Purgatory: Come and See.

[Kaykay]

"I'm quite average for someone with a Soul like mine. And, no, I'm neither human, nor alien." Though, other than being much taller than the tallest human alive, he looked the part. "I was once, but not for a very long time. So, little Karen," He said in his deep, almost slow voice. "You don't believe half of what you're seeing here, do you?" Brown eyes beaming with intelligence locked onto her intensely.

@Kaykay​

Karen wore a rather blank stare, either out of disbelief or confusion, until he asked her a question.

"Hm? Well, I guess I can't say I've seen a ton of people like you..."

Or really any, at that.

"But seeing is believing, right?" Compared to the armored man, Karen pretty much just looked like a normal kid, if strangely dressed. And for the most part, her life experience matched that.
​

Spider-Gwen found herself hitting a rocky ceiling about forty feet upwards. But a search of the area from the rest of the party would reveal an entrance, leading out to a vast abyss of darkness. Underground, what few good lights they may have were reduced to whatever they had on their persons. Otherwise, the only thing they could use were the fungi. If anything, the smell that wafted appeared to grown fouler here. A pathway, narrow and winding could be seen though it appeared to go deeper, not surface-ward.

And then came the sounds.

[Inserting Mood Music]

It was a skittering noise, a sound of claws on stone and coming in great numbers from the sounds of it. Echoing everywhere in the darkness and coming closer all the while.

Two Options remained at this point.

Fortify Position.

Run.

To either fortify the area they were in, with what they had or to take the dark pathway in the hopes it led somewhere better than this cave.

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

"Huh? What's that noise?"

The girl liked to act as a hero. She copied tokusatsu heroes one would see on TV, like Power Rangers and such. So she decided it was her duty to protect people from danger and defeat evil. Thus, there was no way she was going to run away.

Karen looked in the direction of the noise and got ready to fight it, whatever it was. By the noises it made, it sounded like some sort of weird animal or something. It was probably unwise to just stick around and try to punch what was coming into submission, but Karen didn't really mind that. Much like how she was ignoring the smell in the area, it seemed.

"Come on and come out, whatever you are!"

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato

​

 

[CrunchyCHEEZIT]

Wheatley would internally scream as he saw the Meta reach for his toolkit, his life flashing in his eye.

...Actually, his life was pretty boring, to be honest. A dissapointment. His contemplation was cut short when the saw of skittering was heard, like a spider. Wheatley hated spiders, almost as much as old, senile humans who cant follow directions. Or mutes, or anyone who is like the fellow currently holding him! Wheatley would turn his blue reticule up to try and look at the Meta. "Hey, I have this brilliant plan, yeah? You take me AWAY from the crawli sp--"

THUNK

"OW!" Wheatley said, muffled in the snow. Can't see shit, captain.

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

"Aaaaaaaand that's a no-go. Yup. 'Course it is, doofus, we're underground."

Gwen gave a morose sigh as she told herself what she already knew, the intense sensation of blood rushing to her head unsurprisingly not doing a whole lot to help alleviate her disappointment. Stupid phone... sometimes she wondered why she even bothered splashing out on the 4G plan for this thing. There were so many things she could be spending that money on! Like instant ramen! Or a new hairband! Oooooor... a handbook on how to prioritize apparently because none of this was really all that useful.

She had to focus. The lack of functional GPS tracking on her phone was disheartening to say they least, but she hadn't really expected it to work to begin with. Technology was out; looked like this spectacular spider-chick was just gonna have to rely on good old-fashioned wit and elbow grease!

Oh, and radioactive bug powers. Those too.

Worked for her.

Gripping the web-line she was holding taut and using it to flip herself right-side-up again, Gwen immediately released and let herself drop, plummeting straight down in freefall for a moment with the grace of a swan before she flipped, threw her momentum forward and tucked herself into a ball to land on her feet without a scratch. Pretty much right in the middle of the group. She straightened up to put her hands on her hips and take a look around at the colorful cast of characters (literally. These guys were like a pack of skittles), from the goofy-looking disco cop to the strangely peppy blonde whose outfit seemed like one big "screw you" to girls insecure about their body image everywhere, and sighed after a moment as all her concerns were immediately validated.

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.

Once that was done, however, she switched to a more serious tone.

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.

As un-fun as the whole war between spider totems and Inheritors thing was, she did learn a thing or two from all those tactical audibles.

@CrunchyCHEEZIT @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

 

[Indolent]

Evidently he stood alone, his introduction seemingly having fallen on deaf ears. That was fine, there was no urgent need to immediately become buddy-buddy with everybody. Maybe they looked strange but then again, he'd seen stranger. After all, dinosaurs could become police officers. If that didn't top at least 99.99% of the strange happenings on your list, he didn't know what did then. There was no suspicion on their part for him in the least. Kung Fury was nice like that, seeing as he was a Kung Fu freak of nature. It was only fair.

Though on the other hand if you were of the criminal bent? Then you'd have a serious problem with Kung Fury, the world's greatest cop! Well, his world anyway. Who knows, he may yet become this world's greatest warrior for justice and the legal system.

He really couldn't see anything underground...

Just as well, he wasn't planning on partnering with any of these intriguing characters. Kung Fury worked alone. Still, assistance from civilians was always welcome. That Kung Fury could tolerate. Perhaps he could even deputize them.

He was that good a cop.

Then came the skittering en masse, eliciting the legendary warrior's reaction in way of adopting his customary battle pose. Never leave home without your combat pose kids, it could save a life. Or a dozen.

He stared off down the way into the darkness, seeing absolutely nothing. "Darker in here than I thought. Strange." Kung Fury'd say, forgoing the fact he'd bloody sunglasses on. "That's skittering alright, definitely not your everyday fare." Came the clearing of his throat as he stared intently into the darkness, still wondering to himself why it was so dark. He'd speak again.

"It's my duty to protect the innocent. I'll do my job."

Spider-girl made a compelling case-- and she was now rushing up there in the top 100 weird things o his list-- that made him think long and hard. He stared intently, eyes averting for a moment as he glanced to the side at... something(???) before back. He shook his head.

"Sound plan, fits the bill for someone on the job like me. I'm coming along." He stated, leaving absolutely no room for argument in his case. He'd be remaining with the gargantuan entity and the arachni-kid to fight off the horde. What use would his Kung Fu be if he used it only to run away? Hell no.




