2442/Barrow Metrics

Barrow Metrics
Date of Scene:	12 June 2015
Location:	The Flat Earth <FE>
Synopsis:	Steve invites Elites from the multiverse to his newly unified world, to help him with a little problem. Having discovered a barrow full of restless fiends, he needs it cleaned out. Promises of loot await!
Cast of Characters:	11, Rebecca Chambers, 784, 788, 803

---

Steve (803) has posed:
    It is just before local high noon. Night would have certainly been a more atmospheric time to put in the call for assistance, given the nature of the emergency, but that carries its own complications in this conspicuously flat land. All the better to contain things if something goes wrong, as well. For the respondents, tracking to multiversal coordinates would be relatively uncomplicated, as the only thing to bother them would be the occassional bleeting sheep or snorting pig. They all seem curiously of the domesticated variety - what are they doing wandering the wild fields? There is something unsettling about their stares, as well.

    The conspicuous mound of Earth is easily seen from quite a distance, as it is a curiously round lump of earth a dozen meters high, protruding over the tall grasses of the meadow. There is also the second sign of an inhabited land, Steve himself, alternating between trying to peer through the iron bars that cover the entrance, and then checking a golden, circular object which tracks the motions of the sun. It cannot be said precisely that he seems nervous in his body language, but there is certainly a sense of urgency and tension all the same. "I hope I didn't add any zeroes," he can be heard to mutter. "What a rotten first impression to leave for first contact."

    Growing closer to the mound itself, the visitors would hear the scratching coming from inside. Sometimes a growl, or a clatter. There is certainly something alive in there, or un-alive. Those that are sensitive to magical auras would feel a presence of an entirely different nature, as well, positioned a bit deeper within its structure. It is hard to tell exactly what, from the exterior, however, even for the most attuned, but that might explain the undying grasses and greenergy that have come to surround it.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    Fudou is nothing but a helper, especially when helping can possibly lead to more jobs in the future, and immediate payment in recompense for emergency assistance now! The tremendous macho man steps out from the warp gate in his usual combination of jeans and tank top. It doesn't take him long to notice that there's something strangely /off/ about everything here. Like it's all...

    Meter-y. Those stones are the exact same size as these stones. That tree looks like it's exactly as tall as that other tree next to it. And all those pigs and sheep all seem strangely... symmetrical. They're giving him odd looks, too. What's the deal?

The multiverse is a very strange place.

Not that it has much bearing on this particular enterprise.

    The mound of earth is sort of hard to miss in comparison with the otherwise unblemished landscape. It's like the top hemisphere of a half-buried sphere, almost, just kind of squatting on the surface. Fudou makes his way over to it, hands hooked in the pockets of his pants. Things are around, too- he can hear them, even if he can't see them.

"Uh, hey!" Fudou calls to the man behind the bars as he makes his approach. "You know where I can find that guy who's been transmitting stuff outta here lately?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    S.T.A.R.S. is for rescuing people and providing special tactics. That's why Rebecca Chambers is quick to arrive here, donning her usual uniform all the same. In addition to being part of a paramilitary group that specializes in assistance as well as attacking, she's also a field medic, meaning that she can provide first aid if someone gets hurt out here. Of course, she doesn't even know just WHAT is going on here yet either...

    Upon her arrival, Rebecca stops and prepares to move in a more tactical style, only to pause as she realizes something doesn't seem right. Like everything seems too symmetrical... or something like that?

    "What is this place?" Rebecca wonders aloud as she reaches for her Beretta and loads a clip into it. "It's definitely unique, that's for sure."

    When Rebecca spots the mound of earth, she pauses a little, her eyes widening. Then she spots Steve, and although she doesn't recognize him, she's presuming he'd know something about the distress signal that was sent out. "Um, excuse me, but are you the one who transmitted a call for help?" She asks, her tone indicating she's a little uneasy about this.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man had called Heat MAn to come alone given the sound of Zombies over the radio. He seemed to be on guard as had arrived with Heat Man. The pair of Wily Robot took in the strange place as the had arrived. The pair are looking about as they spoit the local and now the two combat bots home in on Steve.

"Are you the one that called for the help with an infestation problem?"

Heat Man has this amused smirk on his face and comments.

"Well Brother I'll be happy to get this BBQ started by turning up the heat. It's been way too long since Wily used me for anythin but a mobile nuke reactor."

Then Heat Man notices Steve.

"Oh hey, your the one who asked for the exterminators right?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa Nuquerna has not faced a lot of awful things in his life, but he probably will. As a participant in the horrible death game that is Sburb, Noa is almost guaranteed to undergo torments, traumas, tortures, and terrors the likes of which other people can barely fathom, let alone replicate.

     Monster nests are practically starter crap for this stuff.

     Noa's arrival is accompanied by him admiring some of the geometrically-flawless plants. They're pretty bizarre! One of his little devils pops up with a burst of brimstone smoke, leaving Noa coughing, and snatches the item out of thin air before he can do anything with it. Noa's lips purse into a frown.

     "Well fine, fuck you too," he tells the air as he heads towards the nest.

     Noa takes note of Steve, Rebecca, Fudou, and the others with the nose-in-the-air attitude you'd generally expect from an elf. Granted, you probably wouldn't expect an elf to be wearing black leather, metal spiked shoulderpads, a belt over his chest bandolier-style *and* a belt around his pants, or a big-ass cape, but Noa totally is. It's like a teenage version of a JRPG villain, especially with his long hair, which looks like it's been dyed.

