in a cold sweat as he tried to think of the best way to respond to this.

"I..I know what it's like to lose someone you feel is close to you. In the medical world, I feel that way every time I lost a patient. Other doctors think that once they're gone they're gone, no use in mourning over them. But I don't like that idea. That I have to give up on people. Which is why I give Herbert a chance when nobody else would or they'd write him off as insane." Which to be fair Herbert was most likely insane but this certainly didn't help matters.

But what he said next made his heart drop. He knew Herbert wouldn't be willing to part with his Reagent just to help some random woman he barely knew. Not to mention that giving it to stranger like Zinnia might have potentially opened up a whole can of worms.

"But...I just don't know if I can.."

Suddenly loud noises began to come from down the hall. That was where Herbert had gone to. To test his reagent on the fresh cadaver that had come in. Had it fought against him like all the others? Before Dan could ponder any further, Jack was already racing down the hall in hot pursuit. Cursing under his breath, Dan chased after Jack. He couldn't run the risk of either Jack or Zinnia getting hurt! Not when Zinnia had already lost so much.
​

"Zinnia..."

She couldn't hide the pain of remembering Aster from Jack any longer, not after having heard her tell the tragedy on many occasions before now. His hold on her hand tightened, hopefully reminding her of what she currently had in her life. A friend who loved her (perhaps as more than just friends) and an adopted daughter who currently needed her were her current 'possessions', her precious things, and she needed to keep that in mind before she rushed forward.

"Have you considered that perhaps I and little Aster, once we find her again, could fill that hole of yours..."

However, before he could say anything else, the sound of havoc being wrought reached theirs ears. With one last assuring squeeze of her hand, Jack released his grip and began to run towards the danger.

"I do not know, but we shall investigate!"

As Jack and Zinnia along with Dan raced down to the autopsy room, they wouldn't have been prepared for what awaited them. Within the room itself, Jason was still struggling with the three cadavers clinging onto and biting/punching him. One of them had their teeth firmly sunk into his right arm which made trying to pull off the other two quite difficult. But Jason had no business with the dead. His anger was reserved solely for the living. Using his free hand, he grabbed the cadaver that had bitten his neck and was quite eager to tear a chunk out of it by the hair and ripped his head back. The action did indeed take a sizable amount of Jason's throat out with it. But the damage was more cosmetic than anything else even with the torrent of blood running down Jason's neck and staining his t-shirt.

"MRRGGGGHH!" The cadaver cried out as it swallowed the chunk of throat it had torn off Jason. Having grown quite annoyed with these dead things, Jason staggered over to the fuse box stationed in the room that controlled electricity for the room and the hallway leading to it. Realizing Jason's intentions, the cadaver struggled in Jason's iron grip and whimpered pathetically but Jason would have none of that. Smashing the cadaver's head clean into the fusebox, electricity began to surge through Jason's body and the other two cadavers that were still clinging onto him. Realizing a sinking ship when they saw it, the other cadavers leaped off Jason and scurried back while still baring their teeth at him. Unaffected by the electricity, Jason continued to hold the cadaver's head within the fuse box until it was set ablaze.

Pulling the cadaver's head back and tilting his head as if he were confused as to why it was on fire, Jason paid it no more mind than that. Dropping the body to the floor, Jason raised his boot and brought it down. The soles of his boot acted like a vice and crushed the head into nothing more than rotting pulp. Turning towards the other two cadavers, Jason started to head towards them as the lights flickered on and off before blowing out completely due to Jason having gone to hell and back on the poor fuse box.

"Note to self..Electricity kills re-animated corpses after a brief interval of ...five seconds at the most."

As they were sprinting down the hall, Dan frowned as he noticed how the lights had suddenly gone out. He know Herbert only needed his clipboard and his reagent when doing his experiments. So the fuse box going out couldn't have been his doing. Which left only one other alternative in Dan's mind and it wasn't a good one. Picking up the pace, Dan sprinted ahead of Jack as they continued on towards the autopsy room.

"C'mon, you guys! Herbert's gotta be in trouble if the fuse box blew!"

But just as they rounded the corner, Dan came to a sudden halt as the doors to the autopsy room was knocked straight to the floor and something smashed against the wall. As it slid down, it quickly became apparent what it was. Holding his arms out to either side to prevent Jack and Zinnia from moving forward, Dan's face began to pale. It was one of the corpses that he and Herbert had saved up in the storage room for use incase they couldn't get any new cadavers for a while. But this one had been badly damaged in a traffic accident. What use would Herbert have had for this one if he had the fresh one from earlier?

The re-animated corpse wasn't going to give Dan a moment longer to ponder on that as it staggered to it's feet. With blood running down it's face, it turned towards the three with a hateful expression.

"Mrg...."

"..Get back, you guys. GET BACK NOW!"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The corpse sprinted towards the trio with it's hands outstretched as it clashed it's teeth together. Black blood staining it's lips from where it had dug into Jason's waist. But Jason had shown himself far too strong for the re-animated corpses to take down. So this one would go for easier prey and it just so happened to be right here! Gripping onto the re-animated corpse's neck as it snarled and snapped at Dan's face, Dan yelled to the other two.

"If you guys...Agh!..Aren't going to run...See what the hell's going on in there! I need to be sure Herbert's okay!"​

...but what would I do... if I poured my heart out to this very, very precious person and I lost him?

I could barely handle losing Aster. It almost killed me, and it still hurts. I don't think I could make it if it were to happen again...

Unable to ponder her thoughts further, Zinnia could feel Jack release his grip on her hand. She followed after him to check and see what exactly was the source of the ruckus going on nearby.

If Zinnia and the others heeded Dan's order and stepped inside the Autopsy Room, they would have seen Jason holding the remaining cadaver in the air. With both of his hands clutched around the thing's head as it clawed and kicked at Jason but to no avail. Jason himself was a mess of blood with it still squirting out of where the last Cadaver had torn out a chunk of his neck. But it didn't seem to be impeding the serial killer in the slightest. In fact it might have only served to make him angrier! But while the cadaver who had at first let out animalistic shrieks and hisses, it was now whimpering like a punted dog as it didn't want to succumb to death yet again!

"Prl....Pl...EASE!"

But the pleas, garbled as they were fell on deaf ears. Once he started on something, Jason never gave up. He'd get rid of these strange dead things and then he'd murder Lapis. Then he'd find the rest of her group and murder all of them(with the exception of the children of course because c'mon! Jason's not a TOTAL monster.) Herbert however wasn't as keen on letting Jason simply walk on by and do as he pleased. This thing was destroying his specimens and making a total mess of the autopsy room. Something that the dean would no doubt complain about and use as leverage to try and get Dan/him expelled!

Not to mention that the radio was still playing due to it being battery powered. Though it thankfully went onto a different song by this point.

Something had to be done and soon! Before Jason murdered all of them! So rolling up his sleeves, Herbert drew a syringe of Reagent and held it behind his back as he approached Jason from behind. All the while Jason's focus was completely on crushing the head of this last cadaver. Though for as frightened as the cadaver was, it let out a hopeful howl as it saw Herbert approaching. Which of course alerted Jason to the good doctor's presence. Quickly turning, with the cadaver still in hand, Jason glared past it at Herbert. But Herbert wasn't going to back down. Not when he had gotten this close.

"That is ENOUGH of that! You maggot infested walking simpleton! In the pursuit of reaching a lofty goal as defeating Death as we know it, I've seen many cadavers come and go. Many of them who's faces I don't bother to remember. Either because remembering the faces of the dead is a worthless endeavor and because I've had to dispose of so many myself. But if you are one of my experiments than you should know who is the one who gave you life. The one who brought you back from an eternal solitude of wallowing away within a coffin six feet under. The one who gave! You! LIFE!"

Making sure to put extra emphasis on each word, Herbert slowly approached Jason who seemed genuinely confused by the gesture. What was this man getting at exactly? He couldn't have been responsible for any of this. It was through his mother's will that he had returned. To do her bidding just as good son would. Not by this stranger's machinations. But as Herbert approached, Jason made no moves to lash out at him. Even with the cadaver's head still firmly secured within his hands. Herbert did indeed like the results he was getting. Whether or not Jason was a creation of his own making didn't really matter. It seemed the zombie was willing to listen to him either way.

"I see I've got your attention, yes? Now, set down that cadaver and lay down upon the slab. That's all I ask of you. Two simple instructions, you can do that can't you? Even a child can understand such rudimentary orders!"

Jason glanced from Herbert and then at the slab. Herbert, slab, Herbert, slab, slab, Herbert, slab, Herbert.

Much to Herbert's surprise however, Jason tilted his head as if to show some kind of understanding. Had Herbert's words truly gotten through to the serial killer? The cadaver let out small pants. It seemed like it'd be getting out of this in one piece after all. Or so it would have hoped. Jason's pressure only grew more intense as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze! Until the skull caved inwards and bits of grey matter splattered onto Herbert's glasses. Blinding the scientist as he dropped the syringe of Reagent to the ground and confirming Jason's suspicions.

Flinging the cadaver off to the side, Jason stomped towards Herbert and bent down to pick up the syringe as Herbert finished wiping off his glasses. Only to be greeted by the sight of Jason holding the syringe in the other hand and wagging his finger mockingly at Herbert with the other.

Crushing the syringe, Jason gave Herbert a swift backhand. Sending the scientist flying off his feet and straight into the nearest wall. Having dealt with that, Jason turned to face the newcomers and his eye lit up as he got a good look at one of them. It was the girl who had climbed onto his back and had attacked him, even blinded him at one point! Drawing his machete out once more, Jason started towards Zinnia...

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva
​

That said, in an attempt to drive the killer back, Kyoko took the closest thing to her, a wheeled stool, and kicked it as hard as she could, sending it right at Roy, hoping that the object would at least distract him and buy them just a little bit of time in order to think of a fight or flight plan. That is, a plan for fighting him, or a plan for getting away from him.

She preferred the latter, as that ensured that the others would get away safely, but on the other hand, incapacitating him, while putting others at risk, would end with him being prevented from ever hurting others if the gambit paid off.

Watching as his machete sunk it's blade deep within the counter top as Rant moved back, Roy glared behind the eyeholes of his hockey mask. What did this freak think it was doing here? Was it going to stand in his way of revenge too? Then that made it just as bad as Tommy in the paramedic-turned-serial killer's eyes! Ripping his machete free, Roy swiftly knocked the coffee machine aside as it came flying at him. The machine soon clattered to the floor with coffee spilling all over the floor.

Which in turn might have done more damage to Roy than if the actual machine had hit him. As he started to menacingly stroll towards Kyoko, he began to lose his footing and a muffled curse could have been heard coming from behind the mask as the stool smashed into Roy's knee and caused the killer to fall flat on his back rendering the need for Chikage's following action unnecessary. Thanks to Kyoko and her handy kicking ability!

Wincing at how the metal stool had smashed into his knee with such velocity behind it, it'd be bruised no doubt about that. But he'd gone through much worse. Like being struck by a chainsaw of all things. He wouldn't be stopped here! Not by this band of freaks and children! Rolling off to the side and getting back onto his feet, Roy turned his attention towards Kyoko and charged towards her.

Catbug had been forced to watch as Kyoko stepped forward as if shielding him from this new masked man! But this masked man was different! He wasn't nearly as bulky as the one from the camp had been, he also didn't smell nearly as bad! Something that had already been pointed out but it certainly merited pointing out for one thing! But as he was bounced off Chikage's head, Catbug landed on all fours and watched as the others went to town on the new attacker. But-But what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to stand by and just watch!

What if someone else got hurt! Like Zinnia or Lapis! Or even Chikage(though Catbug wasn't gonna lie, seeing Chikage fight was a spectacle in of itself.) No, he couldn't just let this go on! Hissing in Roy's direction, Catbug got a running start as Roy charged Kyoko with his machete raised. Before Roy could close the distance between him and Kyoko, Catbug leaped up as Roy's machete went wide. The blade cut a gash across Catbug's chest causing the creature to cry out in pain as he clutched to Roy's mask and began scratching away at him. Thanks to the hood Roy was wearing to make it seem like it was Jason doing the killings, the claws didn't cut too deeply. But they did reveal tufts of Roy' s black hair poking out from behind it and Roy continued towards Kyoko with his machete swinging wildly while his other hand gripped onto Catbug in an effort to remove the creature.

But no matter how much it may have pained him, Catbug refused to let go! He had been put out of commission by one good kick from the real Jason. This guy wasn't nearly as tough as that man had been! He was a pushover by comparison!

"You're...Not...Going to hurt my friends!"

Catbug hissed out even as blood ran down from the wound Roy had left on him with the machete. His claws scratched futilely against the plastic of Roy's mask until Roy finally got a good grip and plucked the creature from his mask. Hurling Catbug at Chikage, Roy continued towards Kyoko. What was it with these strange animal things getting in his way?!

@Nater Taters @ShiroKiyoshi @Atomyk @Josh M @Kaykay @Krieg @Morgue​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

Jack Frost
@Takumi @Hospes @Atomyk @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Yang Lee @Reception Folks

Hmm... Jack Frost observed Tarlotte kiss someone for the first time, and he noticed something he hadn't been able to last time, shen she had caught him almost completely off-guard. Though Yurick was the one to have that happen to him this time, since Genji had his mask on juuust long enough to make Tarlotte lose interest in him... From what it looks like, she was suddenly filled with energy again! Could it be that kissing people somehow... Gave her energy? Maybe that's why she didn't seem to have the appetite that he did. Come to think of it... If he had his powers, he probably wouldn't have to eat either, so... Maybe it shouldn't be so strange to him.