@C.T. @Schnee Corp Lawyer @OrlandoBloomers @Jeremi @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Saint Guillotine @BarrenThin @AnyoneElseIMightHaveMissedOops

​

 

[C.T.]

Spider-Gwen found herself hitting a rocky ceiling about forty feet upwards. But a search of the area from the rest of the party would reveal an entrance, leading out to a vast abyss of darkness. Underground, what few good lights they may have were reduced to whatever they had on their persons. Otherwise, the only thing they could use were the fungi. If anything, the smell that wafted appeared to grown fouler here. A pathway, narrow and winding could be seen though it appeared to go deeper, not surface-ward.

And then came the sounds.

[Inserting Mood Music]

It was a skittering noise, a sound of claws on stone and coming in great numbers from the sounds of it. Echoing everywhere in the darkness and coming closer all the while.

Two Options remained at this point.

Fortify Position.

Run.

To either fortify the area they were in, with what they had or to take the dark pathway in the hopes it led somewhere better than this cave.

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

She frowned, stepping a ways from Yang as she tilted her head to the side, leaning closer and cupping a hand around her ear to better focus in and yep there it was.

"....Oooh. Do you hear that? The patter patter of claws. Little baby steps for the cave critters. Hehehehehe. It's death approaching. Dozens of them to say the least, from what I can tell!" She thrust her hands up into the air, holding her hammer aloft. Not in fear, as she didn't feel the least bit afraid. She felt enamored about the situation to be quite honest. This is what she trained every day for. The slayer of monsters and sweet liquid breakfast products alike. She didn't have anywhere else beyond Beacon to call home, so there was no room for failure. Team Lose-iper would not happen. "Yes, death is closing in. Their death! The creeping cave critters will cease to exist and their corpses will forever cover the cold confines of this cavern as their blood colors it in clumps!"​

"Come on and come out, whatever you are!"
​

"YEAH! COME OUT AND GET BOPPED!" She added, cupping her hands over her mouth to embellish her shout. "Wait huh--"​

Wheatley would internally scream as he saw the Meta reach for his toolkit, his life flashing in his eye.

...Actually, his life was pretty boring, to be honest. A dissapointment. His contemplation was cut short when the saw of skittering was heard, like a spider. Wheatley hated spiders, almost as much as old, senile humans who cant follow directions. Or mutes, or anyone who is like the fellow currently holding him! Wheatley would turn his blue reticule up to try and look at the Meta. "Hey, I have this brilliant plan, yeah? You take me AWAY from the crawli sp--"

THUNK

"OW!" Wheatley said, muffled in the snow. Can't see shit, captain.
​

"...I got you little buddy!" She whipped him free and clear of his predicament, shaking him a bit to clear out the excess still clinging to Wheatley. Whether being held onto by Nora was an improvement over the previous remained to be seen...​

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.
​

It was not, as she promptly released the little robot as her attention swung over to the next person, not really razor-sharp focused at the moment. "GASP! It's Friday?? Oh man oh man oh man time flies too fast I could have sworn it was like Tuesday and don't worry I have some dorky friends and they're right as rain!" She grinned, fist pumping down.​

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

​

"I can totally do that! Just watch, I get the order to move and I'd dare anything and anybody to try to keep me rooted to a spot, heeheehee."​

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.

As un-fun as the whole war between spider totems and Inheritors thing was, she did learn a thing or two from all those tactical audibles.
​

"Oh p-shaw, we can do this! That guy has a sword and is huuuuuuge, you've got the sticky webs stuff, someone who's basically a tank," She gestured at Yang. "And the growly guy with the knife...rifle. KNIFLE! Plus then you got the--and you are already leaping away." She blinked a few times before it set in. She was just about to rush after them into the thick of things with her hammer, give them the old one two swing, batter up!​

"Sound plan, fits the bill for someone on the job like me. I'm coming along." He stated, leaving absolutely no room for argument in his case. He'd be remaining with the gargantuan entity and the arachni-kid to fight off the horde. What use would his Kung Fu be if he used it only to run away? Hell no.

​

But he had it covered. "Awww, I wanted to go." Her shoulders slumped in brief disappointment...before her whole body rose up, surging with newfound excitement as she laughed maniacally. "Consider yourselves covered!!!" She shouted down the cavern with glee, vaulting up to higher ground, hammer already transitioning to grenade launcher mode. She stood strong, holding Magnhild at waist level beforeeeeeee she blinked once more, looking left and right as she considered.

One long look, almost straight up. "...oh. It would suck if I brought the cave down on all our heads. Maybe I should use the hammer instead. HEY! GUYS! UM...CAN WE JUST ALL AGREE IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT IN PARTICULAR IF THE CAVE COMES DOWN?!"

@Saint Guillotine @OrlandoBloomers @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

 

[BarrenThin]

"Aaaaaaaand that's a no-go. Yup. 'Course it is, doofus, we're underground."

Gwen gave a morose sigh as she told herself what she already knew, the intense sensation of blood rushing to her head unsurprisingly not doing a whole lot to help alleviate her disappointment. Stupid phone... sometimes she wondered why she even bothered splashing out on the 4G plan for this thing. There were so many things she could be spending that money on! Like instant ramen! Or a new hairband! Oooooor... a handbook on how to prioritize apparently because none of this was really all that useful.

She had to focus. The lack of functional GPS tracking on her phone was disheartening to say they least, but she hadn't really expected it to work to begin with. Technology was out; looked like this spectacular spider-chick was just gonna have to rely on good old-fashioned wit and elbow grease!

Oh, and radioactive bug powers. Those too.

Worked for her.

Gripping the web-line she was holding taut and using it to flip herself right-side-up again, Gwen immediately released and let herself drop, plummeting straight down in freefall for a moment with the grace of a swan before she flipped, threw her momentum forward and tucked herself into a ball to land on her feet without a scratch. Pretty much right in the middle of the group. She straightened up to put her hands on her hips and take a look around at the colorful cast of characters (literally. These guys were like a pack of skittles), from the goofy-looking disco cop to the strangely peppy blonde whose outfit seemed like one big "screw you" to girls insecure about their body image everywhere, and sighed after a moment as all her concerns were immediately validated.

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.

Once that was done, however, she switched to a more serious tone.

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.

As un-fun as the whole war between spider totems and Inheritors thing was, she did learn a thing or two from all those tactical audibles.

@CrunchyCHEEZIT @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

Alonne didn't understand the joke, but laughed anyways.

