Fantasy The Underground

[Doctor Llamabean]

RAV TORAMA | BLOODWORKS

When the smoke within the chamber cleared, Rav immediately scanned overhead and spotted the shield-shaped critters stirring about. “That makes sense,” he muttered, connecting their presence with the gassy haze and the burning in his lungs. He counted them—noting their positions.

In his peripheral, he spotted the pill bug shaping itself into a massive ball with a rolling start. Initially, he showed little reaction, acknowledging it with a look of apathy, his stance widening for balance as tremors spread across the ground. It was only when he recognized that the pill bug’s path led straight to his wife that an expression of alarm slapped the indifference right off his face. “Fffff-!!”

Rav lost his cool. He lunged forward with an uneasy kickoff, tripping over the uneven terrain and scrambling to recover composure. There was no time to be embarrassed—no time to give a damn. In that moment, everything was black, an endless void in which only Savannah and the pill bug existed.

He couldn’t run fast enough. His thoughts became clouded by panic and irrationality. Sav was strong; she could defend herself, but the distance between them wore a wicked smile and force-fed him illusions.

The air buzzed. Four sudden blasts shook him from his nightmare—three eruptions against the chamber’s back wall, and the remaining against the pill bug—and Rav skidded to a halt, slowing synchronously with the pill bug gigapod. As it screeched and wriggled, his attention drew to chunks of the earthen ceiling breaking loose and plummeting to the ground, courtesy of Emily’s rockets.

Stink bugs leaped from their places, one diving with a trajectory fixed for Rav as its wings stirred up the pungent musk trailing behind it.

Narrowing his eyes as it drew closer, his chainsaw roared to life, its serrated teeth spinning into a frenzied blur. A faint vibration rippled up his arm, steady and powerful, synching with the pulsing hum of the saw. He took a stance, balanced and ready, willing himself to focus. Sav would be fine.

She would be fine. She would be fine. She would be…

His eyes darted, seeking her—

—and the stink bug landed. Too close for comfort, it hit the ground in front of him with a heavy thud, antenna whipping furiously in the air. He barely had time to react before the creature lunged at him, its mandibles snapping for his masked face.

Charged with surging adrenaline, moving on instinct, he swung his chainsaw gauntlet in a sharp arc, carving a vicious path with its blade that caught one of the bug’s mandibles, severing it cleanly. It reeled backward, letting out a shrill screech, but it wasn’t done.

Neither was Rav.

It lunged again, Rav and it together, Rav’s blade growling with hunger as he met the bug halfway. He reared back with his right hand, readying his saw—with his left, seized the bug by an antenna mid-vault—then he punched forward, ramming his chainsaw into its face. Behind his mask and goggles, he wore a wild grin and wide eyes brimming with chaos and excitement. He pulled back, then rammed the blade forward again, and again… and again… Blue ichor poured from where its face had been, fragments of chitin sprinkling around Rav’s feet. He hadn’t even noticed Matt’s assistance, which had protected him from a slab of falling ceiling as he concentrated on the bug.

Then, when the bug was through, limp in his grasp, Rav let it drop and didn’t look back. He turned in the direction of Sav and started toward her, his blade idling, dripping.

He was practiced with his left hand, able to throw his boomerang with ease while his right was occupied with the chainsaw. Overhead, he spotted a stink bug’s shadow flitting through the foggy haze, and his hand moved reflexively, pulling his boomerang from his belt and launching it at an angle. It sang through the air and sliced clean through the bug’s abdomen before arcing back toward where Rav had been standing when he threw it.

With a flick of the wrist, Rav adjusted its trajectory. He controlled it with his gauntlet as he walked, and it bounded back into his grip before promptly folding into a more compact form, at which point Rav hung it on his belt. A cough lurched up his throat, biting and abrupt, but nothing he wasn’t used to.

“Sav. You okay?” he asked, trying his radio. From where he stood, his view of her was rather limited, and the ground was uneven so he had to move with caution.

Bloodworks: simj26 Beann The Regal Rper FabulousTrash AriAriAbabwa

LET'S SPLIT UP!

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[miki]

ANT NEST - ASTRAEA

The pitch black lenses of her goggles reflected the image of the woman.

She…

She didn’t care.

Astraea’s morals and goals were few. One of them was the value of human life. And the hostage was a corp member, beyond the shadow of a doubt. This woman was amidst an ant colony, unafraid, goading them on—making her a subscriber to that pestilence that sprawled across the underground.

Things were black and white. Good and evil.

And it was her life’s purpose to purge the poison.

Amidst the chaos, she walked. Stepping carefully, far less eye-catching than the attackers swarming the sick woman. Astraea yawned as she dug the grappling hook out of her coat pocket. She slapped it a few times to make sure the retractor was intact, eyeing it carefully. Slowly.

She scoffed as she heard the woman attempt a taunt. Why should she believe that she was a capably threat? There was no need for concern. For her god had chosen her, the disciple of the lost.

She cannot die.

Aim. Shot.

The hook wrapped and dug into the flesh of the hostage’s arm. She yanked him back, hauling his numb body towards herself. His body remained in its paralyzed state, crunching and bumping his bones as the hook retracted back.

She shot him something that looked like it was supposed to be a sympathetic smile. Yet, her clenched teeth came off a bit malicious. And with her eyes behind her goggles, no one could read her expression.

She kicked her large canon and hauled the hunk of metal up. Astraea aimed it at the woman, who happened to be facing off with Shengyu. It would be up to her to dodge, or better yet, hold the woman down so she could kill two flies with one stone.

The flash of light from the blast was blinding throughout the cavern.

"AHAHAHAHA!"

Let's Split Up

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[xulosxv]

Lautrec Vamos

Until Rain leaned on his shoulder, ready to be slung into position at a moment's notice. Lautrec was lost in thought observing the stalagmites above when the cry for help resonated throughout the cavern. “Shit!” He swung his umbrella down and held it behind his back while he followed his leader towards the danger.

The smell of gas filled the snipers nose, and he pulled the mask from his satchel.Gas brought his railgun to mind, if it was flammable he would be putting his team in danger if he wasn’t careful. There was no time for precaution now, as the female voice beckoned again, this time more urgently.

A gigapod hovered over the merchant who now had a face to match the screeches, though it wasn’t quite what Lautrec had expected. Before he could line up a proper shot, Mars’ had already set the bug aflame. “That answers the gas question.” Shrugging off the disappointment of missing his shot, he turned around and began to cover the rear openings of the cavern whilst keeping one ear on the conversation.

Eyes squinted aiming down the makeshift scope of his umbrella, something felt off. The cavern was dimly lit, and the feeling of being watched weighed heavy on Lautrecs shoulders. Just as these thoughts sunk in, he felt a gust of wind behind him and turned around in time to see the insect barely miss his teammates and get annihilated.

As the rest of the disgusting Gigapods flew down from the darkness, an order to fire was given by his leader. Swinging his trench coat behind him, Lautrec swiftly got on one knee and rested the barrel of his railgun atop his free elbow. The electrical whir of Until Rain filled the air as he charged up his first shot. A thin bright beam of white light pierced through two insects, followed by another volley of shots shortly after.

Nobody Special angel doe Ram Abbalah

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[Nobody Special]

ANT NEST - TEAM SODA

Sprautu’s body stood unwavering when faced with Xenos’ steel lances. As bladed weapons honed in on it, it flicked its arm out– clutching onto one with its sharpened, hollow fingers and swiftly deflecting another oncoming projectile with it. However, Sprautu wasn’t anywhere near fast enough to redirect all four javelins with such a miniscule margin of error.

And so, the remaining two speared it on its shoulders.

… clank.

