Billy was silent as he only saw one choice at the moment..He didn't care what happened to Goro or Eli and he couldn't go to the Frozen plains, he was too wet and cold and electrified. He knew the one safe idea was to go to the cliffs to escape everyone, but he didn't want to be alone. Not now. He would use his speed of Mercury and help him go back to the North Clearing, shooting some electricity on the third ice path to shoot it further out to sea as he passed. . Eli and Goro deserved each other. Though if Scott or Alice noticed Billy's body language, they could see that he looked visibly upset as he flew off to the north clearing. @Sark@Alex Azure@dark@Takumi @Heading to North Clearing
Henry Hart/ Kid Danger
Henry looked over at Cho. " Thank you, I won't forget this," he replied. He would take a straight path hoping to get out of the caves, not knowing where he was and if the rest of the team would follow. He hoped that they did. @Sark@Gummi Bunnies@dark@Alex Azure @Purple Team
Hnikar's hair would glow with sparks once more, attracting the predators to him.
And now that he had unleashed his hidden power once more, the plans and strategies that got sealed away with it returned, and now he could plan.
And attracting those rowdy sea beasts was the plan.
His legs sparked, and when the great sea monster was close enough, fangs mere single-digit metres away, he unleashed a powerful burst of lightning from his legs, creating a type of 'lightning boom' from his legs that was strong enough to propel him all the way upwards and knock the sea monster back. When he was successful, he would levitate in place before identifying where his group was.
This can't be it. The boy wouldn't allow it. Even as bad as this scenario, with everything seemingly piled against them, Hyakkimaru pressed on with the will to live. Even when majority of his human body was stripped away by the demons, he kept on living and fighting to reobtain what was once his. With a loud yet determined yell, he mustered up all his strength to stab his right arm's sword into a rock that was part of the riverside, in hopes that it would delay him being further washed away by the rushing waters.
He tried to reach out to Kara with his left arm, but paused when he remembered that his arms were not going to be much help to other people. All these arms of his do at the moment is hurt people, something that his bodily curse has afflicted upon to him. Aside from the sounds of tragedy within their group and the overpowering river currents, the world felt and sounded empty to him.
Why did he feel like this at this moment?
@Takumi@Jeremi@Minerva@Gummi Bunnies@York@Crow@Atomic Knight@Sark
Despite having a weapon such as the keyblade, Vanitas didn't seem to be able to defend fully against that blow of a punch, even losing his defensive stance in the process. That was when he suddenly froze in place, as if time had stopped for him and him only. Any further attacks to his frozen form appeared to do nothing, and it was only a few seconds later that this frozen still of him started to look transparent. An illusion. Another form of magic. Which meant...
❝ Gotcha. ❞ A snarky remark came from above, mere moments before Vanitas would go for a downwards strike as he reappeared above and behind Cho. Eyeing that one of the targets was leaving the area, the masked boy silently took apart the present Unversed, decomposing them into darkness that would merge with his physical form. Then, Vanitas let out a much larger mass of formless darkness, which chased after Henry. Whatever this mass of darkness was meant to be, it was probably for the best to not find out.
Henry would speed up and start running faster to get away from the formless darkness. If it got too close, he would use his hyper-motility to dodge of the way, reacting faster than most things. For an added measure, he would use his laser and change it to the forbidden kill mode, aimining it to the mass. He wasn't about to die here. He wasn't going to die. @Sark@dark@Alex Azure
Billy Batson/ Shazam
Billy kept flying as far away from any person and he would eventually come to a cliff in the north clearing. " Shazam." He turned back to his teen form and he started to cry. He didn't mean to kill Loa or Kate, he had been trying to save her. Maybe his mom was right to abandon him when he was a kid. Maybe she saw that he was a bad kid and knew that he would kill or be a broken individual. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't gotten that call. Then Kate and Loa wouldn't be dead.... because he wouldn't be here. " I don't want to die here.... but I don't want to hurt anyone else," he replied. @Minerva@Sark
Billy kept flying as far away from any person and he would eventually come to a cliff in the north clearing. " Shazam." He turned back to his teen form and he started to cry. He didn't mean to kill Loa or Kate, he had been trying to save her. Maybe his mom was right to abandon him when he was a kid. Maybe she saw that he was a bad kid and knew that he would kill or be a broken individual. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't gotten that call. Then Kate and Loa wouldn't be dead.... because he wouldn't be here. " I don't want to die here.... but I don't want to hurt anyone else," he replied. @Minerva@Sark
A girl who had wandered far from her group looking for a place to peacefully finish her manga approached Billy. Her face was filled with concern and she looked towards him/
"Hmm? Are you alright?" She asked, hand on her sword. She held the manga in her hand, half open.
Billy had pulled up his hoodie to hide his tears. Who cries during a death game after killing someone? God, he probably was disappointing Arcade and he didn't fucking care
"Not really, I just came from a fight and I...I..... did a thing that caused people to die. All I was trying to do was save them and all I did was fuck it up. I'm cold and wet."
" I mean- if you don't want to run after hearing that- sure."
Billy had pulled up his hoodie to hide his tears. Who cries during a death game after killing someone? God, he probably was disappointing Arcade and he didn't fucking care
"Not really, I just came from a fight and I...I..... did a thing that caused people to die. All I was trying to do was save them and all I did was fuck it up. I'm cold and wet."
" I mean- if you don't want to run after hearing that- sure."
"I understand." Isabeau said. She looked dignified as she looked out over the cliff, hand still on her sword. "Where I come from, you can be put to death for reading the wrong kind of book." She said, tilting her head to her manga.
She paused. "I'm Isabeau." She introduced herself.
Billy would look over at her for a moment. " You know- before I came here, I thought there was only one type of good guy and one type of bad guy....but now, I don't even know what I am anymore," he admitted to her aloud with a sigh.
He paused. " Number 9 on the people you should kill list. I'm Billy Batson."
Arcade's comments really did nothing but fuel her energy, and Jianyu ignored him as she walked on. Bastard. At the end of the day, it was really his fault this all happened. But it was all right. He would pay for what he did, too. Jianyu considered him her sister's killer just as much as she did the Orange Team member...though currently she didn't have a prayer of even injuring him right now. The immediate target, the killable target, was the one she focused on.
Through the jungle, Jianyu didn't dare think of anything but her mission. Within her, she already felt emotions building up like a floodgate, aching to be let out. But she refused to let herself feel anything right now. Bison had been the same way she remembered. Calm and calculating, rather than overly emotional, and that let him channel his Psycho Power effectively. Meanwhile, whenever he possessed Jianyu and the others, their emotions flared up out of control, and they went berserk. Unable to do anything but feel, it made them puppets, free for him to use however he wanted. Suddenly she kind of understood why they were named Dolls; they'd been just that. Toy soldiers to use up and toss aside after they'd been broken.
Well, this was one Doll that didn't break. And one that refused to let this island break her, either.
Upon her arrival at the camp, Jianyu surveyed the scene. She knew exactly which tree he was in, which hut to target. But...she had to be careful. That entire team was unpredictable. So, before stepping one foot into their setup, she surveyed the scene for any traps, or soil that had been tampered with, in case the Winter Soldier had planted even more bombs. That had always been Xiayu's job...no. No. Stop. Wait until this is over. Focus, damn it. Focus.