At the strategic advice, he nodded and put his helmet back on. Stepping to the front, he rolled his shoulders back and stretched a little. "I'm not completely sure what you mean by 'blaze of glory', little one, but, if you mean dying in battle..." He dropped into a fighting stance.

"... Then I assure you there's no way I'd rather die!" He laughed again, a bit louder this time. "If death is what awaits me here, than so be it! A millenia is too long for a warrior to live; I'm starting to grow bored of battle!" He laughed at his own little joke before he, this time, became more serious. "... However, I understand not everyone will share in my desire to find opponents equal to or greater than I, so I will not judge those that flee... too harshly, at least."

She frowned, stepping a ways from Yang as she tilted her head to the side, leaning closer and cupping a hand around her ear to better focus in and yep there it was.

"....Oooh. Do you hear that? The patter patter of claws. Little baby steps for the cave critters. Hehehehehe. It's death approaching. Dozens of them to say the least, from what I can tell!" She thrust her hands up into the air, holding her hammer aloft. Not in fear, as she didn't feel the least bit afraid. She felt enamored about the situation to be quite honest. This is what she trained every day for. The slayer of monsters and sweet liquid breakfast products alike. She didn't have anywhere else beyond Beacon to call home, so there was no room for failure. Team Lose-iper would not happen. "Yes, death is closing in. Their death! The creeping cave critters will cease to exist and their corpses will forever cover the cold confines of this cavern as their blood colors it in clumps!"



"YEAH! COME OUT AND GET BOPPED!" She added, cupping her hands over her mouth to embellish her shout. "Wait huh--"

"...I got you little buddy!" She whipped him free and clear of his predicament, shaking him a bit to clear out the excess still clinging to Wheatley. Whether being held onto by Nora was an improvement over the previous remained to be seen...

It was not, as she promptly released the little robot as her attention swung over to the next person, not really razor-sharp focused at the moment. "GASP! It's Friday?? Oh man oh man oh man time flies too fast I could have sworn it was like Tuesday and don't worry I have some dorky friends and they're right as rain!" She grinned, fist pumping down.

"I can totally do that! Just watch, I get the order to move and I'd dare anything and anybody to try to keep me rooted to a spot, heeheehee."

"Oh p-shaw, we can do this! That guy has a sword and is huuuuuuge, you've got the sticky webs stuff, who's basically Mike Tyson," She gestured at Yang. "And the growly guy with the knife...rifle. KNIFLE! Plus then you got the--and you are already leaping away." She blinked a few times before it set in. She was just about to rush after them into the thick of things with her hammer, give them the old one two swing, batter up!

But he had it covered. "Awww, I wanted to go." Her shoulders slumped in brief disappointment...before her whole body rose up, surging with newfound excitement as she laughed maniacally. "Consider yourselves covered!!!" She shouted down the cavern with glee, vaulting up to higher ground, hammer already transitioning to grenade launcher mode. She stood strong, holding Magnhild at waist level, and she blinked once more, looking left and right as she considered.

One long look, almost straight up. "...Gee. It would suck if I brought the cave down on all our heads. Maybe I should use the hammer instead. HEY! GUYS! UM...CAN WE JUST ALL AGREE IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT IN PARTICULAR IF THE CAVE COMES DOWN?!"

@Saint Guillotine @OrlandoBloomers @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato

"I would appreciate it if you avoided such a thing, little one. I very much like not being crushed under a mountain of earth."



@Saint Guillotine @OrlandoBloomers @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @El Tigre! @C.T. @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

"Aaaaaaaand that's a no-go. Yup. 'Course it is, doofus, we're underground."

Gwen gave a morose sigh as she told herself what she already knew, the intense sensation of blood rushing to her head unsurprisingly not doing a whole lot to help alleviate her disappointment. Stupid phone... sometimes she wondered why she even bothered splashing out on the 4G plan for this thing. There were so many things she could be spending that money on! Like instant ramen! Or a new hairband! Oooooor... a handbook on how to prioritize apparently because none of this was really all that useful.

She had to focus. The lack of functional GPS tracking on her phone was disheartening to say they least, but she hadn't really expected it to work to begin with. Technology was out; looked like this spectacular spider-chick was just gonna have to rely on good old-fashioned wit and elbow grease!

Oh, and radioactive bug powers. Those too.

Worked for her.

Gripping the web-line she was holding taut and using it to flip herself right-side-up again, Gwen immediately released and let herself drop, plummeting straight down in freefall for a moment with the grace of a swan before she flipped, threw her momentum forward and tucked herself into a ball to land on her feet without a scratch. Pretty much right in the middle of the group. She straightened up to put her hands on her hips and take a look around at the colorful cast of characters (literally. These guys were like a pack of skittles), from the goofy-looking disco cop to the strangely peppy blonde whose outfit seemed like one big "screw you" to girls insecure about their body image everywhere, and sighed after a moment as all her concerns were immediately validated.

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.

Once that was done, however, she switched to a more serious tone.

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.

As un-fun as the whole war between spider totems and Inheritors thing was, she did learn a thing or two from all those tactical audibles.

@CrunchyCHEEZIT @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

"Grrr.."

Where did this costumed brat get off giving off orders like she was in charge? More to the point, he already knew he looked cool. He didn't care if any of these people lived to see the end of the day or if they survived to pester him some more. The only one who had any sort of value in the Meta's eyes was that of Wheatly. If only because the machine served to give him some degree of amusement and maybe when he actually had time to sit down and think it over, he'd rip him open and use his innards to finish building the capture unit.

Huh. Sounded a lot less morbid when he was about to pry Wheately open. In any case that girl with the spider-like costume and abilities suggested those with ranged weapons take higher ground to help blast whatever managed to get through her and the massive sword-wielder. Seemed simple enough he supposed even if he didn't like being ordered around one little bit. He'd gone through that kind of treatment with Wash and he was in no hurry to repeat it.

But then again, he could always blast them with the Brute Shot and then finish them off with his bare hands. Nothing there that seemed to state he couldn't. Slipping the Brute Shot onto his back once more, he sprinted forward before leaping to try and reach some higher ground.

​

She frowned, stepping a ways from Yang as she tilted her head to the side, leaning closer and cupping a hand around her ear to better focus in and yep there it was.