"Tarlotte, huh..." He murmured to himself, as he heard her introduce herself thanks to Genji's efforts.

He had been meaning to ask this himself, but well... Hadn't been able to in all the chaos that had happened, but in the end... It was for the best that someone else had asked for him, someone less likely to get their eyes clawed out by a furious cat-girl that is.

"It's a nice name." He said, thinking out loud.

Then, he immediately covered his mouth realizing he had actually said this; maaaybe drawing attention to himself like this wasn't a good idea? Hmm, on the other hand, there appeared to be a detective in their presense, as he was looking around the room before this moment... Perhaps he should ask him a few questions in a moment?
​

"I suppose I am, too. And, yes, of course you'll kill me." One could almost feel him winking. The cyborg felt like teasing her, too. "It was Tar-Lottie, right?" Judging by his tone, he was probably just being ornery.

@Hospes @york @reception​

Jack's comment earned a cocky smirk from Tarlotte, who was looking rather proud. "Of course it is, after all, it's mine! Meow~" she hummed, standing on one foot and outstretching her other leg while balancing for fun or to show off before performing other little tricks and stunts for the same reasons. This all ceased, though, when Genji spoke up with his response. Was he.... mocking her? He was totally mocking her! Her! And after acting like he'd cared and related, too!

The playful approach really hadn't been smart to take, because it quickly became quite obvious that Tarlotte took this as mockery of her. And she'd damn well had enough of that without putting up with it, here, too. And to think that she'd actually thought this guy was kind of nice."... I'M GONNA KILL YOU MEOWWWWWWW!"

Immediately, Tarlotte launched off one of the hardest 'gentle'(unintended to cause any severe harm) kicks she could manage at Genji before puffing up with a glare, arms out to her sides. She was about to go into further attack and insult when, rather, she felt lightheaded again and began to sway, as though about to collapse. Looked like she hadn't quite restored enough mana.

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

 

[DapperDogman]

"Your skills of observation are quite keen. Has anyone else ever told you this?" Herbert snapped sarcastically as he saw the various holes on Jason's chest from where he'd been shot. Usually all it took to put down one of Herbert's zombies was a few well placed shots to the chest or one right to the brain. Yet this goliath kept moving even after being pumped full of lead. Interesting enough of a specimen. If Herbert could get him down on a slab then he could see just what made this titan of a corpse tick. But he couldn't do it himself that much was certain.

Though he glanced back at the storage room where he had kept a couple of cadavers in case of a rainy day. Or if one of their experiments got too rowdy and had to be destroyed. Waste not want not after all. Watching as Lapis broke free from his hand and rushed towards Jason, Herbert scoffed.

"I hope your fighting prowess is half as good as your taunting capability!"

But no more time to waste on idle chit chat. Who knew how long it'd take that mask wearing creature before it disposed of the cadaver and the ignorant girl? Rushing into the back room, Herbert unzipped his bag and drew out a canister full of Reagent. Pulling out a syringe from his pocket, he began to pull out as much of the serum as the syringe could hold.

"30% of an increase in Reagent doses seems to yield the best results at the moment. Further testing will have to be done to prove if it can be made even more efficient."

Herbert muttered to no one but himself. He really regretted leaving his clipboard on top of the cadaver when Jason had made his abrupt entrance. No doubt it was smashed to pieces and with it so went Herbert's logs for the day. No matter, he'd simply deal with this little interruption and carry on with business as it had been. He'd also make sure to give Lapis another piece of his mind.

But first he had some re-animating to do. Looking at the two cadavers he had laying in body bags in the storage room, Herbert drew his loaded syringe.

"Let's get to work.."

~~~

Back in the main autopsy room, Jason was growing more and more furious by the second. This thing that had clung to his back was tearing out chunks of his shoulder and spitting it right back in Jason's face as if it were some kind of childish animal. Which given that the average corpse brought back by Herbert had the mindset of a wild beast no matter how intelligent they may have been in life made some sense. Jason couldn't feel pain in the same way that someone like Lapis or Herbert could. But this still felt irritating all the same. Sheathing his machete, Jason reached back and smashed his fist right into the cadaver's face. Caving the nose in and sending them flying off his back.

As they flew through the air, they'd crash into a table Herbert had set up with some of Dan and his own tools. One of the items on the table that Herbert hadn't been too fond of was the radio that Dan insisted on having around because it brought some ambiance to the otherwise bleak and depressing atmosphere of the autopsy room. Herbert thought it annoying and wanted on many occasions to smash the blasted thing. But he didn't want any to give any excuse for Dan to rag on him so the radio stayed. As the cadaver stumbled to the floor, his hands windmilled off to the side and knocked the radio to the floor.

As the radio cracked against the floor, the power button would have inadvertently been switched on and music began to blare throughout the room.



The music had very little if any effect on distracting Jason for as once the cadaver was off him, it was back to business as usual. His hands reached out to grip onto the chair Lapis had swung. Glaring down at her, he sought to rip the chair from her hands and hurl it up against the wall. The force of the impact alone being enough to shatter the chair into two halves as Jason started toward Lapis with his hands clenched into fists at his side. She had tried leaping at him but she had underestimated the zombie's reflexes. He may have not been the fastest runner since coming back from the dead but he could still bust out a quick move every now and again. Like smashing Lapis face first into the ground and tossing her away like yesterday's news.

Meanwhile, Herbert had just finished injecting the last drop of Reagent into the cadavers in the storage room. He of course had heard everything that was going out in the main room. But it wasn't the chair being broken, the cadaver being knocked around that annoyed him. No, he reserved that hate for something far more deserving.

"Damn that atrocious soundtrack! I knew there was a reason I didn't want that thing in there!"

But the radio wouldn't be Herbert's concern for long as shrieks rang out in the storage room. The cadavers tore through their body bags and stumbled off their slabs. Screeching to the heavens above, they charged for Herbert who barely managed to get enough time to zip up his bag and brace himself as he was smashed against the door which tumbled down as the cadavers rushed past Herbert. Jason stopped dead in his tracks, completely caught up in trying to kill Lapis that he didn't take note of the two other cadavers rushing right for him. That was until he heard the one he had punched crying out in what could have only been interpreted as joy.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Jason's head snapped back to the injured cadaver and then back at the other two who were charging at him. One grabbed Jason around the waist in a football style tackle while the other one leaped onto Jason's chest/wrapping it's legs around his waist and digging into his neck with it's teeth. Black blood streamed down Jason's neck as he nearly toppled over from the abrupt collision against his person. Where did these dead people keep coming from and why were they attacking him like this!? Picking out shards of glass from his person, Herbert winced as he sat up and saw the Cadavers all clinging onto Jason and attacking him.

"Your business is in taking life, you said? My business? It's giving life to what was once dead!"

The cadaver that Jason had injured saw how much Jason was struggling and rushed forward. Leaping onto his back once more and this time chewing on his arm. Tearing off the sleeve from Jason's jacket, the cadaver began to dig into the decomposing flesh of Jason's arm. But Herbert wasn't pleased by the success of the corpses. He was far more interested in weakening Jason so he could get the big oaf down on his operating table.

"Would someone shut that damn radio off!?"

Dan froze up as Zinnia began to explain herself. He knew full well what it meant to lose someone and to want them back more than anything in the world. Dan for better or for worse was an optimist by heart. Which is most likely why he was the only one who could stomach being around Herbert. He saw good in the anti-social scientist even if he couldn't deny that Herbert was indeed off his rock. As Zinnia finished, Dan's face had broken out in a cold sweat as he tried to think of the best way to respond to this.

"I..I know what it's like to lose someone you feel is close to you. In the medical world, I feel that way every time I lost a patient. Other doctors think that once they're gone they're gone, no use in mourning over them. But I don't like that idea. That I have to give up on people. Which is why I give Herbert a chance when nobody else would or they'd write him off as insane." Which to be fair Herbert was most likely insane but this certainly didn't help matters.

But what he said next made his heart drop. He knew Herbert wouldn't be willing to part with his Reagent just to help some random woman he barely knew. Not to mention that giving it to stranger like Zinnia might have potentially opened up a whole can of worms.

"But...I just don't know if I can.."

Suddenly loud noises began to come from down the hall. That was where Herbert had gone to. To test his reagent on the fresh cadaver that had come in. Had it fought against him like all the others? Before Dan could ponder any further, Jack was already racing down the hall in hot pursuit. Cursing under his breath, Dan chased after Jack. He couldn't run the risk of either Jack or Zinnia getting hurt! Not when Zinnia had already lost so much.

As Jack and Zinnia along with Dan raced down to the autopsy room, they wouldn't have been prepared for what awaited them. Within the room itself, Jason was still struggling with the three cadavers clinging onto and biting/punching him. One of them had their teeth firmly sunk into his right arm which made trying to pull off the other two quite difficult. But Jason had no business with the dead. His anger was reserved solely for the living. Using his free hand, he grabbed the cadaver that had bitten his neck and was quite eager to tear a chunk out of it by the hair and ripped his head back. The action did indeed take a sizable amount of Jason's throat out with it. But the damage was more cosmetic than anything else even with the torrent of blood running down Jason's neck and staining his t-shirt.

"MRRGGGGHH!" The cadaver cried out as it swallowed the chunk of throat it had torn off Jason. Having grown quite annoyed with these dead things, Jason staggered over to the fuse box stationed in the room that controlled electricity for the room and the hallway leading to it. Realizing Jason's intentions, the cadaver struggled in Jason's iron grip and whimpered pathetically but Jason would have none of that. Smashing the cadaver's head clean into the fusebox, electricity began to surge through Jason's body and the other two cadavers that were still clinging onto him. Realizing a sinking ship when they saw it, the other cadavers leaped off Jason and scurried back while still baring their teeth at him. Unaffected by the electricity, Jason continued to hold the cadaver's head within the fuse box until it was set ablaze.

Pulling the cadaver's head back and tilting his head as if he were confused as to why it was on fire, Jason paid it no more mind than that. Dropping the body to the floor, Jason raised his boot and brought it down. The soles of his boot acted like a vice and crushed the head into nothing more than rotting pulp. Turning towards the other two cadavers, Jason started to head towards them as the lights flickered on and off before blowing out completely due to Jason having gone to hell and back on the poor fuse box.

"Note to self..Electricity kills re-animated corpses after a brief interval of ...five seconds at the most."

As they were sprinting down the hall, Dan frowned as he noticed how the lights had suddenly gone out. He know Herbert only needed his clipboard and his reagent when doing his experiments. So the fuse box going out couldn't have been his doing. Which left only one other alternative in Dan's mind and it wasn't a good one. Picking up the pace, Dan sprinted ahead of Jack as they continued on towards the autopsy room.

"C'mon, you guys! Herbert's gotta be in trouble if the fuse box blew!"

But just as they rounded the corner, Dan came to a sudden halt as the doors to the autopsy room was knocked straight to the floor and something smashed against the wall. As it slid down, it quickly became apparent what it was. Holding his arms out to either side to prevent Jack and Zinnia from moving forward, Dan's face began to pale. It was one of the corpses that he and Herbert had saved up in the storage room for use incase they couldn't get any new cadavers for a while. But this one had been badly damaged in a traffic accident. What use would Herbert have had for this one if he had the fresh one from earlier?

The re-animated corpse wasn't going to give Dan a moment longer to ponder on that as it staggered to it's feet. With blood running down it's face, it turned towards the three with a hateful expression.

"Mrg...."

"..Get back, you guys. GET BACK NOW!"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The corpse sprinted towards the trio with it's hands outstretched as it clashed it's teeth together. Black blood staining it's lips from where it had dug into Jason's waist. But Jason had shown himself far too strong for the re-animated corpses to take down. So this one would go for easier prey and it just so happened to be right here! Gripping onto the re-animated corpse's neck as it snarled and snapped at Dan's face, Dan yelled to the other two.

"If you guys...Agh!..Aren't going to run...See what the hell's going on in there! I need to be sure Herbert's okay!"
If Zinnia and the others heeded Dan's order and stepped inside the Autopsy Room, they would have seen Jason holding the remaining cadaver in the air. With both of his hands clutched around the thing's head as it clawed and kicked at Jason but to no avail. Jason himself was a mess of blood with it still squirting out of where the last Cadaver had torn out a chunk of his neck. But it didn't seem to be impeding the serial killer in the slightest. In fact it might have only served to make him angrier! But while the cadaver who had at first let out animalistic shrieks and hisses, it was now whimpering like a punted dog as it didn't want to succumb to death yet again!

"Prl....Pl...EASE!"

But the pleas, garbled as they were fell on deaf ears. Once he started on something, Jason never gave up. He'd get rid of these strange dead things and then he'd murder Lapis. Then he'd find the rest of her group and murder all of them(with the exception of the children of course because c'mon! Jason's not a TOTAL monster.) Herbert however wasn't as keen on letting Jason simply walk on by and do as he pleased. This thing was destroying his specimens and making a total mess of the autopsy room. Something that the dean would no doubt complain about and use as leverage to try and get Dan/him expelled!

Not to mention that the radio was still playing due to it being battery powered. Though it thankfully went onto a different song by this point.



Something had to be done and soon! Before Jason murdered all of them! So rolling up his sleeves, Herbert drew a syringe of Reagent and held it behind his back as he approached Jason from behind. All the while Jason's focus was completely on crushing the head of this last cadaver. Though for as frightened as the cadaver was, it let out a hopeful howl as it saw Herbert approaching. Which of course alerted Jason to the good doctor's presence. Quickly turning, with the cadaver still in hand, Jason glared past it at Herbert. But Herbert wasn't going to back down. Not when he had gotten this close.

"That is ENOUGH of that! You maggot infested walking simpleton! In the pursuit of reaching a lofty goal as defeating Death as we know it, I've seen many cadavers come and go. Many of them who's faces I don't bother to remember. Either because remembering the faces of the dead is a worthless endeavor and because I've had to dispose of so many myself. But if you are one of my experiments than you should know who is the one who gave you life. The one who brought you back from an eternal solitude of wallowing away within a coffin six feet under. The one who gave! You! LIFE!"

Making sure to put extra emphasis on each word, Herbert slowly approached Jason who seemed genuinely confused by the gesture. What was this man getting at exactly? He couldn't have been responsible for any of this. It was through his mother's will that he had returned. To do her bidding just as good son would. Not by this stranger's machinations. But as Herbert approached, Jason made no moves to lash out at him. Even with the cadaver's head still firmly secured within his hands. Herbert did indeed like the results he was getting. Whether or not Jason was a creation of his own making didn't really matter. It seemed the zombie was willing to listen to him either way.

"I see I've got your attention, yes? Now, set down that cadaver and lay down upon the slab. That's all I ask of you. Two simple instructions, you can do that can't you? Even a child can understand such rudimentary orders!"

Jason glanced from Herbert and then at the slab. Herbert, slab, Herbert, slab, slab, Herbert, slab, Herbert.

Much to Herbert's surprise however, Jason tilted his head as if to show some kind of understanding. Had Herbert's words truly gotten through to the serial killer? The cadaver let out small pants. It seemed like it'd be getting out of this in one piece after all. Or so it would have hoped. Jason's pressure only grew more intense as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze! Until the skull caved inwards and bits of grey matter splattered onto Herbert's glasses. Blinding the scientist as he dropped the syringe of Reagent to the ground and confirming Jason's suspicions.

Flinging the cadaver off to the side, Jason stomped towards Herbert and bent down to pick up the syringe as Herbert finished wiping off his glasses. Only to be greeted by the sight of Jason holding the syringe in the other hand and wagging his finger mockingly at Herbert with the other.

Crushing the syringe, Jason gave Herbert a swift backhand. Sending the scientist flying off his feet and straight into the nearest wall. Having dealt with that, Jason turned to face the newcomers and his eye lit up as he got a good look at one of them. It was the girl who had climbed onto his back and had attacked him, even blinded him at one point! Drawing his machete out once more, Jason started towards Zinnia...

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva
​

Sweeping forward, Darv growls, his teeth gritting firmly against each other as he all but runs toward the masked man "You vile beast." his fist clenches tightly, metal pressing to metal as his cloaked form moves with a grace unbeffiting of such a large and heavily amoured male, the years of experience wearing the suit showing openly as he reels back a fist, aiming to slam it into Jason's face

"YOU SICK MOCKERY OF LIFE!" Whether the fist had connected or not, he'd launch a powerful kick forward, seeking to stumble his foe, to prevent a counterattack
Darv was quickly noticing that without his charms, even with his impressive size and strength, fighting in his armour was going to tiring for him.

@Chewy Rabbits
@Gummi Bunnies
@The Tactician
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty
@Minerva​

 

[BarrenThin]

Jack's comment earned a cocky smirk from Tarlotte, who was looking rather proud. "Of course it is, after all, it's mine! Meow~" she hummed, standing on one foot and outstretching her other leg while balancing for fun or to show off before performing other little tricks and stunts for the same reasons. This all ceased, though, when Genji spoke up with his response. Was he.... mocking her? He was totally mocking her! Her! And after acting like he'd cared and related, too!

The playful approach really hadn't been smart to take, because it quickly became quite obvious that Tarlotte took this as mockery of her. And she'd damn well had enough of that without putting up with it, here, too. And to think that she'd actually thought this guy was kind of nice."... I'M GONNA KILL YOU MEOWWWWWWW!"

Immediately, Tarlotte launched off one of the hardest 'gentle'(unintended to cause any severe harm) kicks she could manage at Genji before puffing up with a glare, arms out to her sides. She was about to go into further attack and insult when, rather, she felt lightheaded again and began to sway, as though about to collapse. Looked like she hadn't quite restored enough mana.

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

Clang!

The kick did manage to move him, but didn't provide any verbal reaction aside from a good-natured laugh. Probably hurt her foot a lot, though. His apology sounded truly sincere, though. "I am sorry, Tarlotte. I should not have teased you." The cyborg removed his mask and crouched in front of her. "You can take a free shot, if you like... Hey, are you alright?" The regret turned to concern as he went to steady her.

@Hospes @york @receotion​

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

​

Replies

"Your skills of observation are quite keen. Has anyone else ever told you this?" Herbert snapped sarcastically as he saw the various holes on Jason's chest from where he'd been shot. Usually all it took to put down one of Herbert's zombies was a few well placed shots to the chest or one right to the brain. Yet this goliath kept moving even after being pumped full of lead. Interesting enough of a specimen. If Herbert could get him down on a slab then he could see just what made this titan of a corpse tick. But he couldn't do it himself that much was certain.

Though he glanced back at the storage room where he had kept a couple of cadavers in case of a rainy day. Or if one of their experiments got too rowdy and had to be destroyed. Waste not want not after all. Watching as Lapis broke free from his hand and rushed towards Jason, Herbert scoffed.

"I hope your fighting prowess is half as good as your taunting capability!"

But no more time to waste on idle chit chat. Who knew how long it'd take that mask wearing creature before it disposed of the cadaver and the ignorant girl? Rushing into the back room, Herbert unzipped his bag and drew out a canister full of Reagent. Pulling out a syringe from his pocket, he began to pull out as much of the serum as the syringe could hold.

"30% of an increase in Reagent doses seems to yield the best results at the moment. Further testing will have to be done to prove if it can be made even more efficient."

Herbert muttered to no one but himself. He really regretted leaving his clipboard on top of the cadaver when Jason had made his abrupt entrance. No doubt it was smashed to pieces and with it so went Herbert's logs for the day. No matter, he'd simply deal with this little interruption and carry on with business as it had been. He'd also make sure to give Lapis another piece of his mind.

But first he had some re-animating to do. Looking at the two cadavers he had laying in body bags in the storage room, Herbert drew his loaded syringe.

"Let's get to work.."