The sound of the spears clattering as they hit the ground rang throughout the chamber, and Sprautu remained standing. While they did rip through its suit, the damage to its upper half appeared to be minimal-to-none. Instead of ripped flesh and gushing blood, what sat beneath the fabric of Sprautu’s clothing was more metal plating– much like that of its ‘helmet’ and ‘claws’.

whrrrrrrr…

From the tall being’s flank, that strange sound that echoed and reverberated from within its body grew increasingly familiar with each passing millisecond. When the realization finally hit those who were focused on the

Gears.

Without sparing a second for reactions, the Instrument known as Sprautu spun around in a flash, locking onto its target and slamming its hand down with a piercing downfall of sharp metal.

Enta, on the other hand, was calmly controlling her puppet before suddenly feeling a sharp pain shoot through her arm. Stunned by the burning sensation as blood gushed from her sliced forearm, she could do nothing more but yelp out in pain and reel her limb back from taking any further punishment.

“You little– GAH!” Before she could launch a counterattack on Ananda, she felt herself fall as her trusty seat was snatched away from her. Her lax eyes quickly narrowed with frustration, and when she pressed her uninjured hand against the ground to push herself to her feet, the blinding light of Astraea’s weapon charging up and firing completely overtook her vision.

BOOOOM!!!

…

…

“Hff, huffff…”

Debris from the explosion drifted onto her head, rolling down from her strands of dark hair and onto her clothing. Her arm strained to stay up as the pain from her cut arm singed her skin, waiting until her venom was fully injected into the frozen exterminators.

“Selflessness is a flaw… hfff… children…” She wearily muttered, standing behind Shengyu and Ananda with her hands crossed over each other– a pair of twin black tubes extending from her palms and implanting themselves into the backs of her prey. A pair of chitin wings flittered before returning to their relaxed position against Etna’s back, and her heavy breaths slowed with each passing second.

“Wasting time protecting others… It can get you killed…”

Ananda hit the ground. Shengyu followed shortly after. After taking a dose of the Plaguer’s venom, they were rendered immobilized for the time being. With those aggressive distractions out of the way, Etna felt a weight roll off of her shoulders. She was one step closer to being in control. She shifted her focus to the remaining four; the freak, the train wreck, the research trainee, and the brat. Sprautu could handle two– it was up to her to finish off the rest.

“You almost ruined my perfect face, runt.” She hissed, her wings revving up again before carrying her into the air and spearheading her towards Astraea, hoping to finish her off before she could charge up another explosive burst.

BriiAngelic miki @BluEndings @The One Eyed Bandit Roda the Red Elenion Aura

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[Ram Abbalah]

Tia Voler

The aforementioned pale blur, having leapt off the back of her most recently felled Gigapod, had moved through the air after her would be fourth kill of the day like she was flying, but, she had just jumped really good. Right before the merchant, Unnati, would have been skewered by the mosquito, Tia had brought her knife down over it's proboscis with a firm CHOP ! And, the spear-like nose of the bug came flying off, which Tia promptly grabbed right out of the air as it spun horizontally in her direction, using the momentum she gathered from the big leap to stab and slash with her blade, making large gashes in the Gigapod's bellyplate, before she shoves the broken-off proboscis right into the softened chitin, ramming it right through to the other side, causing the bug to lose it's flight stability, stalling in the air, as is begins to fall right into Tia's loving arms, or, more accurately, the back of her foot, as she delivers a vicious spinning back heel kick, right into the mosquito's face, making it's entire head pop like a balloon, coating the poor merchant girl in a copious amount of bug blood, but, not as much as Tia herself was splattered. She immediately shifts focus to one of the pesky ants crawling around like they thought they were better at her at ninja stuff, moving forward with excessive speed as she bisects one of them clean in half with the deceptively small combat knife, carving right through it's mesosoma and effectively slicing it right down the middle, drenching Tia in yet more fluid as she makes the ant into two pieces, the bereft sides flailing in pain before falling limp. Upon hearing Unnati's cry for help, she darts along the floor, just as fast and tirelessly as before, her strong legs carrying her there, smashing the ant jumping at the merchant out of the air mid-flight, making it coast through the air and impact against the adjacent rock wall with a sickening smack, kicking up a huge cloud of debris as it is flattened against the ruthless surface. Tia, her shoulders, face, hands, and weapon covered in a veritable deluge of bug blood, shakes herself off like a dog, until she is completely dry, smiling until her eyes shut and her toothy mouth displays her sparkly white jagged denticles.

"Eee !~" She squeals happily, jumping up and down, "I love this job !!"

Nobody Special angel doe xulosxv AzaleaWonderland

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[miki]

ANT NEST - ASTRAEA

Those wings, that stinger, proof of her disease. Her teammates fell to the ground, struck by that venom.

The scene unfolded in the reflection of her goggles. A small tragedy, in her own perfect view.

Astraea hardly ever felt fear anymore, but she did feel unease. Disgusted, as anyone would upon witnessing the brutality before her. Venom, that heretic toxin, blemishes upon the caverns. Pests only used venom for greed, not survival.

She had used all her charges on the blast, but that didn’t render her useless yet. She smiled as the woman raved up.

“Your face was ruined the second you emerged as one of those pests.” It was heartless of her, and within her right. Who showed empathy to vermin? Especially those who reveled within their darkness? Certainly not her.

Astraea stood still. Rocked on her heels, patient as she waited for the pest to get close enough. Bored. Disconcerted with all but her own little world.

She waited for the reel back, the strike. For the moment she would jerk out of the way of her strike. The art of battle was simple math when it came down to it—especially for primitives like her. Hive minds, unable to serve a higher purpose; all of them. She wouldn’t see it coming.

As she dodged, she yanked the syringe gun out of her pocket. With a crude overhand jab, she shot her own concoction into her neck.

“Indulge me, pest,” She spat, shoving her away. “What are you feeling now? Numb? Tingling? Let me know. You should start feeling a pain in your abdomen soon.”

She wasn’t downed, not yet. The prototype of the antidote wasn’t fast acting yet. But if Astraea’s research was to be believed, then the pest’s lifespan was on the clock: sands falling down an hourglass. Either her organs would dissolve, or her entomology would be cleansed. A 99 to 1 chance, but that’s what experiments were for.

Astraea’s focus was locked on the woman. Complete hyperfixation on her state of being, recording every movement for her research. Counting seconds. Two. Three. Four.

The euphoria of an experiment in progress was all-consuming. Perhaps that was the only aspect of the bug that Astraea could relate with.

Let's Split Up

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[WhiskeyMarten]

OSKAR EIDE

Oskar nodded back at Callahan as the group made their way forward, hoping she felt confident. So close... Let’s go… With all the loss already suffered down here, they had to get this child back safely, but the interruption brought Oskar to a stop as he stared down Min-su.

At first, he didn’t offer any reply to the man’s surprisingly non-hostile statement. He snapped his pincer open and shut, the noise echoing down the tunnel as a warning. Don’t let him get to you. Preocuppied with the man’s words, he couldn’t react quick enough to help his team out with the blades headed their way.

“My name is not for you, and I’m a human before anything else. And you think I would want to join you? You disgust me, and to drag a child into this!?”

Oskar stopped talking. He shouldn’t even dignify him with a response, though he stepped towards him. Maybe he could use the apparent goodwill against him, or at least stop him from slinging blades at his teammates for long enough for them to take control of the situation.

“What’s your thing with arachnids, anyway?”

LET'S SPLIT UP

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[simj26]

Karina McDowell
Sawyer GroupAs if it were no heavier than a pen in her hand, the blocky rifle spun around in her hands, and she shifted her grip, steadying the frame against her forearm. The Sawyer-patented rifle never really compared to the Brawler's Bulwarks’ blades and armor, or to the Lashers’ staves, but they did make up for it by being anything a Shocktrooper wanted it to be, as long as the Trooper had the balls and experience to do it.

And Karina was never lacking for balls and experience. Turning the gun into a shield was one of the options for it, even if it was ‘advised against’ by the whackjobs who thought that guns were to be kept in a case and treasured like a gem. More power to them, but she was fighting to survive here. She pushed back against the tide, swiping the feral bugs aside as she approached Matt's side.