     "Well, let's get this over with," Noa observes, one hand on his hip as he brushes his fingers through his hair, "The sooner we clean this out, the sooner I can get my loot and look around some more. This weird little mathematically-precise forest is wayyyyyy more interesting than whatever's down *there*."

Steve (803) has posed:
    It takes a few moments to rouse Steve from his preoccupation with the structure, as well as his sun dial. But Fudou's calls, eventually, manage to do just that. He was uncertain of what to expect of multiversal visitors, but this must have been an excellent first impression, as after sizing him up, he can feel only one appropriate reaction to this obvious kindred spirit. He extends..the BRO FIST.

    "That would be me, the name's Steve," he says, in response to the general inquiries of his identity, as well as the nature of this sudden excursion. There's a momentary, odd quirk of an eyebrow, though. He instinctively knows that is his name, it had always been. It is quite another matter to actually be able to say it to others that can speak his language. He soon shrugs it off, though, there is business to take care of here! "As you can see, I've got a dungeon on my hands. Right in my own back yard! Usually find them deep underground, though, and never this...obvious." He half-turns and gestures meaningfully at the mound, as though it wasn't obvious what he's talking about.

    He had been wearing just his normal, garish cyan shirt and blue-violet pants for comfort, but now that it's time for action, he retrieves a purple cloth robe from...somewhere, and dons it. Sadly there is no wizard hat to go with the robe, but that just makes what looks like awful cosplay even less convincing, around his muscular frame. "Fire, huh? Not a bad idea. These things hate that stuff. But fists and swords work just as well." He withdraws a wooden staff from a loop on his belt, and fastens a silvery white bauble on the end of it, "I'm going to go with lightning for this, myself. It's funny to watch them dance."

    There's a pause of hesitation, as he remembers something. And from that same 'inventory space', he begins dropping some unlit torches from his hand onto the ground. What, you expect him to hand them to you like some kind of civilized person might? "You'll need some of these! These critters in here hate light. It's the only good way I've found to keep these places clear." His intensely azure eyes regard the latest arrival, Noa, just after he says this, "A fellow practicioner of the ARTS? You probably have some kind of magical light spell or something. That'd probably work, too."

    With all the proper introductions made, and a curious glance at Rebecca's handgun - what the hell is that thing - he withdraws his pickaxe, "Well, let's crack this thing open, shall we?" He takes a few swings at the iron bars. Curiously, they don't give way in one piece. They basically snap in two, precisely in the middle, before clattering to the ground. The creatures inside immediately take notice, and the sounds of shambling and clattering footsteps can be heard to make their way towards the suddenly open entrance. At last, after 500 years, they are FREE.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    Aha! Steve knows the universal sign of friendly greeting! Fudou's nod is a grave one indeed, and he casually extends an arm to meet Steve's fist, knuckles to knuckles. "Good to meet you. Name's Fudou. I don't know who the rest of these guys are, though. So uh... dungeon, huh?"

Fudou squints at the mound, then nods. Sure looks like a dungeon, alright.

    "Well, good to hear- uh, right. Torches," he takes one, but looks kind of incredulously at it. How is he supposed to use one of these things and fight at the same time, exactly? Hm. "So, yeah. Point me at the things that you need smashed. Let's get this infestation of yours taken care of."

    The others present get a quick nod of greeting from the brawny man, but it seems Fudou is kind of uncomfortable around this many strangers. Is he shy!? Possibly. Or maybe just suspicious.

    "So uh, you said 'they.' What is it we're breaking today, exactly?" He asks as he moves, taking up a position towards the van of the merry band, "Some kind of weird goblin things or something?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Rebecca frowns a little, showing some confusion as she watches the torches scatter on the ground. Shrugging, she takes a few and puts them into her 'inventory space.' Then she looks at her fists and hrms. "As far as I knew, fighting with fists was never really effective, but I guess if you say so." She shrugs and watches as Steve swings at the iron bars, and does a double-take as she watches what happens next.

    Rebecca stares with a slack jaw for a moment, and starts to say something, but then thinks better of it. Rolling her eyes a little, she follows behind Steve, wondering just what she's truly gotten herself into this time.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "Sure," Noa says, just a bit sarcastically, "I cast FLASHLIGHT."

     The elf holds out his hand. After a few moments, a little winged devil holding a perfectly mundane flashlight appears and clambers up onto his shoulder. It clicks on the switch on, shining a beam of light off Noa's shoulder. Noa gives it a threatening motion, like he's about to punch it; it cringes, but otherwise doesn't do anything.

% The entrance opens with a swing of the pickaxe. Noa immediately takes point, his little devil shining its flashlight beam inwards as he unhooks the belt from around his waist and just walks in. "What, are you guys worried about this? Come on, it sound like these things are older than dirt. We go in, hit a bunch of old rattly things, loot the shit out of this place, and leave. Whatever."

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man Says "Steve? I see and hum a dungon in your back yard? That would be a problem."

She can get hte problem even if an human was quite capable at fighting one needed to sleep. It was good personal security to have something like this handled.

"THat's not an option and light levels? Curious."

The Two Wily Robots seem ready to go and MEtal Man'a falling in but notes

"Let me and Heat Man take point. We can handle damage and repairs easier. Also given my general history with magic users? Most like to have someone to keep the enemy off them while they focus."

Steve (803) has posed:
    There's another pause from Steve, mid-step triumphantly on the broken iron grate, as he stops to consider Fudou's question. He hadn't really explained much, had he? A bad habit he'll have to learn to break, eventually. "From the sounds of it, skeletons and zombies. They appear at night here, but they also like hanging around these kinds of places." Mid-explanation, one such skeleton finds its way oh so close to sweet freedom, only to immediately burst into flame at being struck by the first rays of sunlight in who knows how many centuries. It begins hopping in place, next to Noa, as though it might extinguish itself, but that of course only makes it worse.