~~~

Back in the main autopsy room, Jason was growing more and more furious by the second. This thing that had clung to his back was tearing out chunks of his shoulder and spitting it right back in Jason's face as if it were some kind of childish animal. Which given that the average corpse brought back by Herbert had the mindset of a wild beast no matter how intelligent they may have been in life made some sense. Jason couldn't feel pain in the same way that someone like Lapis or Herbert could. But this still felt irritating all the same. Sheathing his machete, Jason reached back and smashed his fist right into the cadaver's face. Caving the nose in and sending them flying off his back.

As they flew through the air, they'd crash into a table Herbert had set up with some of Dan and his own tools. One of the items on the table that Herbert hadn't been too fond of was the radio that Dan insisted on having around because it brought some ambiance to the otherwise bleak and depressing atmosphere of the autopsy room. Herbert thought it annoying and wanted on many occasions to smash the blasted thing. But he didn't want any to give any excuse for Dan to rag on him so the radio stayed. As the cadaver stumbled to the floor, his hands windmilled off to the side and knocked the radio to the floor.

As the radio cracked against the floor, the power button would have inadvertently been switched on and music began to blare throughout the room.

The music had very little if any effect on distracting Jason for as once the cadaver was off him, it was back to business as usual. His hands reached out to grip onto the chair Lapis had swung. Glaring down at her, he sought to rip the chair from her hands and hurl it up against the wall. The force of the impact alone being enough to shatter the chair into two halves as Jason started toward Lapis with his hands clenched into fists at his side. She had tried leaping at him but she had underestimated the zombie's reflexes. He may have not been the fastest runner since coming back from the dead but he could still bust out a quick move every now and again. Like smashing Lapis face first into the ground and tossing her away like yesterday's news.

Meanwhile, Herbert had just finished injecting the last drop of Reagent into the cadavers in the storage room. He of course had heard everything that was going out in the main room. But it wasn't the chair being broken, the cadaver being knocked around that annoyed him. No, he reserved that hate for something far more deserving.

"Damn that atrocious soundtrack! I knew there was a reason I didn't want that thing in there!"

But the radio wouldn't be Herbert's concern for long as shrieks rang out in the storage room. The cadavers tore through their body bags and stumbled off their slabs. Screeching to the heavens above, they charged for Herbert who barely managed to get enough time to zip up his bag and brace himself as he was smashed against the door which tumbled down as the cadavers rushed past Herbert. Jason stopped dead in his tracks, completely caught up in trying to kill Lapis that he didn't take note of the two other cadavers rushing right for him. That was until he heard the one he had punched crying out in what could have only been interpreted as joy.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Jason's head snapped back to the injured cadaver and then back at the other two who were charging at him. One grabbed Jason around the waist in a football style tackle while the other one leaped onto Jason's chest/wrapping it's legs around his waist and digging into his neck with it's teeth. Black blood streamed down Jason's neck as he nearly toppled over from the abrupt collision against his person. Where did these dead people keep coming from and why were they attacking him like this!? Picking out shards of glass from his person, Herbert winced as he sat up and saw the Cadavers all clinging onto Jason and attacking him.

"Your business is in taking life, you said? My business? It's giving life to what was once dead!"

The cadaver that Jason had injured saw how much Jason was struggling and rushed forward. Leaping onto his back once more and this time chewing on his arm. Tearing off the sleeve from Jason's jacket, the cadaver began to dig into the decomposing flesh of Jason's arm. But Herbert wasn't pleased by the success of the corpses. He was far more interested in weakening Jason so he could get the big oaf down on his operating table.

"Would someone shut that damn radio off!?"
​

Dan froze up as Zinnia began to explain herself. He knew full well what it meant to lose someone and to want them back more than anything in the world. Dan for better or for worse was an optimist by heart. Which is most likely why he was the only one who could stomach being around Herbert. He saw good in the anti-social scientist even if he couldn't deny that Herbert was indeed off his rock. As Zinnia finished, Dan's face had broken out in a cold sweat as he tried to think of the best way to respond to this.

"I..I know what it's like to lose someone you feel is close to you. In the medical world, I feel that way every time I lost a patient. Other doctors think that once they're gone they're gone, no use in mourning over them. But I don't like that idea. That I have to give up on people. Which is why I give Herbert a chance when nobody else would or they'd write him off as insane." Which to be fair Herbert was most likely insane but this certainly didn't help matters.

But what he said next made his heart drop. He knew Herbert wouldn't be willing to part with his Reagent just to help some random woman he barely knew. Not to mention that giving it to stranger like Zinnia might have potentially opened up a whole can of worms.

"But...I just don't know if I can.."

Suddenly loud noises began to come from down the hall. That was where Herbert had gone to. To test his reagent on the fresh cadaver that had come in. Had it fought against him like all the others? Before Dan could ponder any further, Jack was already racing down the hall in hot pursuit. Cursing under his breath, Dan chased after Jack. He couldn't run the risk of either Jack or Zinnia getting hurt! Not when Zinnia had already lost so much.
​

As Jack and Zinnia along with Dan raced down to the autopsy room, they wouldn't have been prepared for what awaited them. Within the room itself, Jason was still struggling with the three cadavers clinging onto and biting/punching him. One of them had their teeth firmly sunk into his right arm which made trying to pull off the other two quite difficult. But Jason had no business with the dead. His anger was reserved solely for the living. Using his free hand, he grabbed the cadaver that had bitten his neck and was quite eager to tear a chunk out of it by the hair and ripped his head back. The action did indeed take a sizable amount of Jason's throat out with it. But the damage was more cosmetic than anything else even with the torrent of blood running down Jason's neck and staining his t-shirt.

"MRRGGGGHH!" The cadaver cried out as it swallowed the chunk of throat it had torn off Jason. Having grown quite annoyed with these dead things, Jason staggered over to the fuse box stationed in the room that controlled electricity for the room and the hallway leading to it. Realizing Jason's intentions, the cadaver struggled in Jason's iron grip and whimpered pathetically but Jason would have none of that. Smashing the cadaver's head clean into the fusebox, electricity began to surge through Jason's body and the other two cadavers that were still clinging onto him. Realizing a sinking ship when they saw it, the other cadavers leaped off Jason and scurried back while still baring their teeth at him. Unaffected by the electricity, Jason continued to hold the cadaver's head within the fuse box until it was set ablaze.

Pulling the cadaver's head back and tilting his head as if he were confused as to why it was on fire, Jason paid it no more mind than that. Dropping the body to the floor, Jason raised his boot and brought it down. The soles of his boot acted like a vice and crushed the head into nothing more than rotting pulp. Turning towards the other two cadavers, Jason started to head towards them as the lights flickered on and off before blowing out completely due to Jason having gone to hell and back on the poor fuse box.

"Note to self..Electricity kills re-animated corpses after a brief interval of ...five seconds at the most."

As they were sprinting down the hall, Dan frowned as he noticed how the lights had suddenly gone out. He know Herbert only needed his clipboard and his reagent when doing his experiments. So the fuse box going out couldn't have been his doing. Which left only one other alternative in Dan's mind and it wasn't a good one. Picking up the pace, Dan sprinted ahead of Jack as they continued on towards the autopsy room.

"C'mon, you guys! Herbert's gotta be in trouble if the fuse box blew!"