Camp Orange
By taking her time in assessing her surroundings, Jianyu would discover a series of proximity-mines scattered throughout the forest floor, remnants of one of Arcade's death traps. The few mines that were not concealed beneath the jungle's dirt and leaves were littered with clear signs of tampering; though they were not his own, Bucky had rearmed a selection of the mines.
At first glance, the positioning of the visible mines seemed random, however, upon closer inspection, a faint pattern existed. The area before her had been set up akin to a chessboard, with patches of earth marked out with squares of sticks making up the tiles. Had the Arcade not left a clue as to the path through the minefield etched into one of the smaller trees, navigating the danger-zone would have been nothing more than guess work. The clue read:
Start
LP
LP
RP
LP
LP
RP
LP
The final letters of the clue had clearly been scratched away by a pocket knife. Presuming that the panel closest to the tree was the starting point, Jianyu could attempt to decode the directions through the minefield, before attempting to climb the Winter Soldier's tree. Alternatively, she could attempt to lure the Orange Team down from their hideout by triggering a mine intentionally, however, doing so would lose her the element of surprise.
Billy was silent as he only saw one choice at the moment..He didn't care what happened to Goro or Eli and he couldn't go to the Frozen plains, he was too wet and cold and electrified. He knew the one safe idea was to go to the cliffs to escape everyone, but he didn't want to be alone. Not now. He would use his speed of Mercury and help him go back to the North Clearing, shooting some electricity on the third ice path to shoot it further out to sea as he passed. . Eli and Goro deserved each other. Though if Scott or Alice noticed Billy's body language, they could see that he looked visibly upset as he flew off to the north clearing.
@Ice Bridge (Ice Panel 3) "Damn you!" Eli cried, crawling back to his feet and spitting onto the ice. "You filthy coward!"
Stumbling from one end of the ice to the next, Eli's eyes returned to Goro, staring with the face of a boy possess. He gripped his arrow tightly, and began to charge towards Goro yet again, aiming to plant his weapon's tip between his neck and collar bone. Screeching and screaming, he was prepared to fight to his last, shivering breath. He hadn't cared much for Kate or Loa, or any of his 'team'. He hadn't cared much for his 'tribe' back home, nor his 'family' at mother base. He was hardly a people person. He had never had much patience for the craft.
However, there was one thing he held on to, no matter how many different 'teams' he had been made to fight for: his pride and his primal urge to prove himself.
Goro had tried to kill him. He would return the favour. Such was nature's law.
Unfazed by the drifting of the iceberg, Eli continued to strike at Goro, refusing to hold back from striking towards his vitals.
Hnikar's hair would glow with sparks once more, attracting the predators to him.
And now that he had unleashed his hidden power once more, the plans and strategies that got sealed away with it returned, and now he could plan.
And attracting those rowdy sea beasts was the plan.
His legs sparked, and when the great sea monster was close enough, fangs mere single-digit metres away, he unleashed a powerful burst of lightning from his legs, creating a type of 'lightning boom' from his legs that was strong enough to propel him all the way upwards and knock the sea monster back. When he was successful, he would levitate in place before identifying where his group was.
@Under the Ice/Over the Ice
The Lightning Boom was more than enough to blind the creature, however, the momentum of its forward charge was enough to continue to carry its flailing body upwards towards the surface, leaping from the ice waves like a whale. Soaring upwards and after Hnikar, the beast released a distorted, gasping battle cry, before futilely snapping its jaws. Falling back onto itself, the monster's fall once again plunged the ice bride into chaos. Waves born of shockwaves pushed the 3 panels even further apart and almost flipped the first panel. Wasting not time, Scott fired another optic blast towards the raised tip of the iceberg, the force of the blast returning the closest thing he had to 'solid ground' back to equilibrium, at the cost of some of its structural integrity. A snapping cracking sound made the ice tremble. That trick wasn't going to work twice.
"Hnikar!" Scott cried, rushing to the opposite end of the first panel in the hopes of naturally balancing the frozen see-saw. He sighed in relief as the Beast, lacking a light to follow, returned to the depths. Now they only had the White Team to deal with... and Eli."Thank God! We thought Shazam had you! We're pinned down here-- Batson might be AWOL, but he's take our path out of here with him. Eli's about to be lost at sea, Kate's dead, and Loa... things have gone to Hell. If you've got any other cards up you sleeve, now would be the time to play them!"
Despite having a weapon such as the keyblade, Vanitas didn't seem to be able to defend fully against that blow of a punch, even losing his defensive stance in the process. That was when he suddenly froze in place, as if time had stopped for him and him only. Any further attacks to his frozen form appeared to do nothing, and it was only a few seconds later that this frozen still of him started to look transparent. An illusion. Another form of magic. Which meant...
❝ Gotcha. ❞ A snarky remark came from above, mere moments before Vanitas would go for a downwards strike as he reappeared above and behind Cho. Eyeing that one of the targets was leaving the area, the masked boy silently took apart the present Unversed, decomposing them into darkness that would merge with his physical form. Then, Vanitas let out a much larger mass of formless darkness, which chased after Henry. Whatever this mass of darkness was meant to be, it was probably for the best to not find out.
@Underground Cave "Graggh!!" Cho cried, strumbling forward from Vanitas' sucker punch. To think that he, a kid in the top 0.1% of Earth's smartest minds, could have been outplaye twice in one week, first by Arcade and now by the Masked Boy. He gritted his teeth and pounded the dirt. Damn it all. He'd promised to hold the line for Henry, and that was a promise he intended to keep. It was time to smash. Spinning around with his knuckles in the dirt, Cho sent a stream of shattered stones flying towards Vanitas, a cloud of shrapnel to test to see if this Vanitas was the real deal. If his hunch was right and he wasn't going toe to toe with another phantom, he'd lung forward, striking at his foe with a fake-out right hook to lure his key blade to the right, only to exploint his flinch with a swift headbutt. Sure, it would ruin his quiff, but at least it would help him claw back his advantage.
Henry would speed up and start running faster to get away from the formless darkness. If it got too close, he would use his hyper-motility to dodge of the way, reacting faster than most things. For an added measure, he would use his laser and change it to the forbidden kill mode, aimining it to the mass. He wasn't about to die here. He wasn't going to die.
@Escape Passage View attachment 3914
Following the Dryland tunnels in search of light would soon lead Henry to an upwards incline. He could practically taste the surface air! It felt cool! It smelled like... wet leather...
As the afternoon's glow filled his eyes, Henry would find himself lost in the middle of nowhere, and the Unversed Shadow would find itself lost in a sea of shadows. No matter which way he turned, Henry would find something lurking in the corner of his eye. Something always seemed to lurk on the edge of the foggy horizon. Every angle looked identical. No matter which way he ran, the path before him seemed to loop onto itself. The only sound he could hear for miles around was the snapping of distant sticks. Every tree had wilted. Everywhere he turned, he saw death. The Unversed and Danger had found themselves lost in the heart of the Badlands. Welcome to---
The Deadlands
If they turned back to the passage, they would find that it had vanished from sight. Nothing but rough, dry dirt and dead grass sat in its stead. They were trapped. Lost. Missing in Action.
Scott panted, regaining his composure. He closed his eyes righted and rubbed his throbbing bow. He dropped to one knee to catch his own. He shut off his optic blasts, and released his fists.