    With a practiced swing of the pickaxe, Steve sends what's left of the spooky skeleton clattering to the ground, mid-disintegration. It was already mostly re-dead, anyway. "Kind of like that jerk. They're usually armed. The zombies though, they just try to beat you up." Without thinking anything of the impressions it might leave on others, he picks up a slightly charred, human femur and humerus that survived, gives them both a quick inspection, and then stores them away. Those will come in handy for his plants. To all the people excited to get a crack at it, the pragmatic side of him causes him to shrug a foppishly silk-clad shoulder, "Whatever you guys want to do, really. As long as these things stop moving."

    The interior of the barrow looks several stories deep, and despite the round top, is noticably rectangular on the inside. And that's not just because of that curious metric alignment. This close, the malevolent energies coming from further down would likely begin to tickle even those not particularly gifted in magic. At least whomever built this tomb was kind enough to provide stairs between each level. Stepping inside, himself, after several others, Steve seems to be studying things, and strokes his beard stubble. "This is the strangest dungeon I've ever seen." Mostly because it looks like someone actually went to some effort to construct it. Someone that wasn't him.

    While he's lost in thought, some of the grumbling and groaning approaches, as at least half a dozen zombies have scented fresh blood, and emerge from the stair well deeper inside. They move slowly, but with radar precision toward the living intruders, arms extended in front of them in almost comedically stereotypical undead fashion. For whatever reason, they are dressed like Steve was before the robe, but their empty eye sockets and greened, rotten flesh make it easy to tell the difference. If any get close, they'll try to pound and clobber away with their sinewy arms. Taking one look at the wave, Steve comes to a quick conclusion, "Ugh, probably spawners. At least that's what I call them."

    Putting the pickaxe back at his hip, he begins shooting lightning from his staff at the zombies, making a best effort to avoid friendly fire, but no promises. "We just have to beat our way through and smash them. They look like weird little cages. And don't forget the torches!" He knows that worse than these guys might poke their nose in, otherwise.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    "Oh, man, skeletons and zombies, huh?" Fudou sniffs, cracking his knuckles experimentally. As if on cue, one hops out and bursts into flame. Fudou gives it a slow, somewhat befuddled nod. So they don't like sunlight? Interesting. "Right. Torches, let me just--" He leans over, sticking the burny end into the skeleton's burning body. It catches fire, too! Handy.

    "I don't know how I'm going to punch things with this in one hand. I might just uh, stick it down somewhere or something. If that's fine, once we find a place con-" Zombie. Fudou extends his arm. It compresses the thing's face in slow motion, before its rotted neck gives way. The thing's head separates from its spine and slams into the next zombie's torso, "-venient enough to do that."

Wisps of red energy waft from the brawler's fist.

    "Looks like we've got some business first, though," he grins, "Gonna go quiet for a bit here. Let's crack some heads!" With that, Fudou grips the torch in his teeth, the flame billowing a foot and a half to his right. His muscles tense. The ball of his back foot digs into the dungeon floor.

    Fudou kicks off the ground. He flies forward like some kind of cannonball of bone, sinew and ultraviolence. His fists fly like trip-hammers, each hit sends surges of spiritual flame coursing through his veins. They don't burn him- not anymore. Instead they flood into his muscles, pour into his flesh, make him stronger, faster.

There may be a ton of zombies down here, but Fudou's wild swings are right there to meet each and every one of them!

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Beat their way through and smash them? Hah hah, that s practically Noa's raison d'etre. Smashing through the walls of oppression and single-minded self-righteousness! Beating down the brick and mortar of the Institution to force people to question its worthiness! The Adversary-to-be!

     What we're getting at is that smashing zombies is something Noa is pretty good at.

     Wielding his belt like a mace, Noa plunges into the fray, violently swinging it this way and that. He falls into step alongside Fudou, laughing wildly as the belt goes back and forth like the morningstar of some great armored tyrant. You know the one we mean. The guy with the eye problem and the jewelry fixation. Yeah. You know that guy.

     "VWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! COME ON, YOU FUCKING DUST-SACK CORPSES! COME AT ME!"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Zombies are one thing Rebecca's familiar with, but skeletons?! Rebecca's only used to those things coming to life in horror movies. Even Umbrella had no way of animating skeletons... at least not as far as Rebecca knew. She gasps as the skeleton appears, leaping back as it catches on fire. "What the hell?!" She says in shock, apparently being frightened more than the usual B.O.W.'s that she's used to fighting against. Then she remembers what Steve said about fighting the enemies. Fists work well, and while Rebecca's not so sure about that, she isn't afraid to try something new either.

    "I hope my training pays off here!" Rebecca says as she attempts to utilize her special forces styled attacks against the zombies. "I'm not scared of you!" She yells as she goes after the zombies.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
So here come the undead, just lovely.

"Heh so undead somethings seem to be be an almost universeal pain in the rear, Steve."

The group are moving in now and Metal's got a Metal Blade in hand. Heat Man's right arm is up and the weapon port in the palm is open and he's ready. HE hears the go to fiht and hte Atomic is charging now.

as they get close on the creatures he opens fire. Metal Man is following up shortly after.

"Come on you mindless corpses you think you can over come any one of us?!"