A gleam of steel flashed in her hands, and her combat knife buried itself between the plates of the bug that made to make a snack out of her snack. With a violent motion, she tore her knife across its side, sending ichor and guts spilling out onto her armor and the floor, before punching its now limp body off Matt.

“The meat shield's MY job, don't get distracted now!” All that violence, and still a smile was present in her distorted voice.

She flipped her gun around again, and fired another volley into the swarm, splattering bug matter across their fellows, another modulated laugh rising from her helmet as she swiped the claws of a bug that survived the volley, followed through by another blast through the head.

 

[Beann]

SAVANNAH TORAMA

Just as intended, her plant began to absorb the thick gas that filled the chamber, allowing Bloodworks to lock on the giant pill bug as well as the stink bugs above them. Savannah raised her weapon, clicking the safety to off as she aimed for one of the stink bugs. However, before she had the chance to fire any rounds, the rumbling of the giant pill bug pulled her attention. Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise as it ignored its closest targets and started to barrel straight towards hers. “!!” Twisting her body, she started to sprint in the opposite direction, clearly against the possibility of being flattened today.

Savannah dared not look back until she heard Emily fire off four rockets. She looked over her shoulder while she started to slow down and then her body lurched forward as her foot snagged on one of the bodies from team Sawyer. Falling forward, she threw her arms out and caught herself just in time to avoid completely faceplanting. However, she strained her knees and hands with the weight of her fall, earning a pained grunt. Taking a moment to breathe, she forced herself back up onto her feet, raising her gun once more as she turned back around to face the action.

“What…?” Her frown deepened as the fumes from the stink bugs began to fill the room once again. Taking careful steps forward, she returned to where she had grown her lily and kneeled down to inspect it. A pit in her stomach began to form but more importantly, anger began to bubble up as she realized her plant was dead. It was not flattened by the pill bug nor did the stink bugs have the pincers to cut the stem clean off. Someone did this while the team was distracted by the chaos.

“I’m fine.” Savannah queued her radio but her tone gave away her distress. She reached out to touch the stem of the lily, wanting to confirm the method of destruction. “Team lead, you sure we can trust this one?” She was referring to Karina. “Last I checked, bugs don’t cut through plants with precision. Something ain't right here.”

The Regal Rper AriAriAbabwa Doctor Llamabean FabulousTrash simj26

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[FabulousTrash]

Esther Forger

Everything went from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye.

Esther reached for the pheromone canister, but had no time to deploy it with the impending threats. She fled from the charging pillbug along with Sav, but ran in a different direction. It didnt take long for her to notice that the armored bug hadn't followed, and was instead relentlessly pursuing the other.

The familiar sound of Emily's rocket launcher echoed through the chamber, followed by the sound of impact and the cracking of rocks. Her eyes looked up towards where the stinkbugs were as they, and falling debris, began raining down. Just as Esther began moving to avoid being hit, Matt and Rav were quick to dispatch of the falling hazards. But the pillbug was still standing and by the looks of it, it was readying for another attack.

Esther dashed towards the pillbug. As she moved, she held out her left arm. The various metal pieces that composed her limb began to shift and move, until an entire section of her forearm detached. From underneath, a dark red blade emerged and extended to full. Once Esther was close enough to the bug, she jumped up, driving the mantis blade into the cracks of it's armor close to it's head and twisted her body around, landing on it's back.. The blade easily embedded itself, indicating that it was going through flesh.

With a roar of anger and pain, the bug began its second charge, directionless, in an effort to shake Esther off. Grunting with effort, Esther twisted her arm and began to lift up, prying the armored plate upwards to expose the flesh underneath. Her feet dug into other gaps in the pillbug's armor to help her stay on. Once the opening was big enough, her free hand reached to her side, drawing her revolver. Three bangs rang out as the bullets found their mark, severing the bug's ventral nervous system at multiple points. As it began to stumble and lose speed, Esther released herself from its back and jumped in front of it, pulling her arm back before thrusting the blade straight through it's face. There was a final scream before the pillbug eventually collapsed and remained still.

Esther flicked some of the blood and guts off the blade before it retracted back into her arm, her prosthetic reforming to it's original form. Her eyes looked around for any more threats, but for now, it seemed that everything was dealt with. She quickly jogged over to where Emily was.

"You alright?"

Nobody Special
The Regal Rper Beann Doctor Llamabean AriAriAbabwa simj26

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[Roda the Red]

XENOS

The usually soothing sound of metal striking against metal, for once wasn't entirely welcomed. However, while it was somewhat disheartening to know that the enemy's protection was enough to deflect his attack so casually, his intent was never to vanquish his chosen foe, but rather, to rob him of his attention, giving his allies more of a chance to make a sudden rescue. "You sure are durable! Even moreso than I expected" He uttered, snapping away the caught blade with his alchemy, leaping back away from the construct's blow. He knew there was metal within, his detection said so. However, to know it was plated in its entirety was surprising nonetheless, this was no cheap metallurgy, but rather some top-of-the-line specimen.

⬩ ⬥ ❖ ⬥ ⬩

A combination of his glasses and his gloves covering at his face shielded the scientist against the cloud coming his way. He smiled through the gaps in his fingers as he proudly admired the handiwork of his protege. "Magnificent work, Astra!" With his leathery palms, he fixed his tilted glasses. "Now, shall we continue with our game, big man?" He taunted at the hulking figure, arms spread wide invitingly. "But first..." Flicking his wrist, ribbons of dark steel materialized right above Shengyu and Ananda, the ropes interlacing and separating forming a pair of nets, gently falling over his allies as they took the shape of half-pills. The cages sank into the ground, indicating their rigidity and heft, hopefully keeping the two safe until the paralysis wore off. Xenos sent a quick whistle their way, a familiar signal to let him now whenever they wanted him to release them.

"Only active players on the board." Spheres of dark steel began to form over his shoulders, feeling a little more optimistic with a blunt approached, five small cannonballs traveled straight to the instrument, their travelthis time, however, was erratic and quickly shifting. Meanwhile his right gauntlet morphed once again, taking the shape of two long prongs.



BriiAngelic miki @BluEndings Elenion Aura @The One Eyed Bandit

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[BriiAngelic]

Ananda Das

♫♪♫♪ History Has Its Eyes On You ♫♪♫♪

Astraea may have been reckless in aiming at the hostage but he could only imagine that they would thank her later for letting them escape with their life. But it wasn’t like they were out of the wood works just from that. It only became more apparent as he saw the woman take aim at Shengyu.

He felt the tension start to eat away at his chest, before he knew it his body was moving trying to intercept the attack. Why, why could they never just keep aiming at him. He managed to get close enough to push Shengyu out of the way only to completely ruin it all. His body hit the floor and he tried so hard to move.

No. This couldn’t be happening again. He’d made himself completely useless. The sound of another body hitting the floor made itself known to him. Shengyu? God no she had been hit too. He couldn’t tell if the increasing difficulty in breathing was connected to the drug. Paralyzing agents could affect the heart. Was this how it ended? Lying on the ground waiting for a slow torturous death?

GET UP! He tried to scream but couldn't, his own body betraying him. The sounds of Astraea and Xenos fighting only reminded him of the pressing need to move. His team needed him. Shengyu needed help and his BODY WOULDN'T MOVE.

He couldn’t hear Echo or Enoch or if he did it was drowned out in the din of Astraea and Xenos’ efforts. The pull of the paralysis was strong but he wasn’t going to be a goddamn burden. He did his best to force his teeth down. Fuck that hurt. He’d managed to bite his tongue, it wasn’t much but it meant there was at least something he could do if he could only push through somehow.