But just as they rounded the corner, Dan came to a sudden halt as the doors to the autopsy room was knocked straight to the floor and something smashed against the wall. As it slid down, it quickly became apparent what it was. Holding his arms out to either side to prevent Jack and Zinnia from moving forward, Dan's face began to pale. It was one of the corpses that he and Herbert had saved up in the storage room for use incase they couldn't get any new cadavers for a while. But this one had been badly damaged in a traffic accident. What use would Herbert have had for this one if he had the fresh one from earlier?

The re-animated corpse wasn't going to give Dan a moment longer to ponder on that as it staggered to it's feet. With blood running down it's face, it turned towards the three with a hateful expression.

"Mrg...."

"..Get back, you guys. GET BACK NOW!"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The corpse sprinted towards the trio with it's hands outstretched as it clashed it's teeth together. Black blood staining it's lips from where it had dug into Jason's waist. But Jason had shown himself far too strong for the re-animated corpses to take down. So this one would go for easier prey and it just so happened to be right here! Gripping onto the re-animated corpse's neck as it snarled and snapped at Dan's face, Dan yelled to the other two.

"If you guys...Agh!..Aren't going to run...See what the hell's going on in there! I need to be sure Herbert's okay!"​

If Zinnia and the others heeded Dan's order and stepped inside the Autopsy Room, they would have seen Jason holding the remaining cadaver in the air. With both of his hands clutched around the thing's head as it clawed and kicked at Jason but to no avail. Jason himself was a mess of blood with it still squirting out of where the last Cadaver had torn out a chunk of his neck. But it didn't seem to be impeding the serial killer in the slightest. In fact it might have only served to make him angrier! But while the cadaver who had at first let out animalistic shrieks and hisses, it was now whimpering like a punted dog as it didn't want to succumb to death yet again!

"Prl....Pl...EASE!"

But the pleas, garbled as they were fell on deaf ears. Once he started on something, Jason never gave up. He'd get rid of these strange dead things and then he'd murder Lapis. Then he'd find the rest of her group and murder all of them(with the exception of the children of course because c'mon! Jason's not a TOTAL monster.) Herbert however wasn't as keen on letting Jason simply walk on by and do as he pleased. This thing was destroying his specimens and making a total mess of the autopsy room. Something that the dean would no doubt complain about and use as leverage to try and get Dan/him expelled!

Not to mention that the radio was still playing due to it being battery powered. Though it thankfully went onto a different song by this point.

Something had to be done and soon! Before Jason murdered all of them! So rolling up his sleeves, Herbert drew a syringe of Reagent and held it behind his back as he approached Jason from behind. All the while Jason's focus was completely on crushing the head of this last cadaver. Though for as frightened as the cadaver was, it let out a hopeful howl as it saw Herbert approaching. Which of course alerted Jason to the good doctor's presence. Quickly turning, with the cadaver still in hand, Jason glared past it at Herbert. But Herbert wasn't going to back down. Not when he had gotten this close.

"That is ENOUGH of that! You maggot infested walking simpleton! In the pursuit of reaching a lofty goal as defeating Death as we know it, I've seen many cadavers come and go. Many of them who's faces I don't bother to remember. Either because remembering the faces of the dead is a worthless endeavor and because I've had to dispose of so many myself. But if you are one of my experiments than you should know who is the one who gave you life. The one who brought you back from an eternal solitude of wallowing away within a coffin six feet under. The one who gave! You! LIFE!"

Making sure to put extra emphasis on each word, Herbert slowly approached Jason who seemed genuinely confused by the gesture. What was this man getting at exactly? He couldn't have been responsible for any of this. It was through his mother's will that he had returned. To do her bidding just as good son would. Not by this stranger's machinations. But as Herbert approached, Jason made no moves to lash out at him. Even with the cadaver's head still firmly secured within his hands. Herbert did indeed like the results he was getting. Whether or not Jason was a creation of his own making didn't really matter. It seemed the zombie was willing to listen to him either way.

"I see I've got your attention, yes? Now, set down that cadaver and lay down upon the slab. That's all I ask of you. Two simple instructions, you can do that can't you? Even a child can understand such rudimentary orders!"

Jason glanced from Herbert and then at the slab. Herbert, slab, Herbert, slab, slab, Herbert, slab, Herbert.

Much to Herbert's surprise however, Jason tilted his head as if to show some kind of understanding. Had Herbert's words truly gotten through to the serial killer? The cadaver let out small pants. It seemed like it'd be getting out of this in one piece after all. Or so it would have hoped. Jason's pressure only grew more intense as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze! Until the skull caved inwards and bits of grey matter splattered onto Herbert's glasses. Blinding the scientist as he dropped the syringe of Reagent to the ground and confirming Jason's suspicions.

Flinging the cadaver off to the side, Jason stomped towards Herbert and bent down to pick up the syringe as Herbert finished wiping off his glasses. Only to be greeted by the sight of Jason holding the syringe in the other hand and wagging his finger mockingly at Herbert with the other.

Crushing the syringe, Jason gave Herbert a swift backhand. Sending the scientist flying off his feet and straight into the nearest wall. Having dealt with that, Jason turned to face the newcomers and his eye lit up as he got a good look at one of them. It was the girl who had climbed onto his back and had attacked him, even blinded him at one point! Drawing his machete out once more, Jason started towards Zinnia...

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva
​

Watching as his machete sunk it's blade deep within the counter top as Rant moved back, Roy glared behind the eyeholes of his hockey mask. What did this freak think it was doing here? Was it going to stand in his way of revenge too? Then that made it just as bad as Tommy in the paramedic-turned-serial killer's eyes! Ripping his machete free, Roy swiftly knocked the coffee machine aside as it came flying at him. The machine soon clattered to the floor with coffee spilling all over the floor.

Which in turn might have done more damage to Roy than if the actual machine had hit him. As he started to menacingly stroll towards Kyoko, he began to lose his footing and a muffled curse could have been heard coming from behind the mask as the stool smashed into Roy's knee and caused the killer to fall flat on his back rendering the need for Chikage's following action unnecessary. Thanks to Kyoko and her handy kicking ability!

Wincing at how the metal stool had smashed into his knee with such velocity behind it, it'd be bruised no doubt about that. But he'd gone through much worse. Like being struck by a chainsaw of all things. He wouldn't be stopped here! Not by this band of freaks and children! Rolling off to the side and getting back onto his feet, Roy turned his attention towards Kyoko and charged towards her.

Catbug had been forced to watch as Kyoko stepped forward as if shielding him from this new masked man! But this masked man was different! He wasn't nearly as bulky as the one from the camp had been, he also didn't smell nearly as bad! Something that had already been pointed out but it certainly merited pointing out for one thing! But as he was bounced off Chikage's head, Catbug landed on all fours and watched as the others went to town on the new attacker. But-But what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to stand by and just watch!

What if someone else got hurt! Like Zinnia or Lapis! Or even Chikage(though Catbug wasn't gonna lie, seeing Chikage fight was a spectacle in of itself.) No, he couldn't just let this go on! Hissing in Roy's direction, Catbug got a running start as Roy charged Kyoko with his machete raised. Before Roy could close the distance between him and Kyoko, Catbug leaped up as Roy's machete went wide. The blade cut a gash across Catbug's chest causing the creature to cry out in pain as he clutched to Roy's mask and began scratching away at him. Thanks to the hood Roy was wearing to make it seem like it was Jason doing the killings, the claws didn't cut too deeply. But they did reveal tufts of Roy' s black hair poking out from behind it and Roy continued towards Kyoko with his machete swinging wildly while his other hand gripped onto Catbug in an effort to remove the creature.

But no matter how much it may have pained him, Catbug refused to let go! He had been put out of commission by one good kick from the real Jason. This guy wasn't nearly as tough as that man had been! He was a pushover by comparison!

"You're...Not...Going to hurt my friends!"

Catbug hissed out even as blood ran down from the wound Roy had left on him with the machete. His claws scratched futilely against the plastic of Roy's mask until Roy finally got a good grip and plucked the creature from his mask. Hurling Catbug at Chikage, Roy continued towards Kyoko. What was it with these strange animal things getting in his way?!

@Nater Taters @ShiroKiyoshi @Atomyk @Josh M @Kaykay @Krieg @Morgue​

Sweeping forward, Darv growls, his teeth gritting firmly against each other as he all but runs toward the masked man "You vile beast." his fist clenches tightly, metal pressing to metal as his cloaked form moves with a grace unbeffiting of such a large and heavily amoured male, the years of experience wearing the suit showing openly as he reels back a fist, aiming to slam it into Jason's face

"YOU SICK MOCKERY OF LIFE!" Whether the fist had connected or not, he'd launch a powerful kick forward, seeking to stumble his foe, to prevent a counterattack
Darv was quickly noticing that without his charms, even with his impressive size and strength, fighting in his armour was going to tiring for him.

@Chewy Rabbits
@Gummi Bunnies
@The Tactician
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty
@Minerva​

The faster Zinnia ran, the worse she felt. A large knot twisted in her gut, giving her the feeling that they were about to charge into a very bad situation. Her sense of dread only deepened when the lights went out. Nevertheless, they weren't just going to leave Dan alone to walk into this mess by himself. She continued to press on with the two until they had arrived at the autopsy room--where she and Jack were halted by Dan. Mere seconds later, a corpse suddenly came at them.

"I'm not going anywhere! And I'm not leaving you alone to deal with this thing!" Zinnia shouted, reaching into her back pocket. For some reason, Zinnia had kept that large shard of glass she found in the motel after the broken vending machine incident. She stepped forward, waiting for an opening, before plunging her shard into the side of the corpse's face. She then kicked the beast back, hoping that would be enough to take it down.

After taking out the corpse, the draconid gave Dan a quick nod at his instructions to find Herbert before dashing into the room. But the moment she was inside the room and her red eyes fell upon a familiar masked monster, she tensed and froze. There he was, the horrifying beast who had almost taken her life.

Her fingers went numb and she felt as if all the blood in her body had rushed into her face. Her goal to find Herbert was momentarily forgotten. She managed a shaky step back, starting to squeeze the glass shard in her hand so hard that it deeply cut into her palm and stained it a dark crimson. "S-Stay back," she warned, her red eyes dilated in fear.

Not many things scared Zinnia, but then again not many beasts had come so close to ending her life before either.

@The Tactician @Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @DapperDogman @Chewy Rabbits @autopsy room​

 

[York]

​

Replies

"I suppose I am, too. And, yes, of course you'll kill me." One could almost feel him winking. The cyborg felt like teasing her, too. "It was Tar-Lottie, right?" Judging by his tone, he was probably just being ornery.

@Hospes @york @reception​

Jack's comment earned a cocky smirk from Tarlotte, who was looking rather proud. "Of course it is, after all, it's mine! Meow~" she hummed, standing on one foot and outstretching her other leg while balancing for fun or to show off before performing other little tricks and stunts for the same reasons. This all ceased, though, when Genji spoke up with his response. Was he.... mocking her? He was totally mocking her! Her! And after acting like he'd cared and related, too!

The playful approach really hadn't been smart to take, because it quickly became quite obvious that Tarlotte took this as mockery of her. And she'd damn well had enough of that without putting up with it, here, too. And to think that she'd actually thought this guy was kind of nice."... I'M GONNA KILL YOU MEOWWWWWWW!"

Immediately, Tarlotte launched off one of the hardest 'gentle'(unintended to cause any severe harm) kicks she could manage at Genji before puffing up with a glare, arms out to her sides. She was about to go into further attack and insult when, rather, she felt lightheaded again and began to sway, as though about to collapse. Looked like she hadn't quite restored enough mana.

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

Clang!

The kick did manage to move him, but didn't provide any verbal reaction aside from a good-natured laugh. Probably hurt her foot a lot, though. His apology sounded truly sincere, though. "I am sorry, Tarlotte. I should not have teased you." The cyborg removed his mask and crouched in front of her. "You can take a free shot, if you like... Hey, are you alright?" The regret turned to concern as he went to steady her.

@Hospes @york @receotion​

Jack Frost
@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception

Phew, his comment wasn't taken the wrong way... It looked like Tarlotte was really proud of her name, and fortunately for Jack Frost, his little slip-up wasn't going to lose an eye for this, Genji on the other hand... Oh no, his comment, this might not end well...

"W-Wait you shouldn't-..." He started.

Too late, Tarlotte was already at it, rushing at Genji with a kick, but... It would appear that she was tired out again, hmm, was one kiss not enough?

"... Does that usually happen?" He asked, blinking a few times.

​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Your skills of observation are quite keen. Has anyone else ever told you this?" Herbert snapped sarcastically as he saw the various holes on Jason's chest from where he'd been shot. Usually all it took to put down one of Herbert's zombies was a few well placed shots to the chest or one right to the brain. Yet this goliath kept moving even after being pumped full of lead. Interesting enough of a specimen. If Herbert could get him down on a slab then he could see just what made this titan of a corpse tick. But he couldn't do it himself that much was certain.

Though he glanced back at the storage room where he had kept a couple of cadavers in case of a rainy day. Or if one of their experiments got too rowdy and had to be destroyed. Waste not want not after all. Watching as Lapis broke free from his hand and rushed towards Jason, Herbert scoffed.

"I hope your fighting prowess is half as good as your taunting capability!"

But no more time to waste on idle chit chat. Who knew how long it'd take that mask wearing creature before it disposed of the cadaver and the ignorant girl? Rushing into the back room, Herbert unzipped his bag and drew out a canister full of Reagent. Pulling out a syringe from his pocket, he began to pull out as much of the serum as the syringe could hold.