Steve (803) has posed:
    Right, these are basically aliens. It was easy to forget, at least absent the obviously robotic Metal Man and Heat Man - which he is totally cool with, by the way, some of his best friends are golems. "Oh yeah, just place the torches down wherever. They'll light right up." He illustratingly plops one down in a corner of the first floor, that the others have oh-so-eagerly cleared, and just as he'd said, it immediately flickers to life. With the extra light, it's easier to make out the rudimentary architecture of the place. A central 'chasm' with the floors arranged around it. More noises come from deeper inside, a mixture of the by now familiar clanking of bones chiming and the hungry dead.

    The zombies are not particularly powerful, at least by multiversal standards. However, being already dead, they do have the property of being surprisingly resilient. For instance, the one that just had its head caved in by some kind of crazy psychic force - its body continues shambling forward long after the head is separated, though with far less coordination, its fists still pounding away at anything within reach. The head that rockets through the one immediately behind it leaves a gaping crater of smashed ribs, which causes it to stagger for a moment, before continuing its shambling. But in a way, that they don't just fall down with the first severed body part only makes it more fun, right?

    The other thing they are is relentless. They're all too eager to meet the meat grinder that Fudou, Noa and even the barefisted Rebecca present. One with a particularly rotten core is struck by Noa's belt, which sends his upper torso, ugly cyan t-shirt and all, flopping to the stone floor. His legs continue for several more paces, before they also collapse. Rebecca's martial arts seem similarly effective, one struck by her giving a final growl, before the dried bone of its ribcage gives way, causing it to fold like a particularly grisly lawn chair. Two more get sliced up ably by Metal Man's blades, their aged bones and rotten tissue proving little challenge, and oh - do they ever hate being on fire, judging by how the ones now aflame begin moving randomly to try and extinguish it, only to basically turn into ash piles.

    The forward progress is a bit more grueling than one might expect, but it exists. Since everyone else was so eager, he makes his way behind the main assault force, sometimes spraying more of his lightning when an opening presents itself, but otherwise placing more of those torches along the walls as they go. He chuckles with satisfaction to himself, with perhaps too much enjoyment, and responds asidedly to Metal Man, "Oh, they have their uses. In a more controlled setting. I sometimes leave the spawner behind, so I have a ready stock of test subjects. These aren't worth the trouble, though." There's just way too much to deal with in this weird dungeon to bother with it!

    Speaking of spawners. In one corner of the darkened, second basement level, a supernatural fire glows, coming from a small (cubic meter-sized) cage. Just as Steve had described it. "There it is!" Right on cue, almost as though conjuring its defenses, it flares brilliantly for a moment, a fresh wave of the zombies appear out of thin air, lumbering forward. As an added wrinkle, a clattering in the darkness behind them can be heard, the empty sockets staring from skulls, as two skeletons notch arrows into their bows, before firing at the group. "Ugh, I hate when it looks like they're using tactics," Steve grumbles, zapping one of the skeletons with electricity from range, which at least pauses its attack, though doesn't outright destroy it.

    It's also worth noting, to the LOOT inclined. The zombies seem to have parts falling off of them. In other words, ROTTEN FLESH. One of the zombies seems to be holding a SHOVEL. And the skeletons both have BOWS, one of them has a strange GLOW.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    Zombies smash against Fudou's body like the terrible shambling corpses that they are. Their blows pound into his torso and smash into his broad shoulders. Several go wide overhead, but the strikes that do connect begin evolving red welts across his flesh. Fresh bruises that will inevitably turn deep violet in a couple of days.

Not that they do much to slow him down. The opposite, in fact.

    As the pain mounts, Fudou feels the fire in his soul spark and blaze ever higher. Blood pumps through his veins like magma, pounding in his ears. Wisps of red, flame-like light twist from the tight knots of muscle wrapping his bones. Pain builds rage, and rage is power. The nearby zombies learn well when he counter attacks, swinging both arms in a wide, powerful sweep to try and launch them away.

Noa is spared, though. Fudou knows he's there, so he doesn't get smashed. Good stuff!

    If Fudou's torch was not gripped in his teeth, he would probably be either growling or howling in fury. Fortunately, it is, so he does not yell. Instead, he simply lets his wrath speak for itself. It builds in his flesh, driving him to greater and more terrible heights of physical prowess.

    He can still hear. He can still think. Steve directs them at the cage and the strange fire burning within. Arrows sing towards the Street Fighter. Fudou growls, twisting around the first. The second shot glances against the torch in his teeth, catching fire and embedding into a nearby wall. They don't dissuade him from his target.

Or the mass of zombies out in front of it.

    Fudou leaps at them like a feral beast. His hands draw back, locking like the hammers to loaded guns. At the final possible moment, they swing forward, slamming into the zombified horde. The first, unfortunate victim may find itself turning into a necrotic projectile, aimed to barrel into the creatures behind it.

    Bloody knuckles tremble as Fudou's hands tighten. There are more monsters in his way. He goes about the task of clearing a path! WITH HIS FISTS!

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    The zombies keep coming and Rebecca keeps throwing punches, no matter how tough it seems to be. There are more coming and Rebecca can only fight for so long before her steam starts to run low. She steps back and takes a deep breath, blowing it out. "I can't keep this up. Time to resort to emergency measures!"

    Rebecca draws her already-loaded Beretta, and fires upon the zombies. "Good thing I come prepared!" She comments with a smirk.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa cannot use Bows or Shovels and thus doesn't care abot either of them. His little devils don't seem to care about the nice stuff, either, but they are scooping up an awful lot of rotten flesh as Noa hammers away at the zombies. The fact that they come apart does not seem to delight him like it might other Villains, probably because he's not actually all that bad when you get right down to it. He's the Adversary, but it's sort of a hobby, not a deep burning need to hurt people.