Tears pooled up in his eyes as the helpless hopelessness only brought him back to his worst days. He didn’t have time for wallowing though. The tightness in his chest was only increasing as was his panic.

“Shengyu. Can you hear me? Can you move at all? Can you breathe?”

He felt something fall over them and realized this had to be Xenos. They had to be holding their own then. He would hope Xenos would know neutralizing the threat so no one else went down was always the first move. He felt his body tingle and burn as he managed to get the slightest twitch out of one of his fingers. He wasn’t likely to get to do shit else though as that alone took a Herculean effort.

”Fuck. Shen don’t fight it too much it might spread faster from it.”
________

Roda the Red miki @The One Eyed Bandit @BluEndings Elenion Aura Nobody Special

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[angel doe]

Vesper D'Angelo

Vesper rolled her eyes at the merchant's theatrics. "Wah wah wah- stop whining, you'll be fine." Honestly, it was laughable that she'd come in here alone, given how she was handling things now. What a fucking coward.

Oh well~ Not her problem anymore. Not that she really cared to begin with. She had more important things to focus on, like giant bugs. Specifically, mosquitoes. Those little shits were even more annoying than she was—and that was saying a lot. Thankfully, the rest of Team Gunnar seemed to be holding their own better than she expected. I knew Mars would do a great job, but everyone else... Vesper wasn't sure what to think of them just yet.

Humming in delight, she spun gracefully through the air, striking down more pests. Things were going smoothly until something clipped one of her wings. A startled yelp escaped her as she fought to steady herself. Vesper managed to barely avoid a disastrous crash landing, but the sharp ache pulsing through her wing told her she wasn't completely unharmed.

"Aw, come on, man." she whined, landing beside Mars and checking the damage, not seeing anything. She fluttered her wings, testing them and frowning when the pain worsened, "What's the deal? There's nothing wrong with them..." Vesper pouted, irritated by the invisible injury. Oh well. If she couldn’t fly for the moment, she’d make do. Pulling out her gun, she promptly climbed onto Mars’ shoulders, giving herself a slightly better vantage point. She never did enjoy being on the ground.

With her legs draped over his shoulders, ankles crossed to keep herself steady, Vesper took aim and fired. Each shot hit its mark, the targets dropping like flies. Mosquitos. Whatever.

A satisfied grin spread across her face as she gave Mars a pat on the cheek, her other arm hanging lazily over his head. "We goin' to help the others or what?" she asked, her tone playful but expectant. Vesper had all but forgotten about the merchant.

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[Flatwoods]

CALLAHAN LUCERO

The tap to their arm was quite surprising, as Callahan turned around, eyes widening upon seeing Nykia so close. Ah, yes, they could do that. But before Calla had time to even give a 'yes ma'am', the alchemist let out a strangled yelp as the ground left their feet. Callahan scrambled to click their heels together, boots clanking till at last they soon found their footing in the air. Whatever reaction Callahan had to the sudden change was quickly suppressed to a small twitch in their eye. It wasn't important, the job mattered more.

Callahan gave a small exhale, quickly flying forward as she adjusted her morning star, aiming it almost like a sniper. This shot would be a little tricky, she soon realized. With them being airborne, aiming not at the target but near, and staying focused and concentrated, Callahan was more than aware of all the ways this could definitely go south. And yet, she didn't worry. After all, they had this. So with a small huff, the alchemist prepared their morning star, their invocation poised on the tip of their tongue. Till their focus was ripped away from the flea, and suddenly to the new contender.

Callahan was quick to stop, a frown spreading over her face. Another one? She hovered in place, morning star raised as Min-su started talking again, annoyance pulling her face into a squint. Who was this guy, blabbing his mouth? Callahan's eyes wandered back to Mast, until suddenly, they realized this new guy wasn't just here to talk.

How should they defend themself? A kick? A dodge? A flash of fear flashed Callahan's face before like an instinct, they raised their morning star, batting the approaching blade instead to stab straight into the tunnel wall. Callahan sighed, their heart beating out of their chest. It would be less than ideal to have to bother with this guy first. Surely, he was a force to be reckoned with.

But apparently Oskar started talking to him? It caught Callahan off guard, her eyes darting his way. Then back at Min-su, then further to Mast. Every second counted. They couldn't afford to let the Flea get away, not with their goal in hand. Perhaps this was the moment Callahan needed? After all, this was much easier. Stood still in place, one quick shot. They'd only need one second. One chance.

Callahan's eyes darted to the two arachnids one last time, then to Mast, quietly calculating their shot. They couldn't line up their morning star perfectly, not unless they wanted to attract Min-su's attention. All they needed to do was aim left of Mast, straight at the tunnel wall, in hopes of knocking the Plauger's concentration and hopefully pausing her dash. They need to wait... Now. Suddenly, the light alchemist lifted their morning star, one hand on the staff, the other near the spiky ball. There wasn't enough time for the entire invocation, they had to do this now. "By my glory, by my light..."

The light around Callahan flickered, before completely shutting off, a light hum of energy vibrating threateningly. And then boom, a beam of nearly neon yellowish-green energy burst out, sharp and true. Straying perhaps a little bit more to the right than Callahan intended.

LET'S SPLIT UP

​

 

[Nobody Special]

MARWA

Finally, some peace and quiet.

Marwa breathed a soft sigh of relief as the rumbling of the Exterminator’s vehicles slowly faded away until they eventually moved out of earshot. Her pale eyes examined the now empty headquarters lobby, void of the usual chaos and ruckus that overtook her senses every single day. It was peaceful.

She fastened an old bandana tightly around her forehead, and filled a bucket with water. It was rare for every combatant to be away from Skybound at the same time, so she had grown accustomed to taking advantage of the empty space— to clean. After all, she had been taught that a secretary must have pride in their space from the day she accepted this job.

She lowered herself to the ground and began scrubbing the lobby’s floors.

Ten minutes.

She organized her desk and her filing cabinets.

Twenty Minutes.

More self-assigned chores. An hour had passed by the time she was finished tidying the lobby up. They still hadn’t returned. Perhaps the child was giving them trouble?

Wonder if they’re alright.

She blinked. They would be back shortly, she knew it. The least she could do was clean the offices and their meeting room for them. Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, and she put some force against the door to push it open, but when she saw what sat ahead of her in the room, she couldn’t contain her ever-so-slightly startled jump.

“Oh— you’re back.”

“You’re as frigid as ever. What do I have do to get a warm smile and an ‘I missed you’?”

“…”

“Where is everyone? I was hoping to speak with Matteo.”

“They’re out on a job.”

“...All of them…?”

“Mm. It’s actually something I think you would have been interested in…”

ARC ONE

 

[Nobody Special]

ANT NEST - TEAM SODA

The pshhh of the liquid injecting into her veins was the last sound Etna heard before all hell broke loose.

“Ah–” In an instant, her wings buzzed violently before carrying her back a safe distance from Astraea. She lifted her palm to her neck, tapping her skin to check for blood. However, her vision quickly began to blur into a black haze before she could finish examining herself.

Then, the first shot of pain hit.

“A– AUGHH!!!”

Her hands shot down to her torso. It was excruciating. She couldn’t see or hear, but she could feel everything. Synapses splitting, tissue being ripped to shreds, her muscles losing their strength. It wouldn’t be insane to liken these feelings to the torment that was the transition from human to Entoman.

She panicked. Blinded, she wasn’t aware of her surroundings. That fucking rat could be approaching with a follow-up attack.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!”

She threw her arm out to keep her invisible assailant at bay, the momentum from the swipe causing her knees to finally fail and bring her crashing to the ground.

“SPRAU…TU…!!!”

The instrument was in the middle of trying to figure out the patterns of Xenos’ cannonballs when it reacted to Etna’s cry for help. Because of the distraction, Sprautu’s shoulder was smashed directly by one of the projectiles, causing his sturdy deltoid to cave in from the force of the attack.