"....Oooh. Do you hear that? The patter patter of claws. Little baby steps for the cave critters. Hehehehehe. It's death approaching. Dozens of them to say the least, from what I can tell!" She thrust her hands up into the air, holding her hammer aloft. Not in fear, as she didn't feel the least bit afraid. She felt enamored about the situation to be quite honest. This is what she trained every day for. The slayer of monsters and sweet liquid breakfast products alike. She didn't have anywhere else beyond Beacon to call home, so there was no room for failure. Team Lose-iper would not happen. "Yes, death is closing in. Their death! The creeping cave critters will cease to exist and their corpses will forever cover the cold confines of this cavern as their blood colors it in clumps!"​

"YEAH! COME OUT AND GET BOPPED!" She added, cupping her hands over her mouth to embellish her shout. "Wait huh--"​

"...I got you little buddy!" She whipped him free and clear of his predicament, shaking him a bit to clear out the excess still clinging to Wheatley. Whether being held onto by Nora was an improvement over the previous remained to be seen...​

It was not, as she promptly released the little robot as her attention swung over to the next person, not really razor-sharp focused at the moment. "GASP! It's Friday?? Oh man oh man oh man time flies too fast I could have sworn it was like Tuesday and don't worry I have some dorky friends and they're right as rain!" She grinned, fist pumping down.​

"I can totally do that! Just watch, I get the order to move and I'd dare anything and anybody to try to keep me rooted to a spot, heeheehee."​

"Oh p-shaw, we can do this! That guy has a sword and is huuuuuuge, you've got the sticky webs stuff, someone who's basically a tank," She gestured at Yang. "And the growly guy with the knife...rifle. KNIFLE! Plus then you got the--and you are already leaping away." She blinked a few times before it set in. She was just about to rush after them into the thick of things with her hammer, give them the old one two swing, batter up!​

But he had it covered. "Awww, I wanted to go." Her shoulders slumped in brief disappointment...before her whole body rose up, surging with newfound excitement as she laughed maniacally. "Consider yourselves covered!!!" She shouted down the cavern with glee, vaulting up to higher ground, hammer already transitioning to grenade launcher mode. She stood strong, holding Magnhild at waist level beforeeeeeee she blinked once more, looking left and right as she considered.

One long look, almost straight up. "...oh. It would suck if I brought the cave down on all our heads. Maybe I should use the hammer instead. HEY! GUYS! UM...CAN WE JUST ALL AGREE IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT IN PARTICULAR IF THE CAVE COMES DOWN?!"

@Saint Guillotine @OrlandoBloomers @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

"Grr!"

He supposed in one respect he should have taken her pointing him out as a compliment. But he was more focused on what she had called his weapon. The same weapon that had served him throughout many battles and had even saved his life and she spoke of it like anyone seeing it for the first time would! It had a name and it was one he'd let her so that same mistake didn't happen again. Even better, she'd get a front row seat to it in action.

Things didn't seem that difficult at the moment. Slaughter whatever came past the ones taking the creatures on in close quarters, survive and find an exit to this place, find Epsilon and attach him to his armor.

It was only as the Meta scanned his surroundings that he noticed that he'd made a mistake. Admitting to one was usually rare as he was the Meta so what mistakes would he have to make? But when that girl had mentioned high ground, she really meant it.

"Grr..."

@Saint Guillotine @OrlandoBloomers @BarrenThin @Schnee Corp Lawyer @El Tigre! @C.T. @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel@Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato

​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Me too! I mean, this isn't even like one of my dreams so it's more than a bit disconcerting." She blinked, looking over at Yang. It was now her turn to reply "Wait...what?" She blinked a few more times before it really sunk in and Nora threw a fist up into the air exuberantly. "I'm flattered Yang! Either of those combinations makes me the leader and I'm glad you think I could do it. It'd be so awesome, leading that kickbutt team! Grimm would have nothing on us!"​

Yang snorted "Well of course it'd be you! It couldn't be Yatsu since he doesn't talk basically ever. It couldn't be Arslan because she'd obviously only be able to be on the team part time since she's basically her team's mom. And it couldn't be me because no way am I gonna do all those post mission reports Weiss does for Ruby because her will is sad and pathetic in the face of any sort of pleading. Plus you'd get to yell all your orders really loud so we'd never get confused and they couldn't give us any boring stealth missions! It'd be perfect! 'Sides, Nyahs' a cute sound. You know-" She raised her hand and flicked her wrist forward "-Nyah~"​

Spider-Gwen found herself hitting a rocky ceiling about forty feet upwards. But a search of the area from the rest of the party would reveal an entrance, leading out to a vast abyss of darkness. Underground, what few good lights they may have were reduced to whatever they had on their persons. Otherwise, the only thing they could use were the fungi. If anything, the smell that wafted appeared to grown fouler here. A pathway, narrow and winding could be seen though it appeared to go deeper, not surface-ward.

And then came the sounds.

[Inserting Mood Music]

It was a skittering noise, a sound of claws on stone and coming in great numbers from the sounds of it. Echoing everywhere in the darkness and coming closer all the while.

Two Options remained at this point.

Fortify Position.

Run.

To either fortify the area they were in, with what they had or to take the dark pathway in the hopes it led somewhere better than this cave.

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

Yang froze mid cat imitation and flicked her eyes back and forth at the sudden influx of sound, before she smirked and straightened out to cracked her knuckles. "Looks like even if it wasn't you this is still gonna be a hands on field trip, Beacon style." She said with a smug grin as she glanced around at everyone else "Since we're all dressed so ridiculously colorful and none of us are just black outlines I'll just go ahead and assume y'all are at least hunters in training, so whats everyone's semb-"

It was just out of the corner of her eye that she saw the blur, way before any of the sounds seemed to herald any sort of hostile arrivals. Yang nonetheless pivoted from goofy to on point on a dime, twisting as her bracelets went from cute accessory to ass-kicking weapons in a blink as she raised her fist back to cock the chamber

*C-CHIK*-​

Gripping the web-line she was holding taut and using it to flip herself right-side-up again, Gwen immediately released and let herself drop, plummeting straight down in freefall for a moment with the grace of a swan before she flipped, threw her momentum forward and tucked herself into a ball to land on her feet without a scratch. Pretty much right in the middle of the group. She straightened up to put her hands on her hips and take a look around at the colorful cast of characters (literally. These guys were like a pack of skittles), from the goofy-looking disco cop to the strangely peppy blonde whose outfit seemed like one big "screw you" to girls insecure about their body image everywhere, and sighed after a moment as all her concerns were immediately validated.

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"​

"..."