     His laughter is clearly also practice, as he moves towards the spawner, heedless of the skeletons or Fudou's wild (but strangely controlled) swings.

     The flashlight falls on some mossy cobblestone. Noa's laughter redoubles, ringing off the arena. He reaches out with his free hand, like a telekinetic, and jerks backwards.

     The moss...does not move terribly spectacularly. It sort of...tries to ooze off the cobblestone. It oozes for a moment onto the floor around the spawner-

     -and then jerks upwards, stabbing at the spawner with tiny little moss blades! Noa hooks a skeleton's head in his belt and crushes it into powder with his other hand.

     "Are we making *any* kind of fucking progress? For an ancient moss-ridden feartomb this is about as scary as my fucking gym class. Where's the real reason this shit was sealed, huh?"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Aliens ya it does fit in the most techinal sense, given Metal and Heat Man are not formt his world. Same for the rest of the others. He's keepng tabs his hund. If there seems to be issues that might come up. The zombies are not an issue but there are a lot of them. He woneers abotu where thes things came from.

"Thats one way to sidestep the issue of test subject ethics if they are already dead."

It doesn't seem this guy killed them but well the way he's carrying himself does trigger a few flags as it werre he moves to give the others cover and he does take note of the bows.

Steve (803) has posed:
    The zombies indeed keep coming, but mercifully it seems that the spawner can only produce so many before it has to 'rest', the fire dying down between salvos and regenerating whatever foul energy is powering it. Perhaps that is the answer to Noa's question, in fact. "Nether if I know," Steve helplessly adds, in between frying a zombie that approaches too close, causing it to convulse like a Hollywood actor overacting an electrocution, before its body basically bursts open. He also helps himself to some of those shards of flesh, securing them in that strange place that all his non-essential items seem to go. He does spare a moment to glance over the chasm, placing a torch to squint, "It doesn't look that much deeper, though. There seems to be a small chamber at the bottom."

    These poor undead are totally not prepared for the world of hurt that is befalling them. It's okay, though, not like they're people or anything. The skeleton with the glowing, wooden bow fetches another arrow, levelling it at Noa as he begins to work his mossomancy. That's right around the time it finally realizes it is suddenly missing a head, its skull having been reduced to BONE MEAL. The other skeleton takes alarm at this, but in its haste to react, its arrow falls short, plugging into the back of one of the zombies further back in the smackdown queue, the one that happens to be armed with a shovel. The zombie makes a confused snort, turning on the new 'threat', and they begin to engage in the most pointless duel ever, essentially tearing each other apart even if left to their own devices. Are these things even smart enough to know friend and enemy? Apparently not that clearly.

    Fudou and Rebecca's punches and gunshots, respectively, help keep the numbers manageable as Noa's moss blades goes to work. The zombies pound away at anything they can reach, but it would take quite a lot of this to bring down any Elite the multiverse has on offer. Steve's eyebrows wrinkle somewhat at this, but he'll have to ask how that works later. For the time being, all that matters is that it does. Metal Man receives a shrug of his shoulders, meanwhile, "I don't even know if these things were ever really alive. They just appear every night. I've never seen someone die and come back as a zombie." He hesitates for a moment, giving a thoughtful look, before admitting, "...except the villagers." But to him, those honking things aren't much more sociable than the zombies, to begin with.

    The moss blades saw away at the spawner, its metallic-looking frame beginning to buckle and creak, as the fire inside struggles to remain burning. Eventually, though, it finally gives out with a final and almost non-climactic 'pop'. The zombies that remain are quickly taken down, and the skeleton and zombie from before essentially consummate their death pact. There's now nothing preventing further incursion, as without the spawner, the zombies' numbers have thinned considerably. But, the deeper the party goes, the more that sinister feeling permeates.

    Sensing something oddly familiar about the sensation, Steve momentarily puts away his staff and lightning focus, withdrawing an instrument that looks like a hexagonal pane of glass (something that finally isn't rectangular!) framed in gold, and some crystal shards. He turns it to the central space in the chasm below, which seems accessible by a ladder going down. He studies this for a few moments, before giving a troubled 'hmm', "There's a node here. That must be the source of the strange powers here. It's unlike any node I've seen, though." Anyone that spares a glance through the lens would see, what is visibly as little more than a faint glow to the naked eye, a swirling maelstrom of malevolent purple, fixed right in the center.

Steve (803) has posed:
    Spawners? We don't need no stinkin' spawners. Right about then, something emerges from the rift in the object Steve called a node. It's another fucking zombie! But this one looks different, somehow. Its face is angry, furious even, a red glow coming from inside the empty eye sockets, and its body is wreathed in that same energy as the node. --unfortunately, it didn't read the memo that it can't climb ladders. For the moment it stares hungrily from inside the pit, daring anyone to approach.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     The empty red eye sockets and the furious angry bastard get Noa to do a double-take. Wreathed in red energy, the zombie not only looks menacing, but actually kind of freaky. Noa stares down the pit for a long moment at the thing.

     Shit. Well the *smart* thing to do would be, like, throw rocks at it or some shit, but Noa's pretty sure his party's not gonna do that, and it's not like he's got ranged attack options anyway. What's he gonna ranged attack with, his belt?

     Actually, slingshot-belt might be a good idea, now that he thinks about it. Maybe table that for later, once he gets some practice in. Right now he'd just hurt his party. No, no. It wasn't his style to ranged-attack anyway. Instead, Noa unslings his other belt from around his waist, pops out the little metal bit, and jams it into the ground.