"30% of an increase in Reagent doses seems to yield the best results at the moment. Further testing will have to be done to prove if it can be made even more efficient."

Herbert muttered to no one but himself. He really regretted leaving his clipboard on top of the cadaver when Jason had made his abrupt entrance. No doubt it was smashed to pieces and with it so went Herbert's logs for the day. No matter, he'd simply deal with this little interruption and carry on with business as it had been. He'd also make sure to give Lapis another piece of his mind.

But first he had some re-animating to do. Looking at the two cadavers he had laying in body bags in the storage room, Herbert drew his loaded syringe.

"Let's get to work.."

~~~

Back in the main autopsy room, Jason was growing more and more furious by the second. This thing that had clung to his back was tearing out chunks of his shoulder and spitting it right back in Jason's face as if it were some kind of childish animal. Which given that the average corpse brought back by Herbert had the mindset of a wild beast no matter how intelligent they may have been in life made some sense. Jason couldn't feel pain in the same way that someone like Lapis or Herbert could. But this still felt irritating all the same. Sheathing his machete, Jason reached back and smashed his fist right into the cadaver's face. Caving the nose in and sending them flying off his back.

As they flew through the air, they'd crash into a table Herbert had set up with some of Dan and his own tools. One of the items on the table that Herbert hadn't been too fond of was the radio that Dan insisted on having around because it brought some ambiance to the otherwise bleak and depressing atmosphere of the autopsy room. Herbert thought it annoying and wanted on many occasions to smash the blasted thing. But he didn't want any to give any excuse for Dan to rag on him so the radio stayed. As the cadaver stumbled to the floor, his hands windmilled off to the side and knocked the radio to the floor.

As the radio cracked against the floor, the power button would have inadvertently been switched on and music began to blare throughout the room.

The music had very little if any effect on distracting Jason for as once the cadaver was off him, it was back to business as usual. His hands reached out to grip onto the chair Lapis had swung. Glaring down at her, he sought to rip the chair from her hands and hurl it up against the wall. The force of the impact alone being enough to shatter the chair into two halves as Jason started toward Lapis with his hands clenched into fists at his side. She had tried leaping at him but she had underestimated the zombie's reflexes. He may have not been the fastest runner since coming back from the dead but he could still bust out a quick move every now and again. Like smashing Lapis face first into the ground and tossing her away like yesterday's news.

Meanwhile, Herbert had just finished injecting the last drop of Reagent into the cadavers in the storage room. He of course had heard everything that was going out in the main room. But it wasn't the chair being broken, the cadaver being knocked around that annoyed him. No, he reserved that hate for something far more deserving.

"Damn that atrocious soundtrack! I knew there was a reason I didn't want that thing in there!"

But the radio wouldn't be Herbert's concern for long as shrieks rang out in the storage room. The cadavers tore through their body bags and stumbled off their slabs. Screeching to the heavens above, they charged for Herbert who barely managed to get enough time to zip up his bag and brace himself as he was smashed against the door which tumbled down as the cadavers rushed past Herbert. Jason stopped dead in his tracks, completely caught up in trying to kill Lapis that he didn't take note of the two other cadavers rushing right for him. That was until he heard the one he had punched crying out in what could have only been interpreted as joy.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Jason's head snapped back to the injured cadaver and then back at the other two who were charging at him. One grabbed Jason around the waist in a football style tackle while the other one leaped onto Jason's chest/wrapping it's legs around his waist and digging into his neck with it's teeth. Black blood streamed down Jason's neck as he nearly toppled over from the abrupt collision against his person. Where did these dead people keep coming from and why were they attacking him like this!? Picking out shards of glass from his person, Herbert winced as he sat up and saw the Cadavers all clinging onto Jason and attacking him.

"Your business is in taking life, you said? My business? It's giving life to what was once dead!"

The cadaver that Jason had injured saw how much Jason was struggling and rushed forward. Leaping onto his back once more and this time chewing on his arm. Tearing off the sleeve from Jason's jacket, the cadaver began to dig into the decomposing flesh of Jason's arm. But Herbert wasn't pleased by the success of the corpses. He was far more interested in weakening Jason so he could get the big oaf down on his operating table.

"Would someone shut that damn radio off!?"
​

Dan froze up as Zinnia began to explain herself. He knew full well what it meant to lose someone and to want them back more than anything in the world. Dan for better or for worse was an optimist by heart. Which is most likely why he was the only one who could stomach being around Herbert. He saw good in the anti-social scientist even if he couldn't deny that Herbert was indeed off his rock. As Zinnia finished, Dan's face had broken out in a cold sweat as he tried to think of the best way to respond to this.

"I..I know what it's like to lose someone you feel is close to you. In the medical world, I feel that way every time I lost a patient. Other doctors think that once they're gone they're gone, no use in mourning over them. But I don't like that idea. That I have to give up on people. Which is why I give Herbert a chance when nobody else would or they'd write him off as insane." Which to be fair Herbert was most likely insane but this certainly didn't help matters.

But what he said next made his heart drop. He knew Herbert wouldn't be willing to part with his Reagent just to help some random woman he barely knew. Not to mention that giving it to stranger like Zinnia might have potentially opened up a whole can of worms.

"But...I just don't know if I can.."

Suddenly loud noises began to come from down the hall. That was where Herbert had gone to. To test his reagent on the fresh cadaver that had come in. Had it fought against him like all the others? Before Dan could ponder any further, Jack was already racing down the hall in hot pursuit. Cursing under his breath, Dan chased after Jack. He couldn't run the risk of either Jack or Zinnia getting hurt! Not when Zinnia had already lost so much.
​

As Jack and Zinnia along with Dan raced down to the autopsy room, they wouldn't have been prepared for what awaited them. Within the room itself, Jason was still struggling with the three cadavers clinging onto and biting/punching him. One of them had their teeth firmly sunk into his right arm which made trying to pull off the other two quite difficult. But Jason had no business with the dead. His anger was reserved solely for the living. Using his free hand, he grabbed the cadaver that had bitten his neck and was quite eager to tear a chunk out of it by the hair and ripped his head back. The action did indeed take a sizable amount of Jason's throat out with it. But the damage was more cosmetic than anything else even with the torrent of blood running down Jason's neck and staining his t-shirt.

"MRRGGGGHH!" The cadaver cried out as it swallowed the chunk of throat it had torn off Jason. Having grown quite annoyed with these dead things, Jason staggered over to the fuse box stationed in the room that controlled electricity for the room and the hallway leading to it. Realizing Jason's intentions, the cadaver struggled in Jason's iron grip and whimpered pathetically but Jason would have none of that. Smashing the cadaver's head clean into the fusebox, electricity began to surge through Jason's body and the other two cadavers that were still clinging onto him. Realizing a sinking ship when they saw it, the other cadavers leaped off Jason and scurried back while still baring their teeth at him. Unaffected by the electricity, Jason continued to hold the cadaver's head within the fuse box until it was set ablaze.

Pulling the cadaver's head back and tilting his head as if he were confused as to why it was on fire, Jason paid it no more mind than that. Dropping the body to the floor, Jason raised his boot and brought it down. The soles of his boot acted like a vice and crushed the head into nothing more than rotting pulp. Turning towards the other two cadavers, Jason started to head towards them as the lights flickered on and off before blowing out completely due to Jason having gone to hell and back on the poor fuse box.

"Note to self..Electricity kills re-animated corpses after a brief interval of ...five seconds at the most."

As they were sprinting down the hall, Dan frowned as he noticed how the lights had suddenly gone out. He know Herbert only needed his clipboard and his reagent when doing his experiments. So the fuse box going out couldn't have been his doing. Which left only one other alternative in Dan's mind and it wasn't a good one. Picking up the pace, Dan sprinted ahead of Jack as they continued on towards the autopsy room.

"C'mon, you guys! Herbert's gotta be in trouble if the fuse box blew!"

But just as they rounded the corner, Dan came to a sudden halt as the doors to the autopsy room was knocked straight to the floor and something smashed against the wall. As it slid down, it quickly became apparent what it was. Holding his arms out to either side to prevent Jack and Zinnia from moving forward, Dan's face began to pale. It was one of the corpses that he and Herbert had saved up in the storage room for use incase they couldn't get any new cadavers for a while. But this one had been badly damaged in a traffic accident. What use would Herbert have had for this one if he had the fresh one from earlier?

The re-animated corpse wasn't going to give Dan a moment longer to ponder on that as it staggered to it's feet. With blood running down it's face, it turned towards the three with a hateful expression.

"Mrg...."

"..Get back, you guys. GET BACK NOW!"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The corpse sprinted towards the trio with it's hands outstretched as it clashed it's teeth together. Black blood staining it's lips from where it had dug into Jason's waist. But Jason had shown himself far too strong for the re-animated corpses to take down. So this one would go for easier prey and it just so happened to be right here! Gripping onto the re-animated corpse's neck as it snarled and snapped at Dan's face, Dan yelled to the other two.

"If you guys...Agh!..Aren't going to run...See what the hell's going on in there! I need to be sure Herbert's okay!"​

If Zinnia and the others heeded Dan's order and stepped inside the Autopsy Room, they would have seen Jason holding the remaining cadaver in the air. With both of his hands clutched around the thing's head as it clawed and kicked at Jason but to no avail. Jason himself was a mess of blood with it still squirting out of where the last Cadaver had torn out a chunk of his neck. But it didn't seem to be impeding the serial killer in the slightest. In fact it might have only served to make him angrier! But while the cadaver who had at first let out animalistic shrieks and hisses, it was now whimpering like a punted dog as it didn't want to succumb to death yet again!

"Prl....Pl...EASE!"

But the pleas, garbled as they were fell on deaf ears. Once he started on something, Jason never gave up. He'd get rid of these strange dead things and then he'd murder Lapis. Then he'd find the rest of her group and murder all of them(with the exception of the children of course because c'mon! Jason's not a TOTAL monster.) Herbert however wasn't as keen on letting Jason simply walk on by and do as he pleased. This thing was destroying his specimens and making a total mess of the autopsy room. Something that the dean would no doubt complain about and use as leverage to try and get Dan/him expelled!

Not to mention that the radio was still playing due to it being battery powered. Though it thankfully went onto a different song by this point.

Something had to be done and soon! Before Jason murdered all of them! So rolling up his sleeves, Herbert drew a syringe of Reagent and held it behind his back as he approached Jason from behind. All the while Jason's focus was completely on crushing the head of this last cadaver. Though for as frightened as the cadaver was, it let out a hopeful howl as it saw Herbert approaching. Which of course alerted Jason to the good doctor's presence. Quickly turning, with the cadaver still in hand, Jason glared past it at Herbert. But Herbert wasn't going to back down. Not when he had gotten this close.

"That is ENOUGH of that! You maggot infested walking simpleton! In the pursuit of reaching a lofty goal as defeating Death as we know it, I've seen many cadavers come and go. Many of them who's faces I don't bother to remember. Either because remembering the faces of the dead is a worthless endeavor and because I've had to dispose of so many myself. But if you are one of my experiments than you should know who is the one who gave you life. The one who brought you back from an eternal solitude of wallowing away within a coffin six feet under. The one who gave! You! LIFE!"

Making sure to put extra emphasis on each word, Herbert slowly approached Jason who seemed genuinely confused by the gesture. What was this man getting at exactly? He couldn't have been responsible for any of this. It was through his mother's will that he had returned. To do her bidding just as good son would. Not by this stranger's machinations. But as Herbert approached, Jason made no moves to lash out at him. Even with the cadaver's head still firmly secured within his hands. Herbert did indeed like the results he was getting. Whether or not Jason was a creation of his own making didn't really matter. It seemed the zombie was willing to listen to him either way.

"I see I've got your attention, yes? Now, set down that cadaver and lay down upon the slab. That's all I ask of you. Two simple instructions, you can do that can't you? Even a child can understand such rudimentary orders!"

Jason glanced from Herbert and then at the slab. Herbert, slab, Herbert, slab, slab, Herbert, slab, Herbert.

Much to Herbert's surprise however, Jason tilted his head as if to show some kind of understanding. Had Herbert's words truly gotten through to the serial killer? The cadaver let out small pants. It seemed like it'd be getting out of this in one piece after all. Or so it would have hoped. Jason's pressure only grew more intense as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze! Until the skull caved inwards and bits of grey matter splattered onto Herbert's glasses. Blinding the scientist as he dropped the syringe of Reagent to the ground and confirming Jason's suspicions.

Flinging the cadaver off to the side, Jason stomped towards Herbert and bent down to pick up the syringe as Herbert finished wiping off his glasses. Only to be greeted by the sight of Jason holding the syringe in the other hand and wagging his finger mockingly at Herbert with the other.

Crushing the syringe, Jason gave Herbert a swift backhand. Sending the scientist flying off his feet and straight into the nearest wall. Having dealt with that, Jason turned to face the newcomers and his eye lit up as he got a good look at one of them. It was the girl who had climbed onto his back and had attacked him, even blinded him at one point! Drawing his machete out once more, Jason started towards Zinnia...

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva
​

Watching as his machete sunk it's blade deep within the counter top as Rant moved back, Roy glared behind the eyeholes of his hockey mask. What did this freak think it was doing here? Was it going to stand in his way of revenge too? Then that made it just as bad as Tommy in the paramedic-turned-serial killer's eyes! Ripping his machete free, Roy swiftly knocked the coffee machine aside as it came flying at him. The machine soon clattered to the floor with coffee spilling all over the floor.

Which in turn might have done more damage to Roy than if the actual machine had hit him. As he started to menacingly stroll towards Kyoko, he began to lose his footing and a muffled curse could have been heard coming from behind the mask as the stool smashed into Roy's knee and caused the killer to fall flat on his back rendering the need for Chikage's following action unnecessary. Thanks to Kyoko and her handy kicking ability!