Yang stood there for a few seconds with her fist still pulled back ready to deliver a whallopin as she registered that it wasn't any sort of albino grimm ninja that had landed in their mists. Just a... spider themed regular ninja with a cute outfit but absolutely miserable camoflauge with all that white... Unless she was a snow ninja. But what kind of spider lived in the sno- no. Focus.

"I swear if this is just the worlds most convoluted invite to a costume party I am gonna be so ticked I didn't get a chance to pick one out :<. Right, so-"​

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.

Once that was done, however, she switched to a more serious tone.

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.
​

Well then. Yang wasn't honestly the biggest fan of taking orders. Oh sure everything the girl was saying made enough sense and someone probably needed to take charge if a bunch of strangers were gonna be able to work together at all, but Yang'd be lying if she said it didn't grate on her nerves a teensy bit when a random chick literally dropped from the shadows of the cave-o'-doom and started barking orders at her when the last thing she remembered was getting her ass whooped by a door =w=. But whatever, her ego was about 1000% less important than everyone's safety, it was a good plan, and there was at least one more opening for the fun part of the plan. Her smirk came back as she knocked her fists together to get herself pumped, the sound a satisfying smack as she volunteered

"Then I'll-"
​

"Sound plan, fits the bill for someone on the job like me. I'm coming along."

"...I'll... go for a jog with the others I guess." She said with a disappointed huff blowing past her lips as she deflated from her combat stance. Stupid Grammar Cop stealing her job and her sister's text color. Worst field trip ever so far >_>. At least with Nora doing the covering fire the view would be colorful. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to blaze a good trail! ;D" She said as she turned to sprint for the path to find that bottleneck spider ninja asked for.

...

Right. No one besides Nora knew her here. She cleared her throat and paused for a moment to turn and add to whoever was listening. "Ok that pun'll make sense in about a minute so just remember it that long so you can laugh cuz it'lll be funny. ok? ok. Cool. Lets go" Then she made her sprint

@E'rybody
​

 

[Jeremi]

"Aaaaaaaand that's a no-go. Yup. 'Course it is, doofus, we're underground."

Gwen gave a morose sigh as she told herself what she already knew, the intense sensation of blood rushing to her head unsurprisingly not doing a whole lot to help alleviate her disappointment. Stupid phone... sometimes she wondered why she even bothered splashing out on the 4G plan for this thing. There were so many things she could be spending that money on! Like instant ramen! Or a new hairband! Oooooor... a handbook on how to prioritize apparently because none of this was really all that useful.

She had to focus. The lack of functional GPS tracking on her phone was disheartening to say they least, but she hadn't really expected it to work to begin with. Technology was out; looked like this spectacular spider-chick was just gonna have to rely on good old-fashioned wit and elbow grease!

Oh, and radioactive bug powers. Those too.

Worked for her.

Gripping the web-line she was holding taut and using it to flip herself right-side-up again, Gwen immediately released and let herself drop, plummeting straight down in freefall for a moment with the grace of a swan before she flipped, threw her momentum forward and tucked herself into a ball to land on her feet without a scratch. Pretty much right in the middle of the group. She straightened up to put her hands on her hips and take a look around at the colorful cast of characters (literally. These guys were like a pack of skittles), from the goofy-looking disco cop to the strangely peppy blonde whose outfit seemed like one big "screw you" to girls insecure about their body image everywhere, and sighed after a moment as all her concerns were immediately validated.

"Yep. Totally the only one here in a costume. Sigh. How come I always miss the Casual Friday memos? Way to make me feel like a dork, guys!"

And no, armor didn't count. She threw her hands up in a comical "c'mooooooon!" gesture, sneakily gauging who smiled and who made the murder eyes at her so she knew who was chill and who wasn't. It never hurt to be sure.

Once that was done, however, she switched to a more serious tone.

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

She left little room for argument, already gesturing for Alonne to follow her and deftly leaping for the cave wall, crawling in the face of gravity and moving forward to block the path between whatever was coming and the path. There wasn't a whole lot of time for strategising; either they formed up or they didn't and it devolved into an all-out melee, but whatever they did they had to do it fast and stick with it.

As un-fun as the whole war between spider totems and Inheritors thing was, she did learn a thing or two from all those tactical audibles.

@CrunchyCHEEZIT @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

Well seems someone here had a good head on their shoulders at least. "Well ma'am if you need any assistance..." Kaku would draw his two swords. "I'll do the best I can." While the plan was sound he wasn't quite sure if splitting up this early was in the best interest of the group, but he waited to see what would happen next...

@CrunchyCHEEZIT @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

 

[CrunchyCHEEZIT]

Wheatley's eye jutted around in a panicked manner, his chassis creaking wildly "DONTHURTMEDONTHURTMEDONT--", halting upon the sight of Nora holding him, "..Oh, heh-heh, hello! You are looking..uh..good today? Are you gonna growl at me? Not a fan of that idea, not at all, but if you DO happen to feel like growling at me, then I am going to assume everyone here are actually cannibals of some kind, and scream myself to death."

Wheatley paused.

"...Alriiight, no growling? No growling! Perfect, ha-ha! So, uh, do you know whats happened here? I was just mozying along the Extended Relaxation Center, yeah? Looking for this one test subject that was supposed to help me get outta there, but when I open the door, everything exploded! Everything! And I-- wait.." Wheatley took the time to scan his surroundings, the blue reticule slowly sweeping across the landscape. "..Im..im OUT OF THE TEST FACILITY! OUT OF HER REACH! HA-HA! Oh, my god, I just realized that! Just now! HAAAH! I AM FREE! I...I...is there a dentist place anywhere nearby?"

Meta should have gotten that toolkit out faster.


@Jermi @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Lissamel @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato
​

 

[Lissamel]

Zey are ignoring us. How dare zey ignore ze great general Bonaparte.

Um, right, but--Um, li-like you said--I'm not actually a real general, that's you?

Ah. Zank you, Fred. Seems your stupid mind was put to some good use.

Wait--No! That's, that is not what I meant at all, lemme keep my body!
​

"Phew. Okay. Icebreaker done. So, listen, I'm totally fine with squadding up and all with you weird people I don't know, but dontcha think we should... y'know... move, or something? Don't get me wrong, standing in one spot and saying "Grr" makes for a cool movie moment-- no offense, chrome dome--"

She flashed the Meta a winning grin (unfortunately lost beneath her mask's layer of fabric) and a conciliatory peace sign for good measure.