     The ground vanishes.

     "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Noa swears furiously as he falls towards the zombie. He didn't mean to do that, he didn't mean to do that, shit, shit, for all his stupid pride he was gonna get murdered by a goddamn magic zombie, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, this was totally unfair, he wasn't even in the *game* yet, he was smarter than this, he should've been paying attention-

     Suddenly, he has an idea.

     Noa jams his hand into the wall. The dirt vanishes, but only that layer; the layer under it does not. He clings to it, firmly, dangling just over the zombie with belt in hand.

     "SONOVABITCH!" Noa swears as he swings the belt (longwise, like a flail instead of a morningstar or a mace) towards the zombie's head, "FUCK!"

     To make matters worse, one of his little devils pops out to collect the block of dirt. Noa stares at it as it grins at him.

     "WHO THE FUCK NEEDS A BLOCK OF DIRT?!" He wails furiously.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Rebecca's Beretta seemed to help somewhat, but when that angry looking zombie appears, Rebecca's about to open fire... but only hears that dreaded sound of a 'click click click!' She's out of ammo! She steps back and grabs another clip from her pocket. "Of all the times to run out!" She mutters, preparing to open fire once again!

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man says "So created as Zombies? That's not exactly common, I got to admit!"

MEtal's keeping busy and he's clealry moving quickly when it's warrented thankfuylly he's doing a pretty good job of backing up the others. He pause at the mention of a node as they seem to deal with the spawner which is good right? The tide of unead should be handled once it's handled. Then something new comes out of the rift.

"Focus fire!"

Metal Man attempts to play a game of keep away with the hostile super zombie. He starts throwing blades.

Heat Man just starts to laugh and unleashing burst of fire at the bigger meaner more angry zombie that's coming for them.

"Farmers kid! Farmers can use that!"

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    When the shambling swarms are spent and sundered, Fudou is left covered in bruises and scrapes. He takes long breaths, straightening up as his hands come unclenched. Fudou takes the torch from his mouth, teethmarks splintering the wood where he had gripped it, and turns towards Steve. "Well," he huffs, "That wasn't bad. Where've the really rough monsters gone to?"

    He doesn't really mind much that he just punched zombies into other zombies. After all, they were dead! And apparently never really alive? Weird. "That's kind of strange. Zombies are corpses, right? So someone had to die to make 'em." Otherwise cause and effect just doesn't work out!

    As they descend further into the dark, dank depths, Fudou feels his skin begin to crawl. He may not be able to sense the mojo swirling around down here, but he can sure as hell tell it's there. "This place is givin' me the creeps," he mutters to nobody in particular.

And then they come across the BOSS ROOM.

    Fudou regards the Red Zombie with a curious, almost quizzical look. What the heck is that thing, even? It's like... like an angry zombie? Do zombies get emotions? Fudou is skeptical.

    Not like he has much time to be skeptical though. Noa goes flying through the air because of questionable judgment and even more questionable facts of physical reality. "Nn, okay," he grunts, and again rockets off the ground, his fist drawn back! He comes right into range-- AND SWINGS! It's an uppercut! Right at the RageZombie's chin!

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "FUCK THE FUCKING FARMERS!" Noa wails as he swats at the zombie some more.

     "THAT'S NOT LITERAL, THAT'S COMING FROM A PLACE OF DEEP FRUSTRATION AND AGGRESSION AND SHIT, AND NOT ANY DEEP-SEATED OR SERIOUS DISTASTE FOR FARMERS! FARMERS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT PEOPLE WHO GROW FOOD FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE AND ARE SUPER UNDERAPPRECIATED! THEY SHOULD BE PAID MORE!"

     "BUT THAT'S NOT THE ISSUE AT HAND!"

Steve (803) has posed:
    Watch out for that first step, Noa. It's a doozy! The stone that makes up the walkways leading down into the chasm seem sturdy enough, but just like those iron bars at the entrance, the way they crumble and give way is certainly bizarre. That is, as he found out the hard way, a cubic meter at a time. Sensing a trend here yet? This world seems to have a curious, maybe quantum, property, where things naturally tend to resolve to that all-important unit. To Steve, this is as natural as the rest of the multiverse is bound to appear unnatural.

    But the important thing is that zombie, FURIOUS. It moves faster than the others, too, and with a meal delivered, makes its way toward Noa with the utmost zeal. Its arms are extended in that same posture as the normal ones above it, but that energy wrapped around it - perhaps also the source of its speed and reflexes - threaten to reinforce the poundings he might receive from its fists, too. The belt smacks squarely into its head, causing it to snap backward, buying a precious moment of reprieve. But wait, that's not all! It seems to have one more trick up its ugly, turquoise sleeves. As it absorbs the damage, that power suffusing its body pulses again, and the zombie visibly begins growing. It started at 2 meters, which is already modestly tall. But suddenly it's 2.5 meters of hungry killing machine, and almost within reach of the dangling Noa. It jumps, but in thankfully small hops given its sudden increase in mass, trying to snare his legs to pull him down to his doom!

    Noa isn't the only one around, though, despite the angry zombie's laser focus on him. Oddly, for a moment, it seemed to be shrinking back to its normal size, but when Fudou jumps in to deliver a solid strike to its jaw, it seems to grow again. This time even slightly larger than its previous maximum. The blow is still solid enough to send it reeling, however, with an absolutely enraged growl, and with Rebecca's gun fire and Metal Man's blades incoming, it doesn't even seem to be making an attempt to dodge. It does buy some time for Noa, but on the other hand, the zombie is now 3 meters tall, red eyes practically burning, and actively climbing out - no ladder needed! - to reach a now monstrously large hand right at the annoying Metal Man. Silly zombie, you can't eat a robot. That doesn't seem like it will stop it from trying.