Wincing at how the metal stool had smashed into his knee with such velocity behind it, it'd be bruised no doubt about that. But he'd gone through much worse. Like being struck by a chainsaw of all things. He wouldn't be stopped here! Not by this band of freaks and children! Rolling off to the side and getting back onto his feet, Roy turned his attention towards Kyoko and charged towards her.

Catbug had been forced to watch as Kyoko stepped forward as if shielding him from this new masked man! But this masked man was different! He wasn't nearly as bulky as the one from the camp had been, he also didn't smell nearly as bad! Something that had already been pointed out but it certainly merited pointing out for one thing! But as he was bounced off Chikage's head, Catbug landed on all fours and watched as the others went to town on the new attacker. But-But what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to stand by and just watch!

What if someone else got hurt! Like Zinnia or Lapis! Or even Chikage(though Catbug wasn't gonna lie, seeing Chikage fight was a spectacle in of itself.) No, he couldn't just let this go on! Hissing in Roy's direction, Catbug got a running start as Roy charged Kyoko with his machete raised. Before Roy could close the distance between him and Kyoko, Catbug leaped up as Roy's machete went wide. The blade cut a gash across Catbug's chest causing the creature to cry out in pain as he clutched to Roy's mask and began scratching away at him. Thanks to the hood Roy was wearing to make it seem like it was Jason doing the killings, the claws didn't cut too deeply. But they did reveal tufts of Roy' s black hair poking out from behind it and Roy continued towards Kyoko with his machete swinging wildly while his other hand gripped onto Catbug in an effort to remove the creature.

But no matter how much it may have pained him, Catbug refused to let go! He had been put out of commission by one good kick from the real Jason. This guy wasn't nearly as tough as that man had been! He was a pushover by comparison!

"You're...Not...Going to hurt my friends!"

Catbug hissed out even as blood ran down from the wound Roy had left on him with the machete. His claws scratched futilely against the plastic of Roy's mask until Roy finally got a good grip and plucked the creature from his mask. Hurling Catbug at Chikage, Roy continued towards Kyoko. What was it with these strange animal things getting in his way?!

@Nater Taters @ShiroKiyoshi @Atomyk @Josh M @Kaykay @Krieg @Morgue​

Sweeping forward, Darv growls, his teeth gritting firmly against each other as he all but runs toward the masked man "You vile beast." his fist clenches tightly, metal pressing to metal as his cloaked form moves with a grace unbeffiting of such a large and heavily amoured male, the years of experience wearing the suit showing openly as he reels back a fist, aiming to slam it into Jason's face

"YOU SICK MOCKERY OF LIFE!" Whether the fist had connected or not, he'd launch a powerful kick forward, seeking to stumble his foe, to prevent a counterattack
Darv was quickly noticing that without his charms, even with his impressive size and strength, fighting in his armour was going to tiring for him.

@Chewy Rabbits
@Gummi Bunnies
@The Tactician
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty
@Minerva​

​

The faster Zinnia ran, the worse she felt. A large knot twisted in her gut, giving her the feeling that they were about to charge into a very bad situation. Her sense of dread only deepened when the lights went out. Nevertheless, they weren't just going to leave Dan alone to walk into this mess by himself. She continued to press on with the two until they had arrived at the autopsy room--where she and Jack were halted by Dan. Mere seconds later, a corpse suddenly came at them.

"I'm not going anywhere! And I'm not leaving you alone to deal with this thing!" Zinnia shouted, reaching into her back pocket. For some reason, Zinnia had kept that large shard of glass she found in the motel after the broken vending machine incident. She stepped forward, waiting for an opening, before plunging her shard into the side of the corpse's face. She then kicked the beast back, hoping that would be enough to take it down.

After taking out the corpse, the draconid gave Dan a quick nod at his instructions to find Herbert before dashing into the room. But the moment she was inside the room and her red eyes fell upon a familiar masked monster, she tensed and froze. There he was, the horrifying beast who had almost taken her life.

Her fingers went numb and she felt as if all the blood in her body had rushed into her face. Her goal to find Herbert was momentarily forgotten. She managed a shaky step back, starting to squeeze the glass shard in her hand so hard that it deeply cut into her palm and stained it a dark crimson. "S-Stay back," she warned, her red eyes dilated in fear.

Not many things scared Zinnia, but then again not many beasts had come so close to ending her life before either.

@The Tactician @Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @DapperDogman @Chewy Rabbits @autopsy room​

"BEGONE, FOUL DEMON!"

As Zinnia cowered in fear of the beast before them, Jack only screamed in absolute rage as he charged forward, ready to face Jason once again. No fear rested in his heart as he remembered the destruction their foe had wrought once before when it met their group. Instead, hatred for it and its sickening crimes and a desire to avenge Zinnia rested within his soul as his war cry echoed throughout the morgue.

Without a moment's hesitation, he was in flight, one foot out to collide with the hockey mask wearing freak's stomach. He would assist Darv in striking down this beast, and they would do so with righteous indignation!

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva ​

 

[Crow]

" Hello, Genji!"

Joining Nono and Geji, Wanda appeared all smiles.

"Hello to you too, Nono. Did everyone sleep will last night? I did."

"Speak for yourself, lady."

Shane was also in toe. He looked like hell.

@Crow @BarrenThin

Nono had returned from her bathroom trip. Nothing in particular.

"Morikubo is doing alright Ms Wanda-"​

The cyborg turned to Wanda. "I did not sleep much. I ended up doing much patrolling."

@Crow @Josh M​

Well, luckily, it looked like Tarlotte didn't have to be dealt with overnight. Once more, she was out cold, having passed out for reasons unbeknownst to those in her company. She'd been being too stubborn for her own good, forgetting to restore her mana whilst caught up in her want for Sojiro and her little tantrums. By the time she had again woken, they were somewhere new entirely, and she was all but lost and confused.

"Meow..."

It was an exasperated, heavy sigh, her heart still sore with longing. But now, she merely sniffed it all away, choosing to start wandering randomly. Whoever she saw first, she'd get her mana from- problem solved! She happened to be headed to Reception.

@Atomyk @Reception​

Genji perked up even more upon seeing Tarlotte. He kneeled in front of her, expecting full well to get attacked. "Ah! There you are. Sleep okay?"

@Hospes @Josh M @Reception​

Jack Frost
@Atomyk @Hospes @Reception

Welp, Jack Frost decided to stop looking around near the entrance and instead... Headed off to the reception, seeing that Tarlotte was doing so too; his search didn't seem to turn up anything anyways, so he decided this was for the best. Besides, who knew what trouble that cat-girl would get into?

"Hey... Wait up!" He called after her as he tried to keep up with her.

Fortunately, the reception wasn't too far off from the entrance, so Jack Frost didin't have to run a marathon to catch up... Hopefully.​

"..."

Well, that was annoying. Not Jack yelling after her, or him following after- though those were annoying in their own rights -, even. But rather, the fact that the first person she ran into was not only that guy from earlier, but was also wearing a mask. Rather than bothering with answering him, she stared in silence, reminded of how fed up with the place she was. But, whatever... She slowly reached up and batted at his mask with her hand, anyways. Surely it'd come off that way, right?

Wrong.

Nothing happened, causing golden eyes to narrow with annoyance. Damn it all, what was this guy's problem?! Without a thought, she reached up and batted at it with her other hand, and when it bore no fruit? Well, the tantrum came. "....Nnnnnnnnn c'mon, meow!" she exclaimed, beginning to scratch and claw at the mask. Nothing. So she began doing everything she could think of to get it off, moving all about in her attempts in a cartoonist manner. Soon she was practically perched on his arm, pulling and tugging. Next she was back where she had been, clawing again. The next, on his shoulders, yanking and clawing from there. But the damn thing wouldn't budge, and she only felt even more drained... then she paused, looking up and away as she noticed another figure walk in. Ah, opportunity! A bare face, oblivious and talking--

Tail swishing from side to side like a predator on the prowl for a moment, Tarlotte grinned faintly, crouching slightly before springing right off of Genji's shoulders, pouncing on Yurick and... kissing him, if she succeeded!

Oh goodness, why.

@york @BarrenThin @Atomyk @Takumi @Reception​

"Ahuh..."

The guy gave Honda a suspicious look over, but soon his facade was dropped and the man was smiling in amusement. "Hey, whatever you say man, no worries. You see, I'm looking into the missing girls myself, so, here's the thing, maybe you should be telling me what you know... you know?"

The man's tone was casual and relaxed, carrying the suggestion that all this was just no big deal at all.

"Stephen Holder." He reached into a pocket to flash a badge. "Detective Stephen Holder, that's right. I guess your previous sheriff felt some outside help was needed considerin' he pulled my ass down here. Been a boring ride so far, at least until that body showed up, you know what I'm sayin'?"

@Takumi @Hospes @york @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Yang Lee @Reception​

Genji didn't budge throughout the ordeal, though he did occasionally laugh. He turned around as she sprung off him, the mask coming off with a hiss as he pressed two buttons on the side of his head. "It's really not that... What are you doing?"

@Takumi @Hospes @york @Josh M​

Having successfully managed to capture Yurick in her pounce, the younger female didn't hesitate for so much as a second before moving to capture the male's lips with her own, kissing him calmly with her tail flickering back and forth. Oddly enough, one could see her brighten... literally, almost. Not only did she seem to visibly perk up, she also seemed almost as though actually glowing faintly. The kiss was soft and didn't last especially long before Tarlotte pulled away, seeming refreshed as she wiped her lips with her sleeve. "Ahh, much better~" she purred to herself, hardly seeming to notice or care about Yurick's shock and embarrassment.

It was quite clear she didn't really care to answer, or even pay attention to, Genji's question.

She was a little confused by the conversation ongoing with the receptionist, though.

@york @Atomyk @Takumi @BarrenThin @Yun Lee @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yang Lee​

The cyborg quietly shook his head and put his mask back on. "You're an odd one. You never did tell me your name."

@Hospes @york @Takumi @reception​

"Hmph!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks with annoyance at being called odd. "You're the odd one! Call me that again and I'll kill you, meow!" Silence followed after this, as though she simply hadn't heard his request for her name, or simply didn't give a damn. She didn't have to tell any of these people anything, after all! But hm....

With a very serious and annoyed expression on her face, Tarlotte crossed her arms, holding her head high and closing her eyes. "...Tarlotte, and you better not mess it up, meow! Or I'll just have to crush you like I'm gonna crush that stupid bear, too, meow~!"

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

"I suppose I am, too. And, yes, of course you'll kill me." One could almost feel him winking. The cyborg felt like teasing her, too. "It was Tar-Lottie, right?" Judging by his tone, he was probably just being ornery.

@Hospes @york @reception​

Jack's comment earned a cocky smirk from Tarlotte, who was looking rather proud. "Of course it is, after all, it's mine! Meow~" she hummed, standing on one foot and outstretching her other leg while balancing for fun or to show off before performing other little tricks and stunts for the same reasons. This all ceased, though, when Genji spoke up with his response. Was he.... mocking her? He was totally mocking her! Her! And after acting like he'd cared and related, too!

The playful approach really hadn't been smart to take, because it quickly became quite obvious that Tarlotte took this as mockery of her. And she'd damn well had enough of that without putting up with it, here, too. And to think that she'd actually thought this guy was kind of nice."... I'M GONNA KILL YOU MEOWWWWWWW!"

Immediately, Tarlotte launched off one of the hardest 'gentle'(unintended to cause any severe harm) kicks she could manage at Genji before puffing up with a glare, arms out to her sides. She was about to go into further attack and insult when, rather, she felt lightheaded again and began to sway, as though about to collapse. Looked like she hadn't quite restored enough mana.

@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

Clang!

The kick did manage to move him, but didn't provide any verbal reaction aside from a good-natured laugh. Probably hurt her foot a lot, though. His apology sounded truly sincere, though. "I am sorry, Tarlotte. I should not have teased you." The cyborg removed his mask and crouched in front of her. "You can take a free shot, if you like... Hey, are you alright?" The regret turned to concern as he went to steady her.

@Hospes @york @receotion​

"Morikubo... must've missed a lot..." Nono utters, looking at Tarlotte and Genji's little intimate get-together. She takes a few steps backwards, in fear of Tarlotte striking, and exclaims with a raspy voice, "wha- what's happening!?"

@Hospes @BarrenThin @york @Josh M @Jeremi @Atomyk @Reception​

 

[BarrenThin]

Nono had returned from her bathroom trip. Nothing in particular.

"Morikubo is doing alright Ms Wanda-"​

"Morikubo... must've missed a lot..." Nono utters, looking at Tarlotte and Genji's little intimate get-together. She takes a few steps backwards, in fear of Tarlotte striking, and exclaims with a raspy voice, "wha- what's happening!?"

@Hospes @BarrenThin @york @Josh M @Jeremi @Atomyk @Reception​

"Tarlotte is a little unsteady on her feet. I don't think kicking me helped. Maybe we should get her a chair... Ah, Nono-san, you dropped this. Don't worry, I kept it safe." The cyborg looked away from Tarlotte and offered Nono her diary.

@Crow @Hospes @york @reception​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

replies

"Your skills of observation are quite keen. Has anyone else ever told you this?" Herbert snapped sarcastically as he saw the various holes on Jason's chest from where he'd been shot. Usually all it took to put down one of Herbert's zombies was a few well placed shots to the chest or one right to the brain. Yet this goliath kept moving even after being pumped full of lead. Interesting enough of a specimen. If Herbert could get him down on a slab then he could see just what made this titan of a corpse tick. But he couldn't do it himself that much was certain.

Though he glanced back at the storage room where he had kept a couple of cadavers in case of a rainy day. Or if one of their experiments got too rowdy and had to be destroyed. Waste not want not after all. Watching as Lapis broke free from his hand and rushed towards Jason, Herbert scoffed.

"I hope your fighting prowess is half as good as your taunting capability!"

But no more time to waste on idle chit chat. Who knew how long it'd take that mask wearing creature before it disposed of the cadaver and the ignorant girl? Rushing into the back room, Herbert unzipped his bag and drew out a canister full of Reagent. Pulling out a syringe from his pocket, he began to pull out as much of the serum as the syringe could hold.

"30% of an increase in Reagent doses seems to yield the best results at the moment. Further testing will have to be done to prove if it can be made even more efficient."

Herbert muttered to no one but himself. He really regretted leaving his clipboard on top of the cadaver when Jason had made his abrupt entrance. No doubt it was smashed to pieces and with it so went Herbert's logs for the day. No matter, he'd simply deal with this little interruption and carry on with business as it had been. He'd also make sure to give Lapis another piece of his mind.

But first he had some re-animating to do. Looking at the two cadavers he had laying in body bags in the storage room, Herbert drew his loaded syringe.

"Let's get to work.."