"We were supposed to look after own. Its what I was trained to do. To lead my kind to a better tomorrow. Now... Now a mutant from a future I screwed up just got... because I wasn't strong or smart enough or good enough to keep her safe. I can't bring her back, but I can make all this mean something. Shazam is a double murderer, Alice. Loa needs justice."
His emotional state wasn't helping anyone. He knew that. He had spent his whole life knowing that a war was coming. A revolution. Some great change that would transform his people's path. But when faced with the blood and fire of change, all he wanted to do was punch something. Blast something. Replace his pain with someone else's. Loa had warned him of the man he would become. A terrorist. A villain from a bedtime story. He couldn't let his passion eat him up. Right now, he needed direction. He needed the professor.
"Alice... I need your objectivity. If you want to fall back, I'll fall back with your. We might be able to reach the Badlands before the Bridge breaks down completely. But I stand by what I said: Shazam has to pay for what he's done."
@Under the Ice+Over the Ice
Billy's second electrical surge was less dramatic that his first, with all of the Red Team's currently out of the water. The shock of his swift resurfacing and the force of the second electric explosion was enough to separate the ice bridge further, with crashing waves claiming even more of the path. Knocked off both their feet and their guard, the Champions could only watch as their numbers were divided further. The Bridge had drifted into three main segments.
On the First, Scott and Alice stood, their backs to land. They had a path to retreat back to the Frozen Forest or to the Badlands. As wet as they were from the lashing waves, returning to the colder regions would open them up to the possibility of falling ill and being more vulnerable to the cold. A quick retreat would mean abandoning Eli to fight the White Team alone.
On the Second and largest segment, stood Jak. The size of the second segment allowed Jak to move freely towards the Frozen Plains or back to the Northern Clearing as he saw fit.
On the Third, Goro and Eli continued to battle. The third segment was slowly drifting towards eastward towards Otherside Cliff. If the two fighters remained on the third segment, they risked drifting off course and into the wider ocean.
Between each segment, several smaller chunks of ice floated freely. It would be a risky journey, but if they were careful, the Champions might find themselves able to travel from one main segment to the next. Falling below the ice would be a great risk, however. The shock of falling into the icy water would render the Champions little more than fish food, and lingering outside of the main segments for too long would attract the attention of the beast beneath the ice.
@Undergrond Caves "So you're the dude behind all this crap?" The Hulk cried, blocking the thunder blast his a shadowy-meat-shield before tossing the nearest Unversed over his shoulders and into the sand stream. Whilst the creature was dragged across the Drylands and out of sight, Cho roared, leaping forward like a green cannonball. A green hammer-fist raised above his head, he charged towards Vanitas, leaping across the sandy rapids in a single bound. View attachment 3909 "Alright bud, looks like I'll have to bring your scheduled butt-kicking appointment forward a few days! Hope you've cleared your calendar!!"
Striking down at the Masked Boy, Cho sought to hammer down upon Vanitas' key blade, the strength of a dozen rhinos compacted into his punch. Turning back towards his team, he released a mighty bellow.
"I'll cover you! If you wanna run, heap straight up! Follow the light! If not, there's still chores to be done down here!!"
@Waterfall "Now that is delicious!" Arcade cried, writhing his hand. He clapped, grinned, and, on his command, the trees of the Jungle seemed to part behind him. The long, earthy trail they revealed seemed to stretch on for miles, however, the shaded passage seemed to have been carved across relatively flat ground. The journey to the Orange Team's camp would likely only taken them half an hour if they really set their minds to it. "I knew bringing you here was a safe bet. Between you and me-" He turned his head to the left, then to the right, before staring back at Jianyu with a sickening grin on his lips. "I always liked you more than your sourpuss sister. And I mean that. I really do. But hey, I won't keep you any longer. Besides, I've got somewhere to be, and my little path wont be here forever... so Go Kill Somebody... I'll be watching..." View attachment 3905
As quickly as he had appeared, Arcade vanished.
The edge of the jungle seemed to be a total dead zone. No animals. No rivers or lakes. Nothing but silence and trees. Yet at as they walked, they caught sight of a new path- a path of destruction carved through the green. Fallen trees smashed into splinters. Burned grass. Small, hand dug ditches no deeper than a fist. Someone had stripped the region bare at neck break speed. Soon, even the tree population seemed to thin. A glance to the skies revealed reason why. View attachment 3908
Across the cloudy canopy, a wooden boardwalk had been stitched together from bark, flint and vines. The job would have taken a normal man a month or two to assemble. It must have taken the Kid Flash a handful of minutes. At the heart of the boardwalk sat half a dozen huts, warmed by neatly thatched roofs and warmed by small fires. No matter how long the Champions surveyed the scene, they couldn't seam to find a way to reach the huts from the ground. Burn marks across the trees implied that the Orange Team's resident speedster ferried his allies from the forest floor and back again.
Hushed chatter could be heard coming from one of the huts. A metallic arm glistened in the light of fire. Unmistakably, the Winter Soldier was resting in one of the huts.
Yet to reach him, the Vengeful Champions would have to find a way to scale the 30 foot trees raising the Orange Camp from the forest floor, each of which had been stripped of its branches. Alternatively, they could attempt to lure their foes out of their comfort zones and into battle. Either way would be a risk, but then again, revenge was never an easy path...
Alice bit the inside of her cheek for a moment in thought. In some ways, Scott reminded her of Renfred and in many ways he didn't. Taking a quick look around she spotted Eli, then her gaze flicked to Scott.
"We'll retreat, but first I want to see if Eli can even try to make it across to us..." It was risky, especially since he too fell into the water for a short time.
"Eli-!" she started, then Billy came back up and pretty much ruined that part of her plan. Squinting at Shazam as he blasted at the ice path and took off, she could tell that he seemed upset in some way.
Yeah, well she was downright pissed at the moment. She didn't like Eli all that much, sure, but he was still her teammate and her responsibility while on the same team damnit.
"So much for that. Let's try and get to the badlands." She grouched with a huff, glancing back at Scott once more.
Camp Orange
By taking her time in assessing her surroundings, Jianyu would discover a series of proximity-mines scattered throughout the forest floor, remnants of one of Arcade's death traps. The few mines that were not concealed beneath the jungle's dirt and leaves were littered with clear signs of tampering; though they were not his own, Bucky had rearmed a selection of the mines.
At first glance, the positioning of the visible mines seemed random, however, upon closer inspection, a faint pattern existed. The area before her had been set up akin to a chessboard, with patches of earth marked out with squares of sticks making up the tiles. Had the Arcade not left a clue as to the path through the minefield etched into one of the smaller trees, navigating the danger-zone would have been nothing more than guess work. The clue read:
Start
LP
LP
RP
LP
LP
RP
LP
The final letters of the clue had clearly been scratched away by a pocket knife. Presuming that the panel closest to the tree was the starting point, Jianyu could attempt to decode the directions through the minefield, before attempting to climb the Winter Soldier's tree. Alternatively, she could attempt to lure the Orange Team down from their hideout by triggering a mine intentionally, however, doing so would lose her the element of surprise.
@Ice Bridge (Ice Panel 3) "Damn you!" Eli cried, crawling back to his feet and spitting onto the ice. "You filthy coward!"
Stumbling from one end of the ice to the next, Eli's eyes returned to Goro, staring with the face of a boy possess. He gripped his arrow tightly, and began to charge towards Goro yet again, aiming to plant his weapon's tip between his neck and collar bone. Screeching and screaming, he was prepared to fight to his last, shivering breath. He hadn't cared much for Kate or Loa, or any of his 'team'. He hadn't cared much for his 'tribe' back home, nor his 'family' at mother base. He was hardly a people person. He had never had much patience for the craft.