"--but it sounds like there's a buttload of these things. I'm sure you're all badasses in your own special way, but you'd be surprised how little weight being badass carries when you're up against major number-age. Unless you guys're good with probably half of us or more going out in a blaze of glory before we even figure out what's going on, we gotta do this right. My ranged fighter peeps, where you be at?! Use the rock formations to get the high ground and do your thing; I need two people who pack a punch up-close to stick with me and give whatever we're up against a big "hello". Big dude with samurai sword, you look like you fit the bill. The rest of you, run for that passageway! Keep your eyes forward and signal us when it's tight enough to bottleneck, got it?"

In his silence, Fred had been trying to figure out the rest of the group--And also how to section off the floor to make the odd grid of a Waterloo-O board, but the latter was neither here nor there. He had deduced that they were, in fact, not prisoners of war. Neither was he, for that matter (unless you counted the metaphorical sense). There were people with armor who looked scary, there was a large variety of...Young girls? Teenage? Early twenties? Fred couldn't quite gauge. There was an orb that kept talking (and from what he could hear, sounded cowardly--Clearly you would like him already, wouldn't you Fred?), and most importantly, this vaguely feminine person in a costume. She had a plan, and also orders, both of which he could very much respect. Even had a part all set for him, i.e., running.

"Well, um--I m-mean--I'm not sure you could call me a--Erm--But I could try, and--"

Fred sort of twitched. While Fred was all for this plan, Napoleon was not at all.

"What sort of credentials do you even have to lead an army!?" When Napoleon was talking, Fred's posture quite noticeably shifted: straighter, taller, more proud somehow, more haughty, "Some sort of teenage girl leading ze army, hah! Zat is unheard of! If we are going to lead this..." He took a glance around the group with a sneer of disapproval, "Ramshackle group of misfits, we obviously want someone with an iota of talent at zeir disposal? Hmm? Now, if you don' mind, I, ze actual general, will formulate a plan."

Then, abruptly, Fred went back into his hunched position. He was shivering again, but this time out of the fear that everyone heard him do that, oh please nobody acknowledge him he was okay with being lonely, really! He always had the company of himself, as much as he didn't like it.

"A-actually, um...Don't...Let's just go with your plan, and, and not any that he--I?--Um, we--We make up. ... S-sorry."

If you were to steer zese morons to glory, Fred, I could count it as a victory.

I'm not a real general! I couldn't lead a group of puppies!

[ @OrlandoBloomers @Jermi @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @TheSpringwoodSlasher @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato ]​

 

[C.T.]

"Grrr.."

Where did this costumed brat get off giving off orders like she was in charge? More to the point, he already knew he looked cool. He didn't care if any of these people lived to see the end of the day or if they survived to pester him some more.

In any case that girl with the spider-like costume and abilities suggested those with ranged weapons take higher ground to help blast whatever managed to get through her and the massive sword-wielder. Seemed simple enough he supposed even if he didn't like being ordered around one little bit. He'd gone through that kind of treatment with Wash and he was in no hurry to repeat it. ​

"This is no time for petty arguments, Mister Meta! It's less an opinion and more trying to utilize skills to the fullest! Rip the enemy to shreds and all."​

"Grr!"

He supposed in one respect he should have taken her pointing him out as a compliment. But he was more focused on what she had called his weapon. The same weapon that had served him throughout many battles and had even saved his life and she spoke of it like anyone seeing it for the first time would! It had a name and it was one he'd let her so that same mistake didn't happen again. Even better, she'd get a front row seat to it in action. ​

"The Brute Shot? That sounds...very straight forward. Not very cool or poetic, like the poems Ren is so fond of! Like see, look." She pulled her grenade launcher higher. "See this is Magnhild! And my team's weapons are cool too, there's Miló and Akoúo̱, Crocea Mors, and StormFlower! You'd never guess the functions with just the names so it's like, more creative! Plus...that gun totally has a big blade. The possibilities are many!"​

It was only as the Meta scanned his surroundings that he noticed that he'd made a mistake. Admitting to one was usually rare as he was the Meta so what mistakes would he have to make? But when that girl had mentioned high ground, she really meant it.

"Grr..."​

"Wait...you're scared of heights?"​

 

[BarrenThin]

Zey are ignoring us. How dare zey ignore ze great general Bonaparte.

Um, right, but--Um, li-like you said--I'm not actually a real general, that's you?

Ah. Zank you, Fred. Seems your stupid mind was put to some good use.

Wait--No! That's, that is not what I meant at all, lemme keep my body!
​

In his silence, Fred had been trying to figure out the rest of the group--And also how to section off the floor to make the odd grid of a Waterloo-O board, but the latter was neither here nor there. He had deduced that they were, in fact, not prisoners of war. Neither was he, for that matter (unless you counted the metaphorical sense). There were people with armor who looked scary, there was a large variety of...Young girls? Teenage? Early twenties? Fred couldn't quite gauge. There was an orb that kept talking (and from what he could hear, sounded cowardly--Clearly you would like him already, wouldn't you Fred?), and most importantly, this vaguely feminine person in a costume. She had a plan, and also orders, both of which he could very much respect. Even had a part all set for him, i.e., running.

"Well, um--I m-mean--I'm not sure you could call me a--Erm--But I could try, and--"

Fred sort of twitched. While Fred was all for this plan, Napoleon was not at all.

"What sort of credentials do you even have to lead an army!?" When Napoleon was talking, Fred's posture quite noticeably shifted: straighter, taller, more proud somehow, more haughty, "Some sort of teenage girl leading ze army, hah! Zat is unheard of! If we are going to lead this..." He took a glance around the group with a sneer of disapproval, "Ramshackle group of misfits, we obviously want someone with an iota of talent at zeir disposal? Hmm? Now, if you don' mind, I, ze actual general, will formulate a plan."

Then, abruptly, Fred went back into his hunched position. He was shivering again, but this time out of the fear that everyone heard him do that, oh please nobody acknowledge him he was okay with being lonely, really! He always had the company of himself, as much as he didn't like it.

"A-actually, um...Don't...Let's just go with your plan, and, and not any that he--I?--Um, we--We make up. ... S-sorry."

If you were to steer zese morons to glory, Fred, I could count it as a victory.

I'm not a real general! I couldn't lead a group of puppies!