    Steve, meanwhile, is torching up the last of the balcony and walkways, which if this node is acting as some manner of spawner, is all the more important to prevent another of these things from coming out. ...assuming it works the same way. "Uh...he'll die eventually!" Steve then lowers his voice, muttering, "I think." He's yet to encounter anything in his world that doesn't eventually stop moving with enough pounding. Though, something does catch his eye at the bottom of the pit, which would likely have been easily missed given the gigantic zombie and everything. A treasure chest, as well as a create and a pottery jar. Well, that can wait. And these people have definitely earned whatever they might find inside those. For now, survival!

    To all the concerns on the nature of zombies, now that he's got the torches placed, Steve speaks as he joins in the fray, replacing the crystal bauble on the end of his staff with a pale blue one, beginning to chuck what looks like snowballs at it. What the hell are snowballs supposed to do to a super meat zombie? Apparently not much, but as its flesh cools, its movements at least seem to become more sluggish. "Man, I don't know! They're zombies! The only time I've seen something become a zombie, is this time when I saw a zombie kill a villager." He pauses his snowball assault for a moment to suddenly realize, "Huh...maybe there was a way to cure those kind." It sounds more like scientific curiosity than any real remorse on his part.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "IT FUCKING *GROWS?!*" Noa shouts as the zombie suddenly, well, grows, massively and in a very short amount of time. As it starts to deflate, he has a brief breather, but then Fudou jumps and upper-decks the thing so hard it turns gigantic all over again.

     "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Noa suddenly turns and punches out the block of dirt under the one he's hanging on. Then he kicks the one under that and slips into the alcove, crouching low to both fit and avoid getting murdered by Giant Murder Zombie.

     Pride goeth before getting slaughtered, or something like that.

     "Okay. Okay, so, it grows when we hit it. But if it keeps growing...it won't be able to move, because it'll be pinned in the building!"

     Noa shouts to everyone.

     "QUICK! RAPID FIRE! DUAL WIELD! HIT THE FUCKER FASTER!"

     The second belt clutched in hand, Noa punched the dirt above his head and elbows the dirt behind him, giving him room to swing. Four-wide, three-deep, the alcove turns into a tiny room, around which the belts go whizzing and whirling like, well, like someone dual-wielding very heavy flails. Noa hammers these flails into the zombie, one after the other, over and over, not letting up for an instant. He hopes - he REALLY hopes - that he's right.

     Then again, if he's not, at least he's vaguely safeish.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    "Oh damn it!" Rebecca yells, wishing she'd brought something far more powerful with her. She pulls back, continuing to fire and reloading as necessary. She notices what the others are doing and tries firing at an occasional clump of dirt in hopes of slowing down the zombie a little.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
This zombie appears to grow stronger when it gets angrier!

TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME.

    Fudou's punch follows through, his front foot slams into the ground as he catches his balance. The zombie gets bigger. It gets redder. It gets angrier. Fudou's eyebrows twitch- then draw tight as his teeth dig into the torch tucked in his mouth.

    There's an awful, crumpling sound as the wooden shaft collapses and shatters. Splinters of shredded wood jut from the gap between his jaws. His fingers wrap even tighter into his palms-- when his fists open, their tips are bloody and his palms are raw.

That's just fine by him. Adrenaline is a hell of a painkiller.

    A red haze wafts from the brawler's shoulders, pouring from the flesh covering his arms. There's a low, wrathful note as he takes a step forward- it craters the ground beneath his heel, causing it to collapse into a pile of grey cubes that INEXPLICABLY GET SUCKED UP INTO HIS INVENTORY. Somehow. That's not what matters here.

    What matters here is that Fudou Moto has lunged forward to grab the rapidly expanding zombie around its torso. He squeezes, the connective tissue holding his body together screams and strains as his grip tightens. Then, he leans back, trying to lift the /thing/ into the air.

What comes next is... Somewhat graphic.

    Fudou thrashes, trying to beat the thing against the walls, the floor, the ceiling. His arms constrict like two colossal serpents, contesting against the massive zombie's ballooning form to try and snap it right in half.

It's almost like he's trying to use its own expansion to rip the thing in two.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is taken a bit off guard by Noa he's almost distracted and just isn't sure what to say given the guy's with the Syndicate he holds his words for now. He's got to worry about the damn super zombie he's now looking at how big it is. It's big as Stone Man or Guts Man. What the heck?! He keeps moing about trying to keep out of range.

"It's already dead but still moving!"

Metal has to agree with Nota.

"This is total bullshit I agree!"

So he keeps moving trying to give Noa some cover fire with his blades.

Steve (803) has posed:
    Noa's plan is a relatively sound one. As expected(*) of a JRPG villain elf. Of course, it doesn't take that much planning to just hit something that's trying to kill everyone faster and harder, but it is at least something! "I've never seen a zombie quite like this one," Steve puzzles, the tone of his voice suggesting that if he had a way to capture it for study, he might actually be considering it. Sadly, they must slay this majestic fiend, so discovering the source of its powers will likely have to wait. The miner turned wizard switches back to his lightning focus, now that he's slowed the sucker's reactions down to at least being more 'normal zombie' speed, though he's also consciously moving up a level, since this one is beginning to become a bit thrashed.