However, there was one thing he held on to, no matter how many different 'teams' he had been made to fight for: his pride and his primal urge to prove himself.
Goro had tried to kill him. He would return the favour. Such was nature's law.
Unfazed by the drifting of the iceberg, Eli continued to strike at Goro, refusing to hold back from striking towards his vitals.
@Under the Ice/Over the Ice
The Lightning Boom was more than enough to blind the creature, however, the momentum of its forward charge was enough to continue to carry its flailing body upwards towards the surface, leaping from the ice waves like a whale. Soaring upwards and after Hnikar, the beast released a distorted, gasping battle cry, before futilely snapping its jaws. Falling back onto itself, the monster's fall once again plunged the ice bride into chaos. Waves born of shockwaves pushed the 3 panels even further apart and almost flipped the first panel. Wasting not time, Scott fired another optic blast towards the raised tip of the iceberg, the force of the blast returning the closest thing he had to 'solid ground' back to equilibrium, at the cost of some of its structural integrity. A snapping cracking sound made the ice tremble. That trick wasn't going to work twice.
"Hnikar!" Scott cried, rushing to the opposite end of the first panel in the hopes of naturally balancing the frozen see-saw. He sighed in relief as the Beast, lacking a light to follow, returned to the depths. Now they only had the White Team to deal with... and Eli."Thank God! We thought Shazam had you! We're pinned down here-- Batson might be AWOL, but he's take our path out of here with him. Eli's about to be lost at sea, Kate's dead, and Loa... things have gone to Hell. If you've got any other cards up you sleeve, now would be the time to play them!"
@Underground Cave "Graggh!!" Cho cried, strumbling forward from Vanitas' sucker punch. To think that he, a kid in the top 0.1% of Earth's smartest minds, could have been outplaye twice in one week, first by Arcade and now by the Masked Boy. He gritted his teeth and pounded the dirt. Damn it all. He'd promised to hold the line for Henry, and that was a promise he intended to keep. It was time to smash. Spinning around with his knuckles in the dirt, Cho sent a stream of shattered stones flying towards Vanitas, a cloud of shrapnel to test to see if this Vanitas was the real deal. If his hunch was right and he wasn't going toe to toe with another phantom, he'd lung forward, striking at his foe with a fake-out right hook to lure his key blade to the right, only to exploint his flinch with a swift headbutt. Sure, it would ruin his quiff, but at least it would help him claw back his advantage.
@Escape Passage View attachment 3914
Following the Dryland tunnels in search of light would soon lead Henry to an upwards incline. He could practically taste the surface air! It felt cool! It smelled like... wet leather...
As the afternoon's glow filled his eyes, Henry would find himself lost in the middle of nowhere, and the Unversed Shadow would find itself lost in a sea of shadows. No matter which way he turned, Henry would find something lurking in the corner of his eye. Something always seemed to lurk on the edge of the foggy horizon. Every angle looked identical. No matter which way he ran, the path before him seemed to loop onto itself. The only sound he could hear for miles around was the snapping of distant sticks. Every tree had wilted. Everywhere he turned, he saw death. The Unversed and Danger had found themselves lost in the heart of---
The Deadlands
If they turned back to the passage, they would find that it had vanished from sight. Nothing but rough, dry dirt and dead grass sat in its stead. They were trapped. Lost. Missing in Action.
Yelping as she felt her balance shift, Alice nearly skid off of their little iceberg, though Scott was quick enough to keep that from happening thankfully. Tensing as she heard it weaken, she glanced down at it almost warily. She couldn't even be glad Hnikar was okay for too long due to the added danger for her and the mutant beside her.
"Yeah, that'd really be appreciated right now." She sighed.
Ugh, she didn't have time for this! Riddles and puzzles...already she could feel herself get frustrated. And that meant she was getting emotional. Jianyu hissed as she clutched her head, feeling a headache coming on as it always did before losing control. No, no, no! She had to do this, and do it right. Calm down, calm down. She could figure this out.
Okay, this stupid puzzle...Jianyu glanced at it for a grand total of five seconds. Nope. Forget it. Okay, stay in control, there had to be something...Aha! That's right! She had seen Bison float all the time! She could probably do it, too, but she would need to practice first.
Begrudingly taking a few steps away from the Orange Camp, Jianyu closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Clear your head, clear your heart...okay. Time to figure this out.
Vanitas appeared to try something else, but could not. Unfortunately due to him using a good portion of his energy to summon a specific type of Unversed to chase after Henry, he left himself with a limited amount of mana in this fight. Left to only his physical prowess and techniques, the masked boy rushed to defend himself with his keyblade, but falling for the fakeout leading into a headbutt. From that alone, the dark matter that made up Vanitas's mask cracked. To allow that ample time to restore itself, the boy simply had the mask dissolve for now.
❝ Not bad... I see no point on keeping this mask on... but I also see no point for worrying for your friend out there. My Unversed can't contact me when so far away, but I feel that it's doing its job juuust right. ❞ The boy smirked as if either way, this would only end with an advantage for himself. If it wasn't for his shortage of mana right now, he could've gone all out and finished this with no problem, but this would have to do. Leaping backwards to distance himself from Cho, he raised his keyblade and aimed right for him. A burst of darkness came from the weapon moments before a dark blue beam was fired in Cho's general direction!
@Sark
The formless shadows gave chase, seemingly growing in mass and density. It didn't seem so inclined on attacking as it wasn't in a more physical form, but it was acting on the instincts that Vanitas's feelings gave it at this moment. By the time they were out of the caves, the change in atmosphere came to bring the formless Unversed into a halt. From there, the shadows started to dissipate to show what it truly looked like.
A mass of floating armor parts towered over Henry, and from the similar aura of negative energy stemming radiating from it, this was no doubt another Unversed. Somewhat in an unusual manner, the armored Unversed looked around as if looking for its creator, but found no sign of him. Almost like a dog whose lost its owner. Despite this, it returned its attention over to Henry, it's crooked eyes glowing red and preparing to attack out of pure instinct to kill.
"You are correct, I do have a card up my sleeve," Hnikar adds with a smile. "Scott, big sis, you should leave this place. I- no, we will find a way to catch up with you both."
Hnikar's entire body was charged as he hovered and sped across the waters at unquestionable speeds, all this while preparing to strike with an electrically-charged attack from the blunt end of his weapon. This would target Goro's neck and backhead area, stunning him into unconsciousness!
"Shazam, was it?" Hnikar questions. "You are a pacifist, and I am a servant of the God of War. You may have no desire to slay, but I will slay those who would dare threaten my allies with death. Next time, you will not be so lucky. Consider this mercy..."
He checks to see if Goro managed to stay up.
"... or if I am required to retaliate, a lack thereof."
Vanitas appeared to try something else, but could not. Unfortunately due to him using a good portion of his energy to summon a specific type of Unversed to chase after Henry, he left himself with a limited amount of mana in this fight. Left to only his physical prowess and techniques, the masked boy rushed to defend himself with his keyblade, but falling for the fakeout leading into a headbutt. From that alone, the dark matter that made up Vanitas's mask cracked. To allow that ample time to restore itself, the boy simply had the mask dissolve for now.