[ @OrlandoBloomers @Jermi @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @TheSpringwoodSlasher @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi @Thuro The Assassin Potato ]​

Alonne, he himself being an accomplished leader of men, rocked back on his heels before making eye contact with the individual as he spoke... and just chuckled. Well, this was interesting. Alonne had no issues following orders, unlike several members of present company, but he was very selective with who he took orders from. They had to meet a certain criteria. Confidence without arrogance. Wisdom. Intelligence. Honor. Strength. In absence of a leader that possessed such things, he would step up, if the others would have him.

As of yet, few had displayed any of these traits, Gwen displaying the most so far. She had not presumed to treat them as less than her, though she was confident enough to step forward. She clearly understood the general idea of battle strategy. Now honor, wisdom and strength would have to be tested! So, for now, he would fall back quietly, though he placed no confidence in her plan as of yet. Only time would tell what he thought of Gwen!

Nevertheless, back to the matter at hand.

He just waved dismissively at Fred, for he already failed Alonne's test. "Shoo, little general. You do not give any orders here." He glanced at Gwen. "Tread lightly, young one, for you do not either, and I fear not all will be as willing to follow as I for long."


@OrlandoBloomers @Jeremi @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @Lissamel @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

 

[Kaykay]

"Costume?" Karen broke from the fighting stance she'd chosen to take and turned to the spider girl .

"So you really are a cosplayer?"

Anyway.

Karen was about to run forward to volunteer when the man of the law acted faster. Phooey.

"Oh...dang it. Well, I guess I'll leave it to you guys then! Shout if it's too much for you, I'll come back running!"

If she put more thought into it, she'd probably wonder why she was following the random girl's orders. But, of course, she didn't. Karen didn't really listen to orders, and would usually just do what she felt was right. But as she hadn't actually seen the potential danger here, she didn't feel too excited or hyped up to go fight. Instead, the spider woman's assertiveness just sort of made her listen without really thinking about it.

As Karen was completely lacking in ranged weaponry, or any weaponry that wasn't her own body for that matter, she couldn't assist like that either. Not that she'd want to. Sitting back and firing sounded terribly boring, though still better than turning tail and running. But there was no more room for her, so off running she was to go.
​

One long look, almost straight up. "...oh. It would suck if I brought the cave down on all our heads. Maybe I should use the hammer instead. HEY! GUYS! UM...CAN WE JUST ALL AGREE IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT IN PARTICULAR IF THE CAVE COMES DOWN?!"

"In a fight for justice, there's no time to think about the consequences! It's alright, just do your best!"

She clearly wasn't thinking too far ahead there.​

"...I'll... go for a jog with the others I guess." She said with a disappointed huff blowing past her lips as she deflated from her combat stance. Stupid Grammar Cop stealing her job and her sister's text color. Worst field trip ever so far >_>. At least with Nora doing the covering fire the view would be colorful. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to blaze a good trail! :D" She said as she turned to sprint for the path to find that bottleneck spider ninja asked for.

...

Right. No one besides Nora knew her here. She cleared her throat and paused for a moment to turn and add to whoever was listening. "Ok that pun'll make sense in about a minute so just remember it that long so you can laugh cuz it'lll be funny. ok? ok. Cool. Lets go" Then she made her sprint​

...

"Was that supposed to be a pun on my name?" Her name contained the character for "fire" in it. "Wait wait wait, that doesn't really make sense..." she grumbled thoughtfully before taking off running.

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi​

 

[Ringmaster]

The noise grew and grew....The sound screeching and wild, all around them but no enemy could be seen out of the doorway.

And then from all around them, from every crack...In the walls, the ceiling and the floors they came.

Rats! The very floor rippled with the vermin, the largest the size of rabbits as they came out en-mass. They dropped onto heads, they crawled up pants legs, they bit and they clawed. A thick floor of fur and a canophy of screeching echoing endlessly in the caves, the dim light a counterpoint to the sudden horrendous stench these vermin brought.

Five in particular ran up Alonne's pants leg. : |

What do they do?

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

"This is no time for petty arguments, Mister Meta! It's less an opinion and more trying to utilize skills to the fullest! Rip the enemy to shreds and all."​

"The Brute Shot? That sounds...very straight forward. Not very cool or poetic, like the poems Ren is so fond of! Like see, look." She pulled her grenade launcher higher. "See this is Magnhild! And my team's weapons are cool too, there's Miló and Akoúo̱, Crocea Mors, and StormFlower! You'd never guess the functions with just the names so it's like, more creative! Plus...that gun totally has a big blade. The possibilities are many!"​

"Wait...you're scared of heights?"​

"Grr.." He'd nod his head in regards to the naming of weapons. The Brute Shot wasn't used for 'pretty' or any kind of 'poetic' work. It was used to rip and tear and to brutalize whoever was unfortunate/stupid enough to get in his way. Besides, nobody usually lived long enough to think too hard about the name in any case.

At Nora's second comment however, even with his armor hiding his expression the freelancer's body shook with rage.The kind of rage that one got when they were accused of something that was very much true. But they totally didn't want to admit it. "Grr!!"

As the rats began to crawl out of every nook and cranny it seemed, the Meta's growling grew much louder and much more agitated. Clenching his hand into a fist, the Meta pulled his fist back while staring at any of the rats that may have been gnawing on him. They might not have been able to chew through his armor but if they kept distracting him like this..

"Grr!"

Due to the rat's proximity however, their reflection on his helmet showed the Meta that there were some kind of green boils atop them. He wasn't sure what sort of liquid resided within such boils but he didn't want to find out. He sought to punch any of the rats off him and looked over to Nora while in the midst of doing so and let out yet another growl in her direction since she seemed to be the only one here who could understand him.

@C.T. @OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @Kaykay @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @BarrenThin @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Jeremi​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

"It's a ratastrophe!"

...

"Eeeeeeeh, not my best work. I'll keep trying. Change of plan, guys, back up! Put some distance between us and the horde; nutty ginger chick, make with the explosions to keep 'em off us!"

This cavern was a natural formation from the looks of things, so odds were it was sturdy enough to hold up structurally. And if not, well... dodging falling rocks was one of her favorite things to do, anyways. As far as the complaints on her dropping from the ceiling and rattling off orders went, Gwen totally got it-- no one died and made her queen. Problem was, someone would if somebody didn't try instill some semblance of cohesion. They could impeach her after this for all she cared. Right now, she was just trying to keep everyone alive.