~~~

Back in the main autopsy room, Jason was growing more and more furious by the second. This thing that had clung to his back was tearing out chunks of his shoulder and spitting it right back in Jason's face as if it were some kind of childish animal. Which given that the average corpse brought back by Herbert had the mindset of a wild beast no matter how intelligent they may have been in life made some sense. Jason couldn't feel pain in the same way that someone like Lapis or Herbert could. But this still felt irritating all the same. Sheathing his machete, Jason reached back and smashed his fist right into the cadaver's face. Caving the nose in and sending them flying off his back.

As they flew through the air, they'd crash into a table Herbert had set up with some of Dan and his own tools. One of the items on the table that Herbert hadn't been too fond of was the radio that Dan insisted on having around because it brought some ambiance to the otherwise bleak and depressing atmosphere of the autopsy room. Herbert thought it annoying and wanted on many occasions to smash the blasted thing. But he didn't want any to give any excuse for Dan to rag on him so the radio stayed. As the cadaver stumbled to the floor, his hands windmilled off to the side and knocked the radio to the floor.

As the radio cracked against the floor, the power button would have inadvertently been switched on and music began to blare throughout the room.

The music had very little if any effect on distracting Jason for as once the cadaver was off him, it was back to business as usual. His hands reached out to grip onto the chair Lapis had swung. Glaring down at her, he sought to rip the chair from her hands and hurl it up against the wall. The force of the impact alone being enough to shatter the chair into two halves as Jason started toward Lapis with his hands clenched into fists at his side. She had tried leaping at him but she had underestimated the zombie's reflexes. He may have not been the fastest runner since coming back from the dead but he could still bust out a quick move every now and again. Like smashing Lapis face first into the ground and tossing her away like yesterday's news.

Meanwhile, Herbert had just finished injecting the last drop of Reagent into the cadavers in the storage room. He of course had heard everything that was going out in the main room. But it wasn't the chair being broken, the cadaver being knocked around that annoyed him. No, he reserved that hate for something far more deserving.

"Damn that atrocious soundtrack! I knew there was a reason I didn't want that thing in there!"

But the radio wouldn't be Herbert's concern for long as shrieks rang out in the storage room. The cadavers tore through their body bags and stumbled off their slabs. Screeching to the heavens above, they charged for Herbert who barely managed to get enough time to zip up his bag and brace himself as he was smashed against the door which tumbled down as the cadavers rushed past Herbert. Jason stopped dead in his tracks, completely caught up in trying to kill Lapis that he didn't take note of the two other cadavers rushing right for him. That was until he heard the one he had punched crying out in what could have only been interpreted as joy.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Jason's head snapped back to the injured cadaver and then back at the other two who were charging at him. One grabbed Jason around the waist in a football style tackle while the other one leaped onto Jason's chest/wrapping it's legs around his waist and digging into his neck with it's teeth. Black blood streamed down Jason's neck as he nearly toppled over from the abrupt collision against his person. Where did these dead people keep coming from and why were they attacking him like this!? Picking out shards of glass from his person, Herbert winced as he sat up and saw the Cadavers all clinging onto Jason and attacking him.

"Your business is in taking life, you said? My business? It's giving life to what was once dead!"

The cadaver that Jason had injured saw how much Jason was struggling and rushed forward. Leaping onto his back once more and this time chewing on his arm. Tearing off the sleeve from Jason's jacket, the cadaver began to dig into the decomposing flesh of Jason's arm. But Herbert wasn't pleased by the success of the corpses. He was far more interested in weakening Jason so he could get the big oaf down on his operating table.

"Would someone shut that damn radio off!?"
​

Dan froze up as Zinnia began to explain herself. He knew full well what it meant to lose someone and to want them back more than anything in the world. Dan for better or for worse was an optimist by heart. Which is most likely why he was the only one who could stomach being around Herbert. He saw good in the anti-social scientist even if he couldn't deny that Herbert was indeed off his rock. As Zinnia finished, Dan's face had broken out in a cold sweat as he tried to think of the best way to respond to this.

"I..I know what it's like to lose someone you feel is close to you. In the medical world, I feel that way every time I lost a patient. Other doctors think that once they're gone they're gone, no use in mourning over them. But I don't like that idea. That I have to give up on people. Which is why I give Herbert a chance when nobody else would or they'd write him off as insane." Which to be fair Herbert was most likely insane but this certainly didn't help matters.

But what he said next made his heart drop. He knew Herbert wouldn't be willing to part with his Reagent just to help some random woman he barely knew. Not to mention that giving it to stranger like Zinnia might have potentially opened up a whole can of worms.

"But...I just don't know if I can.."

Suddenly loud noises began to come from down the hall. That was where Herbert had gone to. To test his reagent on the fresh cadaver that had come in. Had it fought against him like all the others? Before Dan could ponder any further, Jack was already racing down the hall in hot pursuit. Cursing under his breath, Dan chased after Jack. He couldn't run the risk of either Jack or Zinnia getting hurt! Not when Zinnia had already lost so much.
​

As Jack and Zinnia along with Dan raced down to the autopsy room, they wouldn't have been prepared for what awaited them. Within the room itself, Jason was still struggling with the three cadavers clinging onto and biting/punching him. One of them had their teeth firmly sunk into his right arm which made trying to pull off the other two quite difficult. But Jason had no business with the dead. His anger was reserved solely for the living. Using his free hand, he grabbed the cadaver that had bitten his neck and was quite eager to tear a chunk out of it by the hair and ripped his head back. The action did indeed take a sizable amount of Jason's throat out with it. But the damage was more cosmetic than anything else even with the torrent of blood running down Jason's neck and staining his t-shirt.

"MRRGGGGHH!" The cadaver cried out as it swallowed the chunk of throat it had torn off Jason. Having grown quite annoyed with these dead things, Jason staggered over to the fuse box stationed in the room that controlled electricity for the room and the hallway leading to it. Realizing Jason's intentions, the cadaver struggled in Jason's iron grip and whimpered pathetically but Jason would have none of that. Smashing the cadaver's head clean into the fusebox, electricity began to surge through Jason's body and the other two cadavers that were still clinging onto him. Realizing a sinking ship when they saw it, the other cadavers leaped off Jason and scurried back while still baring their teeth at him. Unaffected by the electricity, Jason continued to hold the cadaver's head within the fuse box until it was set ablaze.

Pulling the cadaver's head back and tilting his head as if he were confused as to why it was on fire, Jason paid it no more mind than that. Dropping the body to the floor, Jason raised his boot and brought it down. The soles of his boot acted like a vice and crushed the head into nothing more than rotting pulp. Turning towards the other two cadavers, Jason started to head towards them as the lights flickered on and off before blowing out completely due to Jason having gone to hell and back on the poor fuse box.

"Note to self..Electricity kills re-animated corpses after a brief interval of ...five seconds at the most."

As they were sprinting down the hall, Dan frowned as he noticed how the lights had suddenly gone out. He know Herbert only needed his clipboard and his reagent when doing his experiments. So the fuse box going out couldn't have been his doing. Which left only one other alternative in Dan's mind and it wasn't a good one. Picking up the pace, Dan sprinted ahead of Jack as they continued on towards the autopsy room.

"C'mon, you guys! Herbert's gotta be in trouble if the fuse box blew!"

But just as they rounded the corner, Dan came to a sudden halt as the doors to the autopsy room was knocked straight to the floor and something smashed against the wall. As it slid down, it quickly became apparent what it was. Holding his arms out to either side to prevent Jack and Zinnia from moving forward, Dan's face began to pale. It was one of the corpses that he and Herbert had saved up in the storage room for use incase they couldn't get any new cadavers for a while. But this one had been badly damaged in a traffic accident. What use would Herbert have had for this one if he had the fresh one from earlier?

The re-animated corpse wasn't going to give Dan a moment longer to ponder on that as it staggered to it's feet. With blood running down it's face, it turned towards the three with a hateful expression.

"Mrg...."

"..Get back, you guys. GET BACK NOW!"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

The corpse sprinted towards the trio with it's hands outstretched as it clashed it's teeth together. Black blood staining it's lips from where it had dug into Jason's waist. But Jason had shown himself far too strong for the re-animated corpses to take down. So this one would go for easier prey and it just so happened to be right here! Gripping onto the re-animated corpse's neck as it snarled and snapped at Dan's face, Dan yelled to the other two.

"If you guys...Agh!..Aren't going to run...See what the hell's going on in there! I need to be sure Herbert's okay!"​

If Zinnia and the others heeded Dan's order and stepped inside the Autopsy Room, they would have seen Jason holding the remaining cadaver in the air. With both of his hands clutched around the thing's head as it clawed and kicked at Jason but to no avail. Jason himself was a mess of blood with it still squirting out of where the last Cadaver had torn out a chunk of his neck. But it didn't seem to be impeding the serial killer in the slightest. In fact it might have only served to make him angrier! But while the cadaver who had at first let out animalistic shrieks and hisses, it was now whimpering like a punted dog as it didn't want to succumb to death yet again!

"Prl....Pl...EASE!"

But the pleas, garbled as they were fell on deaf ears. Once he started on something, Jason never gave up. He'd get rid of these strange dead things and then he'd murder Lapis. Then he'd find the rest of her group and murder all of them(with the exception of the children of course because c'mon! Jason's not a TOTAL monster.) Herbert however wasn't as keen on letting Jason simply walk on by and do as he pleased. This thing was destroying his specimens and making a total mess of the autopsy room. Something that the dean would no doubt complain about and use as leverage to try and get Dan/him expelled!

Not to mention that the radio was still playing due to it being battery powered. Though it thankfully went onto a different song by this point.

Something had to be done and soon! Before Jason murdered all of them! So rolling up his sleeves, Herbert drew a syringe of Reagent and held it behind his back as he approached Jason from behind. All the while Jason's focus was completely on crushing the head of this last cadaver. Though for as frightened as the cadaver was, it let out a hopeful howl as it saw Herbert approaching. Which of course alerted Jason to the good doctor's presence. Quickly turning, with the cadaver still in hand, Jason glared past it at Herbert. But Herbert wasn't going to back down. Not when he had gotten this close.

"That is ENOUGH of that! You maggot infested walking simpleton! In the pursuit of reaching a lofty goal as defeating Death as we know it, I've seen many cadavers come and go. Many of them who's faces I don't bother to remember. Either because remembering the faces of the dead is a worthless endeavor and because I've had to dispose of so many myself. But if you are one of my experiments than you should know who is the one who gave you life. The one who brought you back from an eternal solitude of wallowing away within a coffin six feet under. The one who gave! You! LIFE!"

Making sure to put extra emphasis on each word, Herbert slowly approached Jason who seemed genuinely confused by the gesture. What was this man getting at exactly? He couldn't have been responsible for any of this. It was through his mother's will that he had returned. To do her bidding just as good son would. Not by this stranger's machinations. But as Herbert approached, Jason made no moves to lash out at him. Even with the cadaver's head still firmly secured within his hands. Herbert did indeed like the results he was getting. Whether or not Jason was a creation of his own making didn't really matter. It seemed the zombie was willing to listen to him either way.

"I see I've got your attention, yes? Now, set down that cadaver and lay down upon the slab. That's all I ask of you. Two simple instructions, you can do that can't you? Even a child can understand such rudimentary orders!"

Jason glanced from Herbert and then at the slab. Herbert, slab, Herbert, slab, slab, Herbert, slab, Herbert.

Much to Herbert's surprise however, Jason tilted his head as if to show some kind of understanding. Had Herbert's words truly gotten through to the serial killer? The cadaver let out small pants. It seemed like it'd be getting out of this in one piece after all. Or so it would have hoped. Jason's pressure only grew more intense as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze! Until the skull caved inwards and bits of grey matter splattered onto Herbert's glasses. Blinding the scientist as he dropped the syringe of Reagent to the ground and confirming Jason's suspicions.