❝ Not bad... I see no point on keeping this mask on... but I also see no point for worrying for your friend out there. My Unversed can't contact me when so far away, but I feel that it's doing its job juuust right. ❞ The boy smirked as if either way, this would only end with an advantage for himself. If it wasn't for his shortage of mana right now, he could've gone all out and finished this with no problem, but this would have to do. Leaping backwards to distance himself from Cho, he raised his keyblade and aimed right for him. A burst of darkness came from the weapon moments before a dark blue beam was fired in Cho's general direction!
@Dryland Caves
His ego fuelled by the successful strike, Cho jumped towards to Vanitas, the force from his mighty trunk legs sending a trembling shockwave across the cave. Fuelled by a fury and momentum, he sped forward like a blazing green cannonball, his right fist drawn back and ready to strike Vanitas moments before his blue beam fired. "Sure, ditch the helmet, dude. Just gives me something new to smash--"
Choking on his words, the Hulk froze in mid air, his legs dangling as is he was hanging from marionette strings. His eyelids and lips trembled, his nuclear strength trembling against some unknown force. He could barely speak.
"What th--the hell-- the hell is that?"
He stared at the ghostly figure that hovered between the two fighters. Tretij Rebenok stared back. In the silence of the standoff, Mantis wheezed through his gas mask. Something called to him. Another master called to him. A grieving mistress, miles away. View attachment 3916
As streams of shadow leapt from Vanitas' blades, Psycho Mantis turned back to his old master as if to say good bye. He nodded, showing as much emotion as his spirt allowed him to. His Gas Mask transformed into an exact copy of Vanitas' discarded helmet. An identical crack crawled across the dome, revealing a stretch of pale, leathery skin and a tired, glassy eye.
He flew upwards, vanishing into the blackness of the cave's canopy.
[BOOM]
Cho struck the cave wall, his cracked defence shattering under the force of Vanitas' blow. He cradled his scalding chest, patting blue flames from his body and breathing heavily.
"Well... that was someth--"
[BOOM]
The cave called to them again.
"Oh crap... what have you d---"
[BOOM]
Streamers of dust tumbled from the stalactites. Pebbles danced towards the sandy floor.
"We're gonna bring the whole place down... And not in the good wa--"
[BOOM]
"It's already started.... Oh boy..."
As the Hulk clumsily stumbled to his feet, Vanitas would feel something stir within him. The augmented strength gifted to him by the Mantis had vanished along with the ghostly child. Dozens more [BOOM]s echoes across the cavern. It wouldn't be long before the Underground Caves would become the Dryland Canyons, or, worse yet, a Dryland Tomb.
Ugh, she didn't have time for this! Riddles and puzzles...already she could feel herself get frustrated. And that meant she was getting emotional. Jianyu hissed as she clutched her head, feeling a headache coming on as it always did before losing control. No, no, no! She had to do this, and do it right. Calm down, calm down. She could figure this out.
Okay, this stupid puzzle...Jianyu glanced at it for a grand total of five seconds. Nope. Forget it. Okay, stay in control, there had to be something...Aha! That's right! She had seen Bison float all the time! She could probably do it, too, but she would need to practice first.
Begrudingly taking a few steps away from the Orange Camp, Jianyu closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Clear your head, clear your heart...okay. Time to figure this out.
@Camp Orange
In the glow of the afternoon, a spirt came to visit a Doll.
It hung above the minefield like a forgotten puppet, its arms stretched wide and its head slumping onto its collar. It's slender body was wrapped in a familiar trench coat much too large for its figure, with the coat's tails swaying like reeds in the wind. A winged-skull medal sat on his chest. Upon its face sat a black dome, which carried a wide crack across right side. A glassy, white eye stared down at her.
"Fly..."
The spirit stammered, its right arm swinging forward to point in her direction. As if on command, Jianyu would find her fury magnify, and with it, her strength. Her connection to the Psycho-Power depend as he his pain- stolen from a Masked Boy- to her own. He nodded. And hissed a response, stealing the words of Vanitas.
"Grieve, Kill. Kill juuusstt right"
With another nod, the spectre faded from view. It appeared as if Arcade and his audience were not the only ones who had been watching her.
Alice bit the inside of her cheek for a moment in thought. In some ways, Scott reminded her of Renfred and in many ways he didn't. Taking a quick look around she spotted Eli, then her gaze flicked to Scott.
"We'll retreat, but first I want to see if Eli can even try to make it across to us..." It was risky, especially since he too fell into the water for a short time.
"Eli-!" she started, then Billy came back up and pretty much ruined that part of her plan. Squinting at Shazam as he blasted at the ice path and took off, she could tell that he seemed upset in some way.
Yeah, well she was downright pissed at the moment. She didn't like Eli all that much, sure, but he was still her teammate and her responsibility while on the same team damnit.
"So much for that. Let's try and get to the badlands." She grouched with a huff, glancing back at Scott once more.
"You are correct, I do have a card up my sleeve," Hnikar adds with a smile. "Scott, big sis, you should leave this place. I- no, we will find a way to catch up with you both."
Hnikar's entire body was charged as he hovered and sped across the waters at unquestionable speeds, all this while preparing to strike with an electrically-charged attack from the blunt end of his weapon. This would target Goro's neck and backhead area, stunning him into unconsciousness!
"Shazam, was it?" Hnikar questions. "You are a pacifist, and I am a servant of the God of War. You may have no desire to slay, but I will slay those who would dare threaten my allies with death. Next time, you will not be so lucky. Consider this mercy..."
He checks to see if Goro managed to stay up.
"... or if I am required to retaliate, a lack thereof."
@Ice Bridge "Yes!"
Eli cried as the cavalry soared by, a fist raised to the sky. Looks like the sea wouldn't claim him yet. Seeing opportunity's door open just a crack, the White Mamba span into action, his arrow-knife dancing across his fingers. The tables had turned. Charging across the bridge, he prepared to strike down towards his stunned foe. Rolling Goro onto his back, he wrapped his fingers around the Champion's throat. Still in his palm, the icy cool steel of the arrow's neck pressed into Goro's neck and threatened to slowly brining him back to the land of the waking.
"We can't stop now, Hnikar. They got the jump on us. Played us like a damn fiddle. If they walk away, they'll come gunning. They die, here and now!" @Crow@Alex Azure@Takumi
@Above the Ice
Even as Alice and Scott retreated across the Ice Bridge, they could still hear the distant expletive cries of Eli as he drifted further and further out to sea. Summers bit his tongue hard. It killed him to let Eli go out the way he did. The revolutionary within him dreaded losing another unit- even an ass like the White Mamba- to Arcade's game. The human within him feared what might happen to the boy, lost and alone a sea. Death would inevitably take him before the sun set over the island. Maybe the thought of Eli surviving scared him even more. Once backed into a corner, a man such as Eli might find himself capable of many cruel, cruel things.
Thank God for the cavalry. Thank God for Hnikar. The thought of regrouping comforted him enough to keep him focused on the mission. Even as Eli continued to curse him for his cowardice, something inside him knew that the Mamba would come around. He was young. He was angry. He was stupid. But above all else, he was alive. The Thunderchild's ace in the whole was more than enough to cover their retreat, but, despite his wishes, there was no time left for thanks or praise. The window he had bought them wouldn't last long if Goro found his feet again. He had to run. Run and pray.