    The zombie seems to cap out at around 3.5 meters in height, with the damage output currently levelled at it, with a broadness to match, which given the interior of this place, doesn't leave it much room to maneuver, or even really fit in the smaller walkways and stairwells. Its body keeps absorbing belt whip after belt whip, gun shot after gun shot, lightning bolts, blades and even being set on fire. It's a little hard to tell, but it *is* beginning to wear down, and especially with being attacked from so many sides, it seems to be having trouble resolving onto one single target, now. It gives a frustrated grunt, at this, but then spots one that can match its ferocity in the suddenly just-as-angry Fudou. Even before being set upon by him, it moves forward aggressively.

    Steve halts his own lightning bolts, to prevent wasting them on a friendly, eyebrows arching with an appreciative whistle, as the suddenly two behemoths begin wrestling one another. While the zombie, even with its size, cannot seem to actively destroy the terrain here, that doesn't prevent Fudou from doing so while grappling with it. It's probably a good thing that they'd long since moved away from where the treasure was. The zombie growls and groans, and barely seems to register a sense of self-preservation, instead it reaches out with those now massive hands to try and choke the life out of Fudou, its own existence secondary to the killing instinct. Its structural integrity, reinforced by that energy inside of it, makes it hardier than those run of the mill zombies earlier.

    Yet...it still has its limits. All the assaults have added up, and with Fudou applying such massive tension and pressure, something finally snaps. That would be, the zombie itself. Even if it could get away, it has no way to - its massive body too large to move by itself through the human-sized areas. Its legs remain in Fudou's grasp, but its upper body is sent careening into that pit from before, where its hands dig claw-like into the edge. One of Metal Man's blades finally puts it out of its misery, striking it square in the head, and the arms finally lose their supernatural strength as the red glow of its eyes dies out, the energy around its body doing the same.

    Victory fanfare!

    "A real shame," Steve exhales, unscrewing the cap from his staff and returning it to its place at his hip, now that the threat seems to have ended. He helps himself to some of the MOSSY COBBLESTONE that got jarred loose, since noone else seems to appreciate how precious dirt and stone can be, while continuing to lament, "That would have been interesting to study." However, all is not lost, as he glances to the - hopefully somewhat calmed - Fudou, "It's incredible, though. This guy seems to harness the same kind of powers. Hmmm..." Oh yes! "I saw some treasure containers down below! It's all yours of course, as I said."

Steve (803) has posed:
    Should the party investigate, they will uncover: The clay jar-like container is full of gold coins, though they have no face value, or even any indication of where they might have come from. They are just, generic gold COINS. The wooden crate is a bit more interesting. It has more of the same gold coins, but there's also an INSTANT HEALTH POTION, and an EMERALD. The chest is the real prize. It contains a THAUMIUM SWORD - a curiously purple metal, a bit denser and durable than iron. A BELT - though with no obviously sinister properties in itself, perhaps that could be changed in time, given this malleable world. Some PUMPKIN SEEDS - mad rarez yo. And a half dozen IRON INGOTS. Unrelated to the treasure, exactly, the gigantic zombie begins to disintegrate, but it leaves behind more of that rotten flesh, as well as its BRAIN, which is nicely portable and human-sized.

    It's still pulsating like it's alive, too. Gross.

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     "Dibs on the sword," Noa says immediately, "You guys can take what the fuck ever but I've gotta see what happens when I mash that shit together, holy fuck."

     "That thing is like fucking glowing."

     Noa also stares at the brain for a very long moment before picking it up. Fuck it, not like anyone *else* cares about glowing zombie brains, right? Besides, maybe he can do something interesting with it.

Fudou Moto (784) has posed:
    The zombie's strength is great. Fudou's face goes red as it begins choking the li- wait no that's the anger. The muscles in his shoulders, neck and back all seem to bulge and bristle to keep the massive creature from getting its huge, clumsy hands around anything important. And so he continues thrashing and thrashing and thrashing...

Until the zombie pops right in half, leaving its legs in Fudou's arms.

    Slowly, the rage begins to fade. Fudou's eyes clear, his muscles losing much of their strength. All the fatigue hits him like an actual brick, sending the big man to a knee. "Ugh," he grunts, lifting his hands to rub at his shoulders, "Never wrestled something like that before. Goddamn that's gonna sting in the morning."

    With a great, pained grunt, Fudou draws himself to his feet and staggers over toward the chest. He seizes the belt-- and holds it aloft like some kind of awesome Prize Belt. Because he just wrestled a zombie the rest of the way to death, goddamn.

"...That emerald looks nice too," he murmurs. "Hey, anyone mind if I take that home to the wife?"

Noa Nuquerna (788) has posed:
     Noa waves his hand. "Whatever, I'll get another later."

     "Actually gimme those Pumpkin Seeds too, I have a stupid idea."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
    Rebecca watches as the zombie goes down and she breathes a sigh of relief. "That wasn't what I had in mind for my mission but oh well..." She goes over to the brain and examines it, scowling a little. "This is disgusting, but..." She pauses and takes out a scientific type of kit. "Maybe we could utilize this?" She proceeds to utilize some kind of device to take a few samples of the brain tissue. "I'll bring this back for research!"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man has never seen a combie like this to be honest. He keeps fighting and moving Heat Man's got a bit roughed up but he's not out of it yet. He keepps moving jump and throw. That's how he fight until the best is finally down.

"IT be a pain to contain that unprepared to be honest. Humm well then lets see what we got."

he'll take a few coins, for the Wily army coffers. Also he and heat are totally going to get some Green Tea and sake later with soem of the the money, also wings for Wily.

"Well that went well right? Interesting time Steve, you nedd more help give us a call. I'm curious about this world too I admit."