There was no longer a margin of time to dodge. Instead, Sprautu’s arms lifted in a cross-arm block in attempt to tank the remaining attacks. His body lurched and shook with each slamming blow to his body, but by the time the onslaught had ended, he was still powered and able to move.

Whrrrrr…

When the instrument’s sensors picked up movement in close proximity, he jerked his body violently forward to hit Xenos in his waist with a teep kick, forcing him back a safe distance before shooting off to the side to scoop his creator into his arms.

“You bitch…” Blood poured from Etna’s mouth and flew as she spat her words, completely unaware of her surroundings. “You… fucking little BITCH…!!!”

The woman’s labored breaths were pierced by her sharp tongue, her body quickly growing more and more limp in her creations arms. Sprautu’s legs quickly began moving towards an opening in the Chamber, leaping over the immobilized shocktrooper to get Etna out of danger.

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!” She vehemently snarled, digging her numbed fingers into Sprautu’s hard exterior before snapping her fingers. “You… you think I’m dead…? I would NEVER lose to a LITTLE SHIT LIKE YOU!!”

A trail of blood from Etna’s mouth was all that remained before the two disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel. After the pained screams of the woman moved out of earshot, the Chamber that Team Soda was in fell surprisingly quiet– tranquil, even. However, the brief moment of peace was quickly brought to an end by a faint noise.

Rumble…

The rumbling quickly grew closer and closer– followed by a violent shaking of the ground and the chamber’s roofing. Sounds of earth being broken through and the buzzing of wings quickly filled the Chamber before the ceiling suddenly burst open.

The giant insect emerged from above, its wings stopping it from hitting the ground and allowing it to ominously loom above the Exterminators’ heads. The droning vibrations from the rapidly flapping wings was deafening, like a thousand beetles trying to fly into your ears– however, in this case, there was only a single beetle.

An enormous, flying stag beetle. Etna’s last resort, and proof that her experiment failed. As she felt her life escaping her grasp within the arms of her magnum opus, she could only pray that her pink-haired adversary would meet the same fate as her.

BriiAngelic miki @BluEndings @The One Eyed Bandit Roda the Red Elenion Aura

LET'S SPLIT UP

 

[Nobody Special]

MARS BARNETT

“Oh, fuck–” Mars smacked himself on the head in the middle of combat, scolding himself for forgetting something so important. Without wasting another second, he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the device Cole had given him before they dove into this mess.

“Sorry, bro!” He apologized to his fellow Exterminator, whom he had no idea was dealing with a worse mess of his own. “How could I forget about this thing?!”

He tossed it to Unaati, and within seconds, the few ants that remained immediately stopped their pursuit towards the merchant and shifted their aggression towards the others. Mars raised his fists, ready to finish things and get moving, but the sudden weight flying onto his shoulders prompted a startled gasp from his lungs.

At first, he thought it was over. An ant had probably jumped right on him while he was distracted– and he was either on his way to Entoman hell, or… regular hell. Maybe heaven? He had been pretty good, after all…

However, the feeling of mandibles sinking into his back and venom forcing itself into his bloodstream never came. In fact, the only thing that he could feel was a pair of feet locking themselves into place around his head– clad in a familiar pair of boots.

“Ves!” He quickly regained his composure, reaching a hand over his teammate’s shin to fix his shades back into place. “The hell’re you–”

He was sharply interrupted by the thundering crack of air propelling bullets from Vesper’s signature pistol. Usin’ me as a sniping post, huh? He smirked, igniting his fists once again before rushing towards the last few ants, landing blazing-hot punches that burned through their hard exoskeletons and destroyed them from the inside out.

“Better hold on tight!”

Team Gunnar was performing somewhat well, despite the forgetfulness and the tardiness. With Mars’ flames, Vesper’s airborne combat skills, Lautrec’s precision sniping, and Tia’s lightning-fast violence, they had successfully made easy work of their final opponents, with the final ant being spun around by Mars and tossed at a nearby wall to meet its fate.

The ant’s body collided with the wall of the chamber, breaking through the earth and flying into the chamber to the left, which housed Team Bloodworks.

“Holy shit!” Mars called out, running over to the opening and peeking his head through to look at his fellow Exterminators. Thankfully, none of them seemed hurt, so he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them.

“Uhh, Guess these walls’re pretty fuckin’ thin, huh…?” He shot them an awkward grin, lowering himself so that his entoman turret could fit through the opening as well as he carried them into the neighboring area. He beckoned the others to follow suit, swatting at Vesper’s ankles in hopes of getting her off of him.

His eyes trailed over to the gigapod corpses that littered the chamber’s floor “Looks like you guys had it pretty rough, too. Something’s gotta be up, for all these random gigapods to be sitting around in an ant nest of all places.”

“More of you?” Unaati’s voice came from behind Mars and Vesper as she stepped into the chamber, swatting away the falling dirt from the roof that was finally beginning to settle. “Super. I feel safer already. Did you morons happen to find my cargo?”

“Oh, yeah! Look, we found the merchant!” Mars beamed, pointing back at her triumphantly. “She’s kinda annoying, though... Doesn’t look like you guys got the kid. I’m sure Lumen or Soda’s got ‘em.”

Once the dirt was no longer obscuring her vision, Unaati suddenly gasped and pointed in the direction of an opening in the chamber, likely leading to another tunnel.

“Look, over there!”
angel doe xulosxv Ram Abbalah The Regal Rper FabulousTrash AriAriAbabwa Doctor Llamabean Beann simj26

LET'S SPLIT UP

 

[Nobody Special]

ANT NEST - TEAM LUMEN

“So it’s you, huh?!”

Flay quickly lurched forward to match Cole’s steadfast charge with an electrified grin, bloodstained arms spread outward like wings in hopes of snatching his new opponent like a catcher waiting for a fastball. However, just before the two could finally collide, the hairs on his neck shot up, warning him of something coming from behind.

At first, the Plaguer paid no mind to the two that had flown over his head. It was foolish of him to assume that they would ignore him and go after Mast– but he wouldn’t dwell on his error. His brains weren’t why he was the self-proclaimed second-strongest in the group’s Vanguard, after all.

Like an elastic band that had been tautly stretched and twisted, Flay’s body spun around in an unusually fast manner, turning his back to Cole and using his forearm to catch the small, sharp blade that was aimed at his neck.

“GRAAHHH!!” He snarled in frustration, feeling the tip of the knife piercing the skin on his arm. “That HURT, you little–”

Suddenly, Flay paused before he could spit out the rest of his sentence. Just as Cole had reached him, the roach stumbled on his feet, before seemingly losing control of his legs altogether, knees approaching the ground.

Honing In on the newly created opening, Cole set his sights on Flay's falling form, adjusting to Maylee's arrival without pause as he continued his pursuit. However, decades of experience prevented him from taking the vulnerability at face value. He knew all too well about an Entoman's ability to scurry away in the face of death, so he sought to cripple the roach even further.

As his clenched fist came close, the chemicals secreted by his cells reacted, aiming signals directly at the wounded Flay. The pheromone aimed to instill an emotion within the target, preying at the survival instinct. It licked at the fear response, shackling the Plaguer with a paralytic effect that would ensure he remained in place. the mind being attacked as the recently applied toxin wrecked the body.

Cole intensified the pheromones until he was within arm's reach of Flay, magnifying the effect of primal instincts being overwhelmed by heart-stopping danger. Once that paralyzing sensation reached its peak, he snapped his arm forward, his muscles tensing as his clenched fingers dug into the cold, hard metal layered over his fists. The razor-sharp protrusions on the plated knuckles neared the man's face, closing in like the maw of a voracious predator as Cole planted his feet in the dirt, leaving indentations in the cracked earth below as he poured raw power into the blow.

Flay couldn’t help but crack a smirk.
You idiots really think you got me, huh…?