Deep down, Scott knew that feeling of solid land beneath his boots would be a comfort enough to see him through the night. However, as soon as the two champions came into contact with the Badland's rocky beaches, they found themselves lost in a rushing wave of fog. A chilling wind consumed them, its sharp tongue biting deep into their skin.
"No! Alice! Stay with me stay! Stay wi---"
In a heart beat, they were gone. And Alice was alone. Lost and alone in the Deadlands.
Scott Summer: [/STATUS: MISSING IN ACTION]
Alice Swayne: [/STATUS: MISSING IN ACTION]
@Takumi@Crow
---- Alice Swayne--> Lost and Alone in the Lost City of the Deadlands
By the time Alice could gather her thoughts, she would find herself lost and alone in a crumbling city. Everywhere she turned, she would find something made by man being reclaimed by nature. Homes. Shops. Schools. All had been torn down, rendered little more than piles of grew while concrete. A nearby library left books scattered across the streets. A nearby shop had thrown broken glass and tins of meat across the street. Yellow-white grass sprouted from cracks in the Earth. The skyline was littered with hollow trees, titans from another era.
As she walked, a voice pricked her ears.
"Alice!" It cried. "Alice! Where are you, child?"
From behind a distant corner, a man stumbled forth, clutching his eye. View attachment 3918 "I warned you not to wander. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'll try to make my feelings known better, in the future. Now get back over here."
This can't be it. The boy wouldn't allow it. Even as bad as this scenario, with everything seemingly piled against them, Hyakkimaru pressed on with the will to live. Even when majority of his human body was stripped away by the demons, he kept on living and fighting to reobtain what was once his. With a loud yet determined yell, he mustered up all his strength to stab his right arm's sword into a rock that was part of the riverside, in hopes that it would delay him being further washed away by the rushing waters.
He tried to reach out to Kara with his left arm, but paused when he remembered that his arms were not going to be much help to other people. All these arms of his do at the moment is hurt people, something that his bodily curse has afflicted upon to him. Aside from the sounds of tragedy within their group and the overpowering river currents, the world felt and sounded empty to him.
Hyakkimaru's blade lodge itself between the riverside's rocks, bringing his body to a sudden stop. However, still plagued by his injuries and pounded by the rushing waves, the champion would find himself being effectively waterboarded by the rushing stream, the pounding pressure forcing the air from his lungs.
Yet, amidst the chaos and panic, Hyakkimaru's inner peace would guide his hand. His relaxed mind would help to open his sense of touch. His skin would prick under the warmth of a stream of air flowing from the rocks his sword had imbedded itself into. Pushed forth by the flow of the stream, the channel of bubbles could imply the existence of a passageway lurking beneath the riverbed. However, taking the time to unearth it would be a gamble, forcing him to race against his depleting oxygen supply. Pinned to the riverbed by his blades, the only chase of stealing a lungful of air would force him to weaken his grip, thus sending him tumbling down the river again.
Fundamentally, Hyakkimaru was met with a simple choice- wait to be rescued, or take a gamble and rescue himself.
@Dryland Caves
His ego fuelled by the successful strike, Cho jumped towards to Vanitas, the force from his mighty trunk legs sending a trembling shockwave across the cave. Fuelled by a fury and momentum, he sped forward like a blazing green cannonball, his right fist drawn back and ready to strike Vanitas moments before his blue beam fired. "Sure, ditch the helmet, dude. Just gives me something new to smash--"
Choking on his words, the Hulk froze in mid air, his legs dangling as is he was hanging from marionette strings. His eyelids and lips trembled, his nuclear strength trembling against some unknown force. He could barely speak.
"What th--the hell-- the hell is that?"
He stared at the ghostly figure that hovered between the two fighters. Tretij Rebenok stared back. In the silence of the standoff, Mantis wheezed through his gas mask. Something called to him. Another master called to him. A grieving mistress, miles away. View attachment 3916
As streams of shadow leapt from Vanitas' blades, Psycho Mantis turned back to his old master as if to say good bye. He nodded, showing as much emotion as his spirt allowed him to. His Gas Mask transformed into an exact copy of Vanitas' discarded helmet. An identical crack crawled across the dome, revealing a stretch of pale, leathery skin and a tired, glassy eye.
He flew upwards, vanishing into the blackness of the cave's canopy.
[BOOM]
Cho struck the cave wall, his cracked defence shattering under the force of Vanitas' blow. He cradled his scalding chest, patting blue flames from his body and breathing heavily.
"Well... that was someth--"
[BOOM]
The cave called to them again.
"Oh crap... what have you d---"
[BOOM]
Streamers of dust tumbled from the stalactites. Pebbles danced towards the sandy floor.
"We're gonna bring the whole place down... And not in the good wa--"
[BOOM]
"It's already started.... Oh boy..."
As the Hulk clumsily stumbled to his feet, Vanitas would feel something stir within him. The augmented strength gifted to him by the Mantis had vanished along with the ghostly child. Dozens more [BOOM]s echoes across the cavern. It wouldn't be long before the Underground Caves would become the Dryland Canyons, or, worse yet, a Dryland Tomb.
@Camp Orange
In the glow of the afternoon, a spirt came to visit a Doll.
It hung above the minefield like a forgotten puppet, its arms stretched wide and its head slumping onto its collar. It's slender body was wrapped in a familiar trench coat much too large for its figure, with the coat's tails swaying like reeds in the wind. A winged-skull medal sat on his chest. Upon its face sat a black dome, which carried a wide crack across right side. A glassy, white eye stared down at her.
"Fly..."
The spirit stammered, its right arm swinging forward to point in her direction. As if on command, Jianyu would find her fury magnify, and with it, her strength. Her connection to the Psycho-Power depend as he his pain- stolen from a Masked Boy- to her own. He nodded. And hissed a response, stealing the words of Vanitas.
"Grieve, Kill. Kill juuusstt right"
With another nod, the spectre faded from view. It appeared as if Arcade and his audience were not the only ones who had been watching her.
@Ice Bridge "Yes!"
Eli cried as the cavalry soared by, a fist raised to the sky. Looks like the sea wouldn't claim him yet. Seeing opportunity's door open just a crack, the White Mamba span into action, his arrow-knife dancing across his fingers. The tables had turned. Charging across the bridge, he prepared to strike down towards his stunned foe. Rolling Goro onto his back, he wrapped his fingers around the Champion's throat. Still in his palm, the icy cool steel of the arrow's neck pressed into Goro's neck and threatened to slowly brining him back to the land of the waking.
"We can't stop now, Hnikar. They got the jump on us. Played us like a damn fiddle. If they walk away, they'll come gunning. They die, here and now!" @Crow@Alex Azure@Takumi
@Above the Ice
Even as Alice and Scott retreated across the Ice Bridge, they could still hear the distant expletive cries of Eli as he drifted further and further out to sea. Summers bit his tongue hard. It killed him to let Eli go out the way he did. The revolutionary within him dreaded losing another unit- even an ass like the White Mamba- to Arcade's game. The human within him feared what might happen to the boy, lost and alone a sea. Death would inevitably take him before the sun set over the island. Maybe the thought of Eli surviving scared him even more. Once backed into a corner, a man such as Eli might find himself capable of many cruel, cruel things.