Rats were hairy, gross, and probably carried about a dozen different forms of disease and bacteria a head. They were also, comparative to her, slow as molasses, and between her own dexterity and spider sense she was able to keep on her toes, constantly springing and flipping between the vermin with even more grace than a circus acrobat, never in the same spot for more than a millisecond. There was only so long she could dance around so many, though, so after a few moments she took a more powerful leap and retreated to the relative safety of the wall, clinging to a spot fairly high up as she took quick stock of the situation. Hmm. If those at the front found that bottleneck point like she asked, they could always...

...Well... it was worth a shot. Assuming those who hadn't already ran ahead into the passageway were doing so now, Gwen waited until the last stragglers were past a certain point and swung into action, dropping to the cavern floor, facing down the rats, and doing what any good spider would do.

She spun a web.

The THWIPP THWAPP of her wrist-mounted web shooters was barely audible over the scampering of the horde as she directed the webbing in a spray, forming a thick barrier from wall-to-wall in a matter of seconds in the hopes of obstructing the swarm's progress.

"C'mon, 'shooters, don't let me down now... Web! WEB LIKE YOU NEVER WEBBED BEFORE!"

@look ma no tags​

 

[Jeremi]

The noise grew and grew....The sound screeching and wild, all around them but no enemy could be seen out of the doorway.

And then from all around them, from every crack...In the walls, the ceiling and the floors they came.

Rats! The very floor rippled with the vermin, the largest the size of rabbits as they came out en-mass. They dropped onto heads, they crawled up pants legs, they bit and they clawed. A thick floor of fur and a canophy of screeching echoing endlessly in the caves, the dim light a counterpoint to the sudden horrendous stench these vermin brought.

Five in particular ran up Alonne's pants leg. : |

What do they do?

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

Well that wasn't disgusting at all. Kaku would hold the sword in his usual reverse grip style as he stared at the oncoming horde. The muscles would tense in his leg before he'd do a quick and powerful kick that would send a sharp and compressed airblade towards the rat horde.

"We better get going unless we-" He stopped mid sentence seeing that the woman in white was telling them. Another sound plan. He'd comply with her wishes and with a few quick movements of his legs he'd look on as Gwen did her thing. "That wont hold them forever, I suggest we'd get a move on so that we don't get caught and a similar situation any time soon."

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Assassin Assassin

 

[BarrenThin]

Well that wasn't disgusting at all. Kaku would hold the sword in his usual reverse grip style as he stared at the oncoming horde. The muscles would tense in his leg before he'd do a quick and powerful kick that would send a sharp and compressed airblade towards the rat horde.

"We better get going unless we-" He stopped mid sentence seeing that the woman in white was telling them. Another sound plan. He'd comply with her wishes and with a few quick movements of his legs he'd look on as Gwen did her thing. "That wont hold them forever, I suggest we'd get a move on so that we don't get caught and a similar situation any time soon."

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Assassin Assassin

Alonne felt the rats scurry up his leg, but he wasn't worried about any sort of diseases or poisons. Part of having a special Soul was being healthy as a god! So when the warrior started punching himself to get them out, it was more out of annoyance at the pricking sensation of their bites than any sort of fear. He still understood the difference between fighting an army and just being swarmed from head to toe by rats, though. "Time to go!" With a blur of motion, he was suddenly up with the ranged attackers in a matter of moments. "Those explosives would be quite useful, yes!"

Reeling back his sword, he sent a blast of dark energy at the oncoming rats, it exploding on contact.


@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Jeremi @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

​

 

[Lissamel]

Alonne, he himself being an accomplished leader of men, rocked back on his heels before making eye contact with the individual as he spoke... and just chuckled. Well, this was interesting. Alonne had no issues following orders, unlike several members of present company, but he was very selective with who he took orders from. They had to meet a certain criteria. Confidence without arrogance. Wisdom. Intelligence. Honor. Strength. In absence of a leader that possessed such things, he would step up, if the others would have him.

As of yet, few had displayed any of these traits, Gwen displaying the most so far. She had not presumed to treat them as less than her, though she was confident enough to step forward. She clearly understood the general idea of battle strategy. Now honor, wisdom and strength would have to be tested! So, for now, he would fall back quietly, though he placed no confidence in her plan as of yet. Only time would tell what he thought of Gwen!

Nevertheless, back to the matter at hand.

He just waved dismissively at Fred, for he already failed Alonne's test. "Shoo, little general. You do not give any orders here." He glanced at Gwen. "Tread lightly, young one, for you do not either, and I fear not all will be as willing to follow as I for long."


@OrlandoBloomers @Jeremi @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @Saint Guillotine @El Tigre! @Lissamel @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Thuro The Assassin Potato​

The noise grew and grew....The sound screeching and wild, all around them but no enemy could be seen out of the doorway.

And then from all around them, from every crack...In the walls, the ceiling and the floors they came.

Rats! The very floor rippled with the vermin, the largest the size of rabbits as they came out en-mass. They dropped onto heads, they crawled up pants legs, they bit and they clawed. A thick floor of fur and a canophy of screeching echoing endlessly in the caves, the dim light a counterpoint to the sudden horrendous stench these vermin brought.

Five in particular ran up Alonne's pants leg. : |

What do they do?

@OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @TheSpringwoodSlasher @Schnee Corp Lawyer @BarrenThin @El Tigre! @Kaykay @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Lissamel @Jeremi @Atomyk @Josh M @Thuro The Potato Assassin​

On the positive side of things, only one person noticed Fred's little...Outburst. That was good! Well, he was sure everyone else would know of his condition soon enough (zey should be flattered), but for now, only the very very scary Alonne didn't like him. And y'know what, he--He didn't mind the scary one disapproving of him. Hah! So there. Take that.

On the more negative side--Rats. Thorny Towers had a rat infestation once. That didn't mean he liked them any better! Fred gave an almost comical yelp, shivering so hard you'd think the buckles of his straightjacket would come undone. Oh what was he supposed to do he couldn't fight he couldn't deal with rats he couldn't deal with anything you're so useless I'm down two knights already he already felt overwhelmed. Why him? Amidst all these fighters and strategists and charismatic people, why was he here? He couldn't do anything well. Except lose.

The girl has mentioned a tunnel. Fred's eyes twitched, and he could see it. So without looking back, he ran for it as quick as his long legs could carry him. Napoleon was against this--And sometimes he would stumble and almost fall--But Fred's cowardice was winning his mental battle for control at this very moment, much to the general's chagrin.

Snap.

A rat's neck broke underfoot.

Fred ran faster.

[ @S'pose it doesn't matter ]​