The Plaguer’s body swiftly dropped further down before Cole’s fist could meet his face. As soon as his left knee touched the ground, Flay forcefully swung his body weight with a grunt, blasting his right leg upward like a cannon and aiming his foot directly for the side of his face.

“NOT A CHANCE!”

Unwavering, Cole held his position, remaining firmly planted as he was forced to adjust to the sudden strike. Keeping the momentum from his swing, he swiftly covered his head with his forearm. His dense muscle and the plate of his gauntlet created a hard barrier adorned by steel thorns, the sharp, mandible-like protrusions making a painful cushion for the roach’s leg.

He was quick to follow with his other hand, aiming to keep Flay in place by crushing the blocked limb in an unrelenting, vise-grip. His pheromones being ineffective was unprecedented, but the unexpected development had little effect on his composure. He simply had to adapt. Even if his body's chemicals were useless, its strength and endurance still remained.

Meanwhile, Maylee felt a little trill of alarm. It had looked like the perfect set-up for a direct hit, but then again, she should know better than to think Entomen didn’t operate with a few tricks up their sleeves—especially Plaguers. At the very least, Flay’s attention was on Cole, meaning she should have more of a window to target him before he reacted accordingly.

Still in the air, she aimed her grappling hook directly towards Flay’s outstretched leg and fired from the mechanism mounted to her wrist, aiming to close the distance between them and embed the hook in his flesh for extra hurting power. Whether the hook made its mark or not, she was rapidly hurtling towards Flay, now, a pair of knives now gripped in her hands, poised to lacerate.

Flay’s body winced from the stinging pain that shot through his foot from his blocked kick, but he couldn’t help but crack a nefarious grin as he tiled his head upward at Cole.

“Man, oh, MAN…!!”

He swung his left leg up— narrowly evading Maylee’s grappler— and rested it atop Cole’s shoulder, hoping to gain leverage and free his trapped leg with the threat of a headscissor takedown.

“I ain’t had this much fun since I fought those RAID fuckers!”

While he was always up for a challenge, he wasn’t necessarily fond of being outnumbered without some sort of advantage. So, he lifted his torso in a sit-up motion, forcing his weight down on his captor before suddenly calling out to a hidden ally within the chamber.

“DROP IT!”

Once again, one of the black ants on the battlefield’s roof sprung to life. However, this one had no plans on dropping down to assist the Plaguer. Lodged within its mandibles was an enormous steel axe— and on the cockroach’s command, the ant dropped it, allowing the oversized weapon to freely fall down towards the approaching Maylee.

Maylee’s head snapped up. “Dammit,” she muttered through her teeth. Agility was perhaps her greatest strength, but even she didn’t have much time to react. While her speed kept her out of the path of being fully bisected by the axe, she couldn’t avoid it entirely. As her head and neck slipped past it, the blade grazed the flesh of her shoulder, sending a tear down towards her back.

More to her benefit, it also cut into her braids as they sailed behind her. Before her Phylum Gene had utterly warped her physiology, the axe would have cut straight through her hair; now, though, her braids were as tough and flexible as spider silk, and the fibers of her hair stretched enough to hamper the axe’s descent. Quickly, Maylee fired her grappling hook upwards, using the momentum to flip up and backwards, effectively circling back around behind the axe, her braids wrapped around its hilt. With her grappling hook embedded in the roof of the cave and her hair serving as leverage, Maylee pirouetted in the air to send the axe hurtling back in the direction of the ant that had dropped it on her, aiming to cut off its head.

“Tch, damned annoying spider…!” Flay groaned in frustration as he watched his own weapon lob off the head of the ant. Blood sprayed from the chamber’s roof onto the combatants like a sprinkler, and the now lifeless gigapod’s legs each slowly lost their grip on the ceiling before completely letting go, sending the headless corpse plummeting down towards him and Cole.

Flay tried to wriggle his way out of the Exterminator’s hold, but winced in pain when he felt the pressure against his leg. Now beginning to panic, he began pummelling his fists into Cole’s shoulders, hoping to find the smallest opening so he could fight on better terms.

“Let…me…GO, MAN!!!”

In response to the roach's demands and flurry of powerful blows, Cole's grip only tightened. His hand remained clamped around Flay, strangling the limb with enough force to make it cry out with the sickening pop and crack of tissue and bone. Even with the threat of the quickly descending weight above, he refused to budge.

The enemy was panicked, desperate to free himself from the threat of being crushed by the ant's corpse. After seeing how much the cocksure man feared the danger posed, Cole knew he couldn't afford to let him wriggle away again. This was the best chance at bringing the fight to a swift end, making his own safety a low priority.

However, while he was confident enough in his durability to withstand the crushing force of the gigapod's body, he was aware that taking a major injury would impact the mission as a whole. With that in mind, he used his pheromones once more. They may not have had any effect on the enemy, but there was still one other person.

He used the chemical-born signals to pass along a silent message to Maylee, giving the simple command to use her grappling hook to pull him at the last possible second, giving Flay no room to avoid the corpse. If all went well, he'd suffer no damage and that'd be the end of it. Although, with how evasive his captive had been so far, he knew there was always the chance he'd simply skitter to safety.

Once his signal had been received, Cole dug his heels deeper into the fissure at his feet, committing fully to his decision. Then, with his remaining free hand, he silently responded to Flay’s punches in kind, repeatedly crashing his fist into his body with explosive strength and speed. The best way to ensure the target didn't escape wad to cripple him as fast as possible, and Cole finally had the chance now that they were both locked in place.

Enduring the unrelenting attacks, Cole kept up his own assault, not waning for a second in the furious exchange of blows. Blunt force and sharp metal broke away at bone and punctured the skin, flensing and bruising with the intent of doing as much damage as possible. Pain was fleeting, but the child's future was not. Compared to her safety, it was nothing to be concerned about. That was and always had been the job he signed up for.

Maylee’s mouth fell open at Cole’s request, though she quickly snapped it shut. As focused as he was, there was no way any of her protests would reach his ears. She had expected both him and Flay to dodge the rapidly-descending Gigapod corpse, but Cole was taking a huge risk by locking the roach in place with himself. What if she couldn’t get a good enough grip on him with her grappling hook? What if she couldn’t pull him out in time? What if—

Her expression hardened. There was no time for doubts. Her only option was to succeed. She anchored herself to one of the stalactites on the roof of the cave and watched the Gigapod’s corpse fall, breath held, waiting for the exact right moment—

Now…!

Leaping from her post on the stalactite, Maylee fired her grappling hook, piercing the front of Cole’s armor. The armor was too sturdy for the hook to cut deep, thankfully keeping her from injuring her teammate, but at the same time, she could only hope it cut deep enough for a solid grip.

With no time to hesitate, she retracted her hook with a flick of her thumb against the mechanism on her wrist, and her heart jumped triumphantly when she saw Cole’s body slip out from beneath the Gigapod’s corpse just as it fell. As he rushed towards her, Maylee caught him, and they hit the floor of the cave at the same time, rolling with the impact. The titanic ant met the floor with such an impact that it kicked up a mighty cloud of dust and bounced Maylee and Cole up in the air before they finally settled in a heap.

Hurriedly, Maylee untangled her limbs from around Cole and surveyed him. “Cole! Are you all right?” Her head snapped up in the direction of the felled Gigapod, and a hand curled around one of the knives at her belt. Was the roach squashed underneath all that mass? Or had he somehow crawled away at the last second? “Is he…?”

Cole only responded with a nod as he rose to his feet, fresh blood pooling beneath him. Gaze fixated on the settling dust, he kept his fists raised, prepared to immediately jump back into the fray if the roach managed to skitter away once again. However, it quickly became apparent that there'd be no more fighting.

The only sound that came from beneath the gigapod corpse was the muffled, static-filled audio from a crushed, dying radio beneath its thorax.

“cRRRKK–...Flay. We’re leaving.”

Of course, there was no response.