Thank God for the cavalry. Thank God for Hnikar. The thought of regrouping comforted him enough to keep him focused on the mission. Even as Eli continued to curse him for his cowardice, something inside him knew that the Mamba would come around. He was young. He was angry. He was stupid. But above all else, he was alive. The Thunderchild's ace in the whole was more than enough to cover their retreat, but, despite his wishes, there was no time left for thanks or praise. The window he had bought them wouldn't last long if Goro found his feet again. He had to run. Run and pray.
Deep down, Scott knew that feeling of solid land beneath his boots would be a comfort enough to see him through the night. However, as soon as the two champions came into contact with the Badland's rocky beaches, they found themselves lost in a rushing wave of fog. A chilling wind consumed them, its sharp tongue biting deep into their skin.
"No! Alice! Stay with me stay! Stay wi---"
In a heart beat, they were gone. And Alice was alone. Lost and alone in the Deadlands.
Scott Summer: [/STATUS: MISSING IN ACTION]
Alice Swayne: [/STATUS: MISSING IN ACTION]
@Takumi@Crow
---- Alice Swayne--> Lost and Alone in the Lost City of the Deadlands
By the time Alice could gather her thoughts, she would find herself lost and alone in a crumbling city. Everywhere she turned, she would find something made by man being reclaimed by nature. Homes. Shops. Schools. All had been torn down, rendered little more than piles of grew while concrete. A nearby library left books scattered across the streets. A nearby shop had thrown broken glass and tins of meat across the street. Yellow-white grass sprouted from cracks in the Earth. The skyline was littered with hollow trees, titans from another era.
As she walked, a voice pricked her ears.
"Alice!" It cried. "Alice! Where are you, child?"
From behind a distant corner, a man stumbled forth, clutching his eye. View attachment 3918 "I warned you not to wander. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'll try to make my feelings known better, in the future. Now get back over here."
Hyakkimaru's blade lodge itself between the riverside's rocks, bringing his body to a sudden stop. However, still plagued by his injuries and pounded by the rushing waves, the champion would find himself being effectively waterboarded by the rushing stream, the pounding pressure forcing the air from his lungs.
Yet, amidst the chaos and panic, Hyakkimaru's inner peace would guide his hand. His relaxed mind would help to open his sense of touch. His skin would prick under the warmth of a stream of air flowing from the rocks his sword had imbedded itself into. Pushed forth by the flow of the stream, the channel of bubbles could imply the existence of a passageway lurking beneath the riverbed. However, taking the time to unearth it would be a gamble, forcing him to race against his depleting oxygen supply. Pinned to the riverbed by his blades, the only chase of stealing a lungful of air would force him to weaken his grip, thus sending him tumbling down the river again.
Fundamentally, Hyakkimaru was met with a simple choice- wait to be rescued, or take a gamble and rescue himself.
Before Alice knew it, she was within distance of Scott. Now she was alone, and took in her surroundings with some caution.
"!!"
This place had to have the name Badlands for a reason after all, coming to a halt as someone called her name, she took in a sharp breath when she saw who it was.
Then winced immediately afterwards at his almost instant scolding. After a moment of taking in the sight of her mentor and master, she felt multiple emotions at once. Unsure on if Arcade and the environment were fucking with her head, relief to see a familiar face, tired from the cold earlier, wary and tense in case it was Arcade and the environment fucking with her head to get to her in some way. She really wouldn't be surprised if he did that, given how much he supposedly knew about each contestant.
"Renfred, I'm sorry." She started, not apologizing for wandering, but for getting into such a mess like this and failing at protecting others. Even if it wasn't really him she felt a little bit better about it afterwards. Taking a cautious step forward, she faltered a bit glancing to where he clutched his eye.
"Your eye..." She muttered, and her brows furrowed. That sent a few alarm bells off. This cemented the fact that the Renfred before her could be an illusion, taking the form of Renfred after he got injured for her, and that thought alone made her uncomfortable and upset. She didn't need to be reminded of that incident, of her first failure as a bodyguard.
She still kept her gun in hand, and hoped she still had her knife-though if Scott had it that was fine too. If he survived whatever the hell was going on and she didn't hopefully he'd have some use for it.
The desperate howls of the struggle downstream and the flashing lights of Max's most recent attack would be enough to gradually reawaken Weapon Hex, who would find the affects of the Trigger Hexed Trigger scent now subsiding. Separated from her party, she would find herself met with a choice-- follow the sounds of the struggle or retreat further into the jungle.
It was like waking up from a horrid nightmare except it had all been real. Groggy and her entire body aching she got up on shaky legs, her special healing already working to bringing her back into shape. She looked down at her hands and clenched them. That monster had the power to turn her against the rest of the group.
It was too dangerous to stay with the others. Instead of moving towards she was hearing fighting going on she retreated into the jungle. Until she could find out a way to counter act the gas she was a liability if she stayed around the rest of the group. With one final look behind her she dashed into the jungle out of sight.
It had to have been, what, a good half hour now? And Jianyu still couldn't do it. And she had tried everything. Jumping up and down. Using a tree to give her some air (and falling flat on her face doing it). Thinking of floating real hard. But nothing worked.
Damn it! She leaned back against a tree, groaning as her head started pounding. Why was this so hard? Sure, yeah, Bison had been training with Psycho Power for years, but so had she! What was she missing that made this all so impossible? F.A.N.G. had experimented on her more than enough so that her body could handle it! And it stayed with her even after her release. So why? Why couldn't she just float?!
"Ngh..." She clutched her head, face contorting in pain. No, no, no! Any second now, she was going to lose control...and that would be the end. She'd go berserk, tearing through and possibly setting off a landmine, blowing up before she even got halfway to the tree. And that puzzle...she would take forever to solve it. She had never been good at that type of thing, and one wrong step spelled the end. And setting a mine off to lure them out? Too unpredictable. She had no clue who else was up there, what she'd be uo against besides Barnes himself. There was no other option...but she still couldn't get it.
But then...Jianyu froze. Something was here. Opening her eyes and looking up, her despair turned to surprise, awe even, as some...thing floated above her. Dressed like...oh, God. This couldn't be real, could it? What was that thing? And suddenly, he pointed, and she cried out, falling to her knees as the rush of energy filled her. The faint dark aura was now clearly visible, sinister violet haze flaring around her. Jianyu gasped for breath, rapidly trying to stay in control. She had to. If she didn't she lost herself, and then-
...and then it clicked.
Lose yourself. That was it! To use Psycho Power, you had to surrender a part of yourself. A normal human couldn't use it, because it was more than a human could handle. You had to not only be physically capable of handling it, you had to be mentally equipped. Empathy, compassion, mercy, kindness...all that went away when you gave in to the energy. And that was what Jianyu had to do if this was going to work.
Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes, concentrating. Grieve, and kill. Just like he said. Grieve and kill. Avenge her. Stop that murderer from killing anybody else. Make him feel the grief, the misery, the pain she was in.
And then, she began to float.
It was slow at first, quietly rising up into the air just as her spectre had. He was gone now, a twisted guardian angel that had given her what she needed to accomplish her mission. Jianyu kept rising, refusing to stay down. She only had so much time to get this done, it had to be perfect. In no time she had risen high above the treetops, into the blue sky. From there, she turned, facing the hut and floating towards it, her aura radiating as if she was a violet sun in a solar flare. There were a lot of ways to go about this, but she knew exactly how to start. She would make a grand entrace, herald in the apocalypse. Let him and everyone else who had helped kill Xiayu know they had ushered in their own doom.