Flinging the cadaver off to the side, Jason stomped towards Herbert and bent down to pick up the syringe as Herbert finished wiping off his glasses. Only to be greeted by the sight of Jason holding the syringe in the other hand and wagging his finger mockingly at Herbert with the other.

Crushing the syringe, Jason gave Herbert a swift backhand. Sending the scientist flying off his feet and straight into the nearest wall. Having dealt with that, Jason turned to face the newcomers and his eye lit up as he got a good look at one of them. It was the girl who had climbed onto his back and had attacked him, even blinded him at one point! Drawing his machete out once more, Jason started towards Zinnia...

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @The Tactician @Nater Taters @DapperDogman @Minerva
​

Watching as his machete sunk it's blade deep within the counter top as Rant moved back, Roy glared behind the eyeholes of his hockey mask. What did this freak think it was doing here? Was it going to stand in his way of revenge too? Then that made it just as bad as Tommy in the paramedic-turned-serial killer's eyes! Ripping his machete free, Roy swiftly knocked the coffee machine aside as it came flying at him. The machine soon clattered to the floor with coffee spilling all over the floor.

Which in turn might have done more damage to Roy than if the actual machine had hit him. As he started to menacingly stroll towards Kyoko, he began to lose his footing and a muffled curse could have been heard coming from behind the mask as the stool smashed into Roy's knee and caused the killer to fall flat on his back rendering the need for Chikage's following action unnecessary. Thanks to Kyoko and her handy kicking ability!

Wincing at how the metal stool had smashed into his knee with such velocity behind it, it'd be bruised no doubt about that. But he'd gone through much worse. Like being struck by a chainsaw of all things. He wouldn't be stopped here! Not by this band of freaks and children! Rolling off to the side and getting back onto his feet, Roy turned his attention towards Kyoko and charged towards her.

Catbug had been forced to watch as Kyoko stepped forward as if shielding him from this new masked man! But this masked man was different! He wasn't nearly as bulky as the one from the camp had been, he also didn't smell nearly as bad! Something that had already been pointed out but it certainly merited pointing out for one thing! But as he was bounced off Chikage's head, Catbug landed on all fours and watched as the others went to town on the new attacker. But-But what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to stand by and just watch!

What if someone else got hurt! Like Zinnia or Lapis! Or even Chikage(though Catbug wasn't gonna lie, seeing Chikage fight was a spectacle in of itself.) No, he couldn't just let this go on! Hissing in Roy's direction, Catbug got a running start as Roy charged Kyoko with his machete raised. Before Roy could close the distance between him and Kyoko, Catbug leaped up as Roy's machete went wide. The blade cut a gash across Catbug's chest causing the creature to cry out in pain as he clutched to Roy's mask and began scratching away at him. Thanks to the hood Roy was wearing to make it seem like it was Jason doing the killings, the claws didn't cut too deeply. But they did reveal tufts of Roy' s black hair poking out from behind it and Roy continued towards Kyoko with his machete swinging wildly while his other hand gripped onto Catbug in an effort to remove the creature.

But no matter how much it may have pained him, Catbug refused to let go! He had been put out of commission by one good kick from the real Jason. This guy wasn't nearly as tough as that man had been! He was a pushover by comparison!

"You're...Not...Going to hurt my friends!"

Catbug hissed out even as blood ran down from the wound Roy had left on him with the machete. His claws scratched futilely against the plastic of Roy's mask until Roy finally got a good grip and plucked the creature from his mask. Hurling Catbug at Chikage, Roy continued towards Kyoko. What was it with these strange animal things getting in his way?!

@Nater Taters @ShiroKiyoshi @Atomyk @Josh M @Kaykay @Krieg @Morgue​

Sweeping forward, Darv growls, his teeth gritting firmly against each other as he all but runs toward the masked man "You vile beast." his fist clenches tightly, metal pressing to metal as his cloaked form moves with a grace unbeffiting of such a large and heavily amoured male, the years of experience wearing the suit showing openly as he reels back a fist, aiming to slam it into Jason's face

"YOU SICK MOCKERY OF LIFE!" Whether the fist had connected or not, he'd launch a powerful kick forward, seeking to stumble his foe, to prevent a counterattack
Darv was quickly noticing that without his charms, even with his impressive size and strength, fighting in his armour was going to tiring for him.

@Chewy Rabbits
@Gummi Bunnies
@The Tactician
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty
@Minerva​

​

The faster Zinnia ran, the worse she felt. A large knot twisted in her gut, giving her the feeling that they were about to charge into a very bad situation. Her sense of dread only deepened when the lights went out. Nevertheless, they weren't just going to leave Dan alone to walk into this mess by himself. She continued to press on with the two until they had arrived at the autopsy room--where she and Jack were halted by Dan. Mere seconds later, a corpse suddenly came at them.

"I'm not going anywhere! And I'm not leaving you alone to deal with this thing!" Zinnia shouted, reaching into her back pocket. For some reason, Zinnia had kept that large shard of glass she found in the motel after the broken vending machine incident. She stepped forward, waiting for an opening, before plunging her shard into the side of the corpse's face. She then kicked the beast back, hoping that would be enough to take it down.

After taking out the corpse, the draconid gave Dan a quick nod at his instructions to find Herbert before dashing into the room. But the moment she was inside the room and her red eyes fell upon a familiar masked monster, she tensed and froze. There he was, the horrifying beast who had almost taken her life.

Her fingers went numb and she felt as if all the blood in her body had rushed into her face. Her goal to find Herbert was momentarily forgotten. She managed a shaky step back, starting to squeeze the glass shard in her hand so hard that it deeply cut into her palm and stained it a dark crimson. "S-Stay back," she warned, her red eyes dilated in fear.

Not many things scared Zinnia, but then again not many beasts had come so close to ending her life before either.

@The Tactician @Minerva @Gummi Bunnies @DapperDogman @Chewy Rabbits @autopsy room​

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Once again thrown into a similar situation as the first encounter, Lapis didn't bother backing down, ignoring the type of danger she was getting herself right now. In a way, she was unaware of this situation, and that she just realized the others were present in this fight now. However, Lapis was still going to go on, especially after seeing Herbert backhanded by Jason.

"Goddammit... I don't think that's gonna work, and I'm not so great hand to hand... how about you lend me that pistol of yours? Maybe I can get that to work. I can cover up the costs of replacing the ammo too."

If Herbert was just knocked unconscious from that backhand, Lapis was just going to snatch that pistol for herself.

@The Tactician @Minerva @Chewy Rabbits @DapperDogman @Chewy Rabbits @autopsy room​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

Clang!

The kick did manage to move him, but didn't provide any verbal reaction aside from a good-natured laugh. Probably hurt her foot a lot, though. His apology sounded truly sincere, though. "I am sorry, Tarlotte. I should not have teased you." The cyborg removed his mask and crouched in front of her. "You can take a free shot, if you like... Hey, are you alright?" The regret turned to concern as he went to steady her.

@Hospes @york @receotion​

Jack Frost
@york @BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception

Phew, his comment wasn't taken the wrong way... It looked like Tarlotte was really proud of her name, and fortunately for Jack Frost, his little slip-up wasn't going to lose an eye for this, Genji on the other hand... Oh no, his comment, this might not end well...

"W-Wait you shouldn't-..." He started.

Too late, Tarlotte was already at it, rushing at Genji with a kick, but... It would appear that she was tired out again, hmm, was one kiss not enough?

"... Does that usually happen?" He asked, blinking a few times.​

The apology didn't seem especially necessary, as, for some odd reason, Tarlotte didn't exactly seem to notice the pain of the impact if she had felt it. Perhaps she had merely built up that much of a pain tolerance, considering she was largely used to being kicked, punched, and smashed around by large robots. Or maybe her shoes had provided some bracing... or it was simply that she was a little more busy dealing with her own, bigger issues.

Thank goodness Genji at least reached out and steadied her before she could fall over again, even if right then, Tarlotte didn't entirely appreciate it. But whatever- he'd have to do. Clearly Yurick wasn't enough, so the catgirl was left begrudgingly forced to take a kiss from this man, too. Even if he was a total asshole for mocking her. So, mustering up what energy she could, she moved to kiss Genji right on the lips.

Were she to succeed, the female kissed him for a long few moments, once again seeming almost as though she were glowing. It was a gesture lacking in lust or passion, something that just simply... happened, before Tarlotte pulled away and began fervently wiping at her lips and spitting off to the side in a childish manner. "Gross!" she complained, as though it weren't her fault she'd kissed him. Each time she 'spat'(though she only seemed to be making the gesture, not actually spitting), it was accentuated with a meow. "Meow! Meow! Meow!"

After getting that out of her system, and looking to have more energy again, Tarlotte glanced to Jack with a 'hm?'. "Mwhat are new talking about?" she asked. "And where the hell are we, anyways?!"

@BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @york @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

 

[BarrenThin]

The apology didn't seem especially necessary, as, for some odd reason, Tarlotte didn't exactly seem to notice the pain of the impact if she had felt it. Perhaps she had merely built up that much of a pain tolerance, considering she was largely used to being kicked, punched, and smashed around by large robots. Or maybe her shoes had provided some bracing... or it was simply that she was a little more busy dealing with her own, bigger issues.

Thank goodness Genji at least reached out and steadied her before she could fall over again, even if right then, Tarlotte didn't entirely appreciate it. But whatever- he'd have to do. Clearly Yurick wasn't enough, so the catgirl was left begrudgingly forced to take a kiss from this man, too. Even if he was a total asshole for mocking her. So, mustering up what energy she could, she moved to kiss Genji right on the lips.

Were she to succeed, the female kissed him for a long few moments, once again seeming almost as though she were glowing. It was a gesture lacking in lust or passion, something that just simply... happened, before Tarlotte pulled away and began fervently wiping at her lips and spitting off to the side in a childish manner. "Gross!" she complained, as though it weren't her fault she'd kissed him. Each time she 'spat'(though she only seemed to be making the gesture, not actually spitting), it was accentuated with a meow. "Meow! Meow! Meow!"

After getting that out of her system, and looking to have more energy again, Tarlotte glanced to Jack with a 'hm?'. "Mwhat are new talking about?" she asked. "And where the hell are we, anyways?!"

@BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @york @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

​

Genji reeled in surprise, only not straight up shoving her for fear of causing harm. He did pull away almost immediately, though. He almost immediately put his mask back on. "That's not what I meant." He did notice that, twice now, she looked steadier after kissing someone. Not hard to put together, though he didn't understand it. Some sort of biological process. It kept him from getting mad. "We are investigating another murder... The murder we were before, I mean." There was quiet suspicion in his voice, followed by a statement that clearly held hidden meaning. At the very least, he was being discreet about it. "Though that was not appreciated, it is good that you are alright."

@Crow @york @Hospes @Josh M @reception​

 

[York]

Replies

Nono had returned from her bathroom trip. Nothing in particular.

"Morikubo is doing alright Ms Wanda-"​

"Morikubo... must've missed a lot..." Nono utters, looking at Tarlotte and Genji's little get-together. She takes a few steps backwards and exclaims with a raspy voice, "wha- what's happening!?"

@Hospes @BarrenThin @york @Josh M @Jeremi @Atomyk @Reception​

The apology didn't seem especially necessary, as, for some odd reason, Tarlotte didn't exactly seem to notice the pain of the impact if she had felt it. Perhaps she had merely built up that much of a pain tolerance, considering she was largely used to being kicked, punched, and smashed around by large robots. Or maybe her shoes had provided some bracing... or it was simply that she was a little more busy dealing with her own, bigger issues.

Thank goodness Genji at least reached out and steadied her before she could fall over again, even if right then, Tarlotte didn't entirely appreciate it. But whatever- he'd have to do. Clearly Yurick wasn't enough, so the catgirl was left begrudgingly forced to take a kiss from this man, too. Even if he was a total asshole for mocking her. So, mustering up what energy she could, she moved to kiss Genji right on the lips.

Were she to succeed, the female kissed him for a long few moments, once again seeming almost as though she were glowing. It was a gesture lacking in lust or passion, something that just simply... happened, before Tarlotte pulled away and began fervently wiping at her lips and spitting off to the side in a childish manner. "Gross!" she complained, as though it weren't her fault she'd kissed him. Each time she 'spat'(though she only seemed to be making the gesture, not actually spitting), it was accentuated with a meow. "Meow! Meow! Meow!"

After getting that out of her system, and looking to have more energy again, Tarlotte glanced to Jack with a 'hm?'. "Mwhat are new talking about?" she asked. "And where the hell are we, anyways?!"

@BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @york @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception​

​

Genji reeled in surprise, only not straight up shoving her for fear of causing harm. He did pull away almost immediately, though. He almost immediately put his mask back on. "That's not what I meant." He did notice that, twice now, she looked steadier after kissing someone. Not hard to put together, though he didn't understand it. Some sort of biological process. It kept him from getting mad. "We are investigating another murder... The murder we were before, I mean." There was quiet suspicion in his voice, followed by a statement that clearly held hidden meaning. At the very least, he was being discreet about it. "Though that was not appreciated, it is good that you are alright."

@Crow @york @Hospes @Josh M @reception​

​

​

Jack Frost
@BarrenThin @Yang Lee @Atomyk @Hospes @Takumi @Josh M @LuckycoolHawk9 @Yun Lee @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Reception

Jack Frost blinked.

"W-Well... That kick took alot out of you..." He said, laughing a little in a nervous manner.

Then, he froze, realizing this might just set off Tarlotte again, but well... It was too late, Jack Frost might need an eyepatch after this...
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