“...FlcrRRKKK– y. If you’re still fighting, retreat. We’re–”

The radio had breathed its final breaths. It was over.

(Collab w/ Defender of Stories Lucem ) gxxberkit .sol. Flatwoods WhiskeyMarten

LET'S SPLIT UP

 

[angel doe]

Vesper D'Angelo

Vesper laughed delightedly, tightening her grip to keep from slipping off Mars’ shoulders while he fought. She let out a playful wolf whistle when he finished off the remaining gigapods, her grin widening as the last ant struck the wall—only for it to come crashing down. The perfect finishing touch. Holstering her gun, she draped her arms lazily over his shoulders, leaning forward to rest her cheek against the top of his head as he walked through the opening. Vesper closed her eyes, enjoying a brief moment of peace.

It wasn't until Mars swatted at her ankles that she let out an exaggerated sigh, lifting her head. "Fine, fine. I'm going." Vesper rolled her eyes but made no effort to hurry, taking her sweet time as she unhooked her ankles from around him. Stretching her legs, she placed both hands firmly on his shoulders, shifting her weight before effortlessly pushing herself into a handstand. She launched off his shoulders with a graceful twist, flipping midair before landing lightly on both feet and turning around to face Mars.

"Thanks for the ride, hot stuff~" Vesper shot him two finger guns and a wink. "See what I did there? Do you get it? Because you control fire." She giggled, looking quite pleased with herself—though the amusement didn’t last long. The second the merchant’s voice reached her ears, her mood soured. Any trace of joy evaporated as she peered around Mars, her scowl deepening.

Vesper tapped their fingers against their arm, patience wearing dangerously thin. They wanted—needed—to tear that woman a new one, but they held their tongue for the boss’s sake. Barely. There were more pressing matters, like helping the other team just ahead of them. Eugh.... I don't wanna... With an exaggerated sigh, they dragged their feet forward, wishing it had been Nykia or Thalia instead. At least then, this would be fun.

Alas, fate had cursed them with boredom, and they were stuck listening to the merchant’s grating voice, looking in whichever direction she had pointed while awaiting instructions from Mars on what to do next. Vesper didn't feel like running ahead. Instead, they kicked at a loose rock and watched as it skidded ahead before rolling to a stop. Ugh. If this drags on any longer, I might actually die.

Let's Split Up

 

[The Regal Rper]

Matt | Arc 1: Abandoned Ant Nest

The last of the bugs died out with a crunch as the last of the firepower put a creepy crawler to an end. With the smoke spitting bug dead, the air was now clear to see through. Arthropod bodies littered the ground among slime, missed shots, and any form of insectoid viscera.

The Battle had taken minutes but it may as well have felt somewhat longer.

Savannah’s words of concern about trusting Karina were dismissed by Matt however now that the fight was over. In essence, he acted like he hadn't heard it amongst all the fighting and the fact he got swarmed a few times by insects which Karina specifically had assisted him out of more than once. With his gear it wasn't likely any would have gotten through easily but still, the assistance had taken a load off for him to provide proper support.

“Alright, good work everyone”, doing an internal headcount as he went over his team and Karina. “Let's get ready to find the others.” Which was when he specifically spotted an opening as his head turned, and his eyes narrowed.

Moving towards it showed the path of a hidden tunnel, and that's where behind the mask, brows narrowed. For a moment, Matteo traced the path of this hidden blindspot to where he recalled seeing Sav’s plant, and when he did the math, the direction of this tunnel and theirs, certainly would have made it easy for a ant or something or someone else to go in between tunnels with little notice, especially in the low level light of this tunnel that had been filled with gas.

He made a mental note to keep that in mind, especially as he heard Mars’ voice in the distance approaching.

However, upon hearing the Merchant's voice and her specific line of addressing them, Matteo turned from his inspection of this hidden opening, to look at their charge. The Merchant's manner of talking had zapped the etiquette he would normally treat situations like this. Being insulted was the last thing he wanted to hear, especially now that he knew there had been an unknown threat possibly moving around given the way Sav’s plant had been cut as he shifted his light from the severed plant to shine his light directly into the eyes of the Merchant.

“You call us ‘Morons’ again and next time they request I bring my team to your assistance, I'll tell them to find someone else and tell every other team I have in my contact to do the same. You get one warning. Watch your tongue.” His voice was rough, tone unamused and flat. It may have sounded like he was threatening her, but in all honesty it was casual and partly the helmet doing the work to make his voice sound more menacing. In this instance though Matt saw a purpose in delivering a verbal slap to their VIP.

A little too many of those in the Capitol thought it was fine to just mouth off without thinking folks like him wouldn't spit in their face if they pushed too far.

He however wasn't about to let the Merchant get under his skin that much. He was used to it by now. All he wanted to do was teach her a lesson. If they came here to rescue her, she best not think he couldn't leave her here to rot too if she truly pushed his buttons.

“Let’s go get them then if they got the kid.” Matteo clapped twice, loud. A sign to his team. “Let's move and get the other teams.”

“Before she says something else to actually tick me off.” Metallic boots barely making much noise but a gentle crunch, as the man in iron moved away from his inspection.

Mentions: Nobody Special angel doe

Interactions: FabulousTrash AriAriAbabwa Doctor Llamabean Beann simj26

 

[Elenion Aura]

ENOCH - SHEPHERD OF THE CHOSEN PATH

Up until now, Enoch had merely observed.

As the chaos unfurled, as the screams began. As steel crashed against steel, as venom coursed through veins. As words flew like daggers, and blood watered the cracked and desolate earth.

Through it all, he had watched.

Their adversary? A wasted mind, woefully misguided. His allies? The best of intentions, overcome by an impulse that was beautifully, tragically, human. The world itself? A breeding ground conflict, a place of strife, and struggle without end.

He had seen this before.

A war of small things.

Control. Power. Desperation. Fear.

How wasteful.

And then, the world spit forth another beast.

The Stag Beetle Gigapod crashed through the cavern ceiling, and unlike the foe that had fled before them, this was no longer human folly. No longer petty cruelty.

This was chaos itself.

His golden eyes lifted toward the behemoth, his robes rippling in the artificial wind stirred by the beast's wings as for the first time since his arrival in this place, he stepped forward. He would merely watch no longer.

He gazed up at the massive Gigapod before them, and found he was moved almost to the point of weeping. A broken thing, unshaped by its own will. A being without purpose, save for ruin. A tragedy, not of its own making. Let me offer you succor.

His fingers tightened around Solace, the staff humming beneath his grip, the golden veins within its blackened wood flickering to life as a sound like distant thunder rolled through the cavern. He tilted his head up, his voice low, steady, almost mournful. "I am sorry..."

The Stag Beetle dove, mandibles snapping, its sheer weight and size enough to crush a man flat.

Enoch did not move. Not yet. He listened. Felt the energy in the air. The beast’s body carried a storm within it—static energy crackling along its exoskeleton from the frantic flurry of its wings.

A conduit, then.

A slow breath, then—the Shepherd raised his staff. A twist of his wrist, a flick of his fingers. The orb cradled in Solace’s crook ignited—crackling blue light arcing between its surface and the staff’s golden veins. A bolt of lightning erupted from Solace’s core, a spear of raw electricity piercing through the cavern's dim light—

—and struck the Gigapod mid-dive.

The impact was instant, violent.

The creature convulsed, its body locking up mid-air, wings failing in their frenzied beat. The smell of ozone filled the chamber as jagged currents raced along its armored carapace, forcing it to the ground with a bone-rattling crash.

A moment’s silence passed, save for the hiss of scorched chitin.

LET'S SPLIT UP

 

[simj26]

KARINA - BLOODWORKS SPECIALIST

"PHEW!"

With an expert twirl of her knife in one hand, and a spin of her rifle in the other, one returned to its holster, and the other to rest on her shoulder. "Good work, people! Another nest of squashed bugs!" With her now free hand, she flashed a peace sign over her helmet towards the rest of Matt's team. "Karina's the name, and killin' bug's my ticket to fame! Howdy do! Can't believe Matt here managed to score a buncha cuties on his team!" She walked-- no, she skipped over to the nearest one, the other guy in the team with messy black hair, crossing over a stray dead body as she did, and, with her gloved hands, pinched his cheeks as if he were a child. "Look at you all! How long have you kids been in this business? I'd drag you all to join my little gang, but I think they haven't been hiring for a while, but-- oh!"

She released her grip on the poor man as she heard a familiar voice, and hurried past Matt, towards the merchant. "Heya, little miss moneybags! Miss me? 'Course you don't! Anyway, you really shouldn't run off like that! If you didn't know, Sawyer Group requires after action reports after every deployment, and I think it'd suck big time if I were to, oh I don't know..." she tilted her head away from the merchant, a finger poised on her chin, almost as if she were thinking, though the helmet obscured her expression entirely, "tell them about how a certain client ran off from her assigned squad and got almost all of them killed. I don't know how well that'd go for other security companies in the future. Qualified soldiers are pretty expensive, yanno? Prolly don't wanna waste them on someone who might up and leave them to die chasing after her. But!" She lowered her finger, and traced it across the merchant's cheek softly. "I have a problem. A short-term memory problem. I tend to forget details quite easily if the company was...rightly compensated. Maybe a little more compensation for me, too. Do you catch my drift, babe?"

ARC ONE

Interacted: Nobody Special The Regal Rper Doctor Llamabean

There: FabulousTrash AriAriAbabwa Beann

 

[Nobody Special]

ANT NEST - TEAM SODA

A deafening roar of anguish filled the chamber as the gigapod came crashing into the ground, the impact briefly rattling the ground beneath the Exterminators. The Shepherd’s blazing attack was more than successful– his opponent’s wings were completely eviscerated; a method of travel it had grown accustomed to was ripped away from it in the blink of an eye.

The panicking beetle writhed against the ground for a few more moments as it took in what had just happened to it. However, once it pushed itself back onto its thick, powerful legs, the beast finally understood that it still had a primary method of mobility.

Unleashing a hellish, guttural cry, it snapped its razor-sharp, jagged pincers against each other, the clicking sound serving as a deadly threat of what was to come. It stared Enoch and the other standing members of Team Soda with fire in its eyes– revenge was to come, now.

The kickoff was earth-shattering as it began its charge, opening its vicious maw to a gaping degree as it rushed towards the Exterminators. The sheer size of the creature combined with chitin hard as steel made transformed a simple charge into an attack that must be evaded, lest the beasts wide appendages scoop one of the humans up and shove them directly into its venomous mandibles…

…Suddenly, the chamber fell into a cold silence. The only sound that echoed within the earthen enclosure was the sharp, screeching sound of a metal blade being pulled from its suffocating scabbard, finally free to cut through what it pleased with no repercussions.

“O, blade, you were born to take lives, but in my eyes, you are innocent.”

From within the tunnel Team Soda had originally entered through, a bright, neon-red replaced the darkness that enshrouded its walls.

“Blade, I ask that you continue to lend me your strength. In return, you’ll return to my sheath knowing you hath done no wrong…”

Without warning, the red light that enveloped the tunnel’s entrance flashed forward, severing everything in its path until it finally reached the gigapod standing in the Exterminators’ way. At first, it appeared as though the light was purely for show, as the beetle continued its barrage, seemingly unharmed.

“...For I shall take on the heavy burden of your karmic debt, in hopes that you will remain light as the wind and strong as the sun in my scarred grasp.”

Finally, the gigapod’s charge– along with its cry for revenge– was forcefully brought to a halt. Not even a second had passed before one half of its body slid down from the other, an eruption of hemolymph shooting out from its corpse as the second half hit the ground shortly after the first.

A clean cut.

The silence in the chamber was interrupted not only by the sound of blood hitting the ground like raindrops, but the slow, heavy footsteps emerging from the tunnel behind Team Soda.

A man. He was hulkish– both in frame and stature. The pale haori flitted over his shoulder as he moved to sheath the massive nodachi he used to slay the giant insect in their path. Any normal human would likely be frozen with fear by the sheer power emanating off the man, but Team Soda’s members knew that horned ivory mask all too well as it opened up, segmenting apart to reveal a familiar face.

“Looks like I came at a good time,” His husky, baritone voice soothed the ears of his subordinates as he calmly spoke. “Is everybody alright? I bought some snacks if anyone’s hungry– and before anyone says anything, I know I need to shave.”

BriiAngelic miki @BluEndings @The One Eyed Bandit Roda the Red Elenion Aura

LET'S SPLIT UP

 

[Roda the Red]

XENOS

The satisfaction of landing several successful blows on the construct was gleamed upon Xenos' visage quite briefly, the quite literally breathtaking feeling of blunt force rearranging his inside by his gut swiftly overwhelming him. His body flew through the air for several meter before unceremoniously biting into the ground, an uncontrolled rolling tainting his white coat by the coarse soil. Perhaps to minimize damage, or to recover some semblance of dignity, his claws managed to dig into the ground, the friction leading to long trails and a finally static engineer.

His efforts to regain his footing were flawed at best, the sudden strike leaving his body weak and trembling, blood trickling down from the corners of his mouth, painting an unnerving contrast to his cheshire grin. He oh so wished to boisterously praise the automaton's performance and power as it escaped, but his lungs could only afford his bated breathing in that very moment.

⬩ ⬥ ❖ ⬥ ⬩

Betraying all known spectrums of the fight-or-flight response, Xenos stood still as he gazed at the hovering beast, not as a terrified prey, but as a man of endless curiosity marveling at the grandiose anatomy of the gargantuan specimen. Sure, his greatest interest was that of the human potential through mystical means, followed by the endless malleability of machinery. But only a fool would be bereft of admiration for the magnitude of arguably the mightiest gigapod he had laid his eyes upon until now.

Its winds turned to cinder, and the ground cracked under the power of its landing, the exterminators were spared few instants before being faced by a charging juggernaut, a glimmer of crimson dancing through chittin and joints as the alchemist prepared to retaliate. It was almost a shame how its body quickly relented to being sliced like fresh sashimi. Xenos smiled at the familiar, questionably-human frame who approached them. "I would say that you just came to steal our thunder, sir." Responded the alchemist, feeling a little disappointing on his lack of contribution, mainly attributed to the feebling blow from earlier. But he then transitioned into a subtle bow. "But those might have been too many amperes for us to handle. So you have our deepest gratitude!" Ever a fanatic for the theatrics, like he was ever going to hand wave help from the head honcho himself.

He raised a single hand, snapping his ferrous claws, a single plate placed by his thenar allowing for a satisfying clank. The cages protecting his paralyzed allies disintegrated into iron oxide, instantly banishing into nothingness. The snap actually took no part in the alchemical undoing, but it definitely made it look a lot cooler. "A snack would sound lovely right now, but we need to tend to our friends." He spared a quick glance at the reckless Astraea, who was nebulously under his guidance. "Make sure you take care of the wounds you gave our hostage victim, all this dust is begging to infect the poor man."

He treaded over to the paralyzed duo, the angle the light bounced painting his glasses as white as his pearly smirk. "Sleeping on the job is fine and all but this is getting out of hand!" He laughed to himself over his atrocious jest, leaning over to press into their arms, pressing to test for the stiffness in their muscles. once next to Ananda, he helped the man up to his feet by throwing an arm over his shoulders. "I doesn't look like we'll be able to catch up to them, captain, but I think we still did preeeetty good." weak as it may be, he attempted to encourage his distressed leader.
BriiAngelic miki @BluEndings Elenion Aura @The One Eyed Bandit

LET'S SPLIT UP