Jianyu raised her hands, closed her eyes, focused her Psycho Power....and tried to set off every single goddamn landmine at once.
Before Alice knew it, she was within distance of Scott. Now she was alone, and took in her surroundings with some caution.
"!!"
This place had to have the name Badlands for a reason after all, coming to a halt as someone called her name, she took in a sharp breath when she saw who it was.
Then winced immediately afterwards at his almost instant scolding. After a moment of taking in the sight of her mentor and master, she felt multiple emotions at once. Unsure on if Arcade and the environment were fucking with her head, relief to see a familiar face, tired from the cold earlier, wary and tense in case it was Arcade and the environment fucking with her head to get to her in some way. She really wouldn't be surprised if he did that, given how much he supposedly knew about each contestant.
"Renfred, I'm sorry." She started, not apologizing for wandering, but for getting into such a mess like this and failing at protecting others. Even if it wasn't really him she felt a little bit better about it afterwards. Taking a cautious step forward, she faltered a bit glancing to where he clutched his eye.
"Your eye..." She muttered, and her brows furrowed. That sent a few alarm bells off. This cemented the fact that the Renfred before her could be an illusion, taking the form of Renfred after he got injured for her, and that thought alone made her uncomfortable and upset. She didn't need to be reminded of that incident, of her first failure as a bodyguard.
She still kept her gun in hand, and hoped she still had her knife-though if Scott had it that was fine too. If he survived whatever the hell was going on and she didn't hopefully he'd have some use for it.
Alice Swayne--> Lost and Alone in the Lost City of the Deadlands View attachment 3920 "Let's not pretend that you're going to shoot me now, child." Renfred sighed, slowly peeling his hand from his face. Still wet with blood, a trembling eyelid danced. He wasn't about to show weakness at a time such as this. He straightened his back and slowly began to make his way down the cracked street.
"For my bodyguard, you haven't done the greatest job at keeping me safe now, have you?"
Crossing the distance between the two of them in a heart beat, Renfred pounded upon Alice's head with like a hammer striking an anvil.
"Stupid child! I had half a mind to abandon you when I heard you were gone! And perhaps I still will..."
It was like waking up from a horrid nightmare except it had all been real. Groggy and her entire body aching she got up on shaky legs, her special healing already working to bringing her back into shape. She looked down at her hands and clenched them. That monster had the power to turn her against the rest of the group.
It was too dangerous to stay with the others. Instead of moving towards she was hearing fighting going on she retreated into the jungle. Until she could find out a way to counter act the gas she was a liability if she stayed around the rest of the group. With one final look behind her she dashed into the jungle out of sight.
@Heart of the Jungle
After running for what seemed like hours, Laura found herself lost in the heart of the jungle region. Still somewhat influenced by the lingering Cursed Trigger Scent, her sense of direction had been thrown off. There wasn't a single notable landmark in sight. Only bushes, trees and more trees. Any local scents had long since been masked by the stench of the morning's storming. The orange glow of evening stirred bad memories.
Yet, as she fled the scene, Laura would come across a flicker of light amongst the grey; a wall of steel sparkled in the light of the setting sun. Shimmering so brightly it was almost hard to look at, the rounded barrier appeared to have been built from hundreds off flat, thin, techno-organic spikes, each one tightly packed beside the next. The wall itself seemed unscaleable, stretching upwards for approximately 3 meters.
A dozen trees remained standing around the fortress, which might've provided her with a better vantage point, or a means of jumping over the wall entirely. Alternatively, getting to close to the wall might alert those hiding behind it, and earn her a meeting with the owner of the thought without cloaks and daggers, perhaps earning the charity of its inhabitant. Or maybe Laura intended to abandon the wall completely, opting instead to push on deeper into the jungle as night closed in, and scramble to find her own food, water and shelter.
It had to have been, what, a good half hour now? And Jianyu still couldn't do it. And she had tried everything. Jumping up and down. Using a tree to give her some air (and falling flat on her face doing it). Thinking of floating real hard. But nothing worked.
Damn it! She leaned back against a tree, groaning as her head started pounding. Why was this so hard? Sure, yeah, Bison had been training with Psycho Power for years, but so had she! What was she missing that made this all so impossible? F.A.N.G. had experimented on her more than enough so that her body could handle it! And it stayed with her even after her release. So why? Why couldn't she just float?!
"Ngh..." She clutched her head, face contorting in pain. No, no, no! Any second now, she was going to lose control...and that would be the end. She'd go berserk, tearing through and possibly setting off a landmine, blowing up before she even got halfway to the tree. And that puzzle...she would take forever to solve it. She had never been good at that type of thing, and one wrong step spelled the end. And setting a mine off to lure them out? Too unpredictable. She had no clue who else was up there, what she'd be uo against besides Barnes himself. There was no other option...but she still couldn't get it.
But then...Jianyu froze. Something was here. Opening her eyes and looking up, her despair turned to surprise, awe even, as some...thing floated above her. Dressed like...oh, God. This couldn't be real, could it? What was that thing? And suddenly, he pointed, and she cried out, falling to her knees as the rush of energy filled her. The faint dark aura was now clearly visible, sinister violet haze flaring around her. Jianyu gasped for breath, rapidly trying to stay in control. She had to. If she didn't she lost herself, and then-
...and then it clicked.
Lose yourself. That was it! To use Psycho Power, you had to surrender a part of yourself. A normal human couldn't use it, because it was more than a human could handle. You had to not only be physically capable of handling it, you had to be mentally equipped. Empathy, compassion, mercy, kindness...all that went away when you gave in to the energy. And that was what Jianyu had to do if this was going to work.
Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes, concentrating. Grieve, and kill. Just like he said. Grieve and kill. Avenge her. Stop that murderer from killing anybody else. Make him feel the grief, the misery, the pain she was in.
And then, she began to float.
It was slow at first, quietly rising up into the air just as her spectre had. He was gone now, a twisted guardian angel that had given her what she needed to accomplish her mission. Jianyu kept rising, refusing to stay down. She only had so much time to get this done, it had to be perfect. In no time she had risen high above the treetops, into the blue sky. From there, she turned, facing the hut and floating towards it, her aura radiating as if she was a violet sun in a solar flare. There were a lot of ways to go about this, but she knew exactly how to start. She would make a grand entrace, herald in the apocalypse. Let him and everyone else who had helped kill Xiayu know they had ushered in their own doom.
Jianyu raised her hands, closed her eyes, focused her Psycho Power....and tried to set off every single goddamn landmine at once.
As the mines screamed to life, the shock of wave alone was enough to uproot the tree. The flames that followed leaped onto and tore through the bark, engulfing the wood in a raging white fire that would light the coming night like a second sun. With a heave and a creak, the treetop looked out began to tip forward. The Winter Soldier braced himself against the wall.
"I thought you said those things were safe!"
"They are! Someone must have--"
[CRUNCH]
With an ear-splitting cry, the tree passed the point of no return and began to crumble, tumbling forth into the undergrowth. Moments before striking the earth, a yellow bullet leaped from the shattering bark, before shooting back up and into another hut in the blink of an aye.
"My guns were in that shelter, Wally!"
"Yeah? Do you want to go down there and pick them up?"
"Which one of us has super speed?"
"And which one of us said that we should 'stay in the crow's nest at all costs--"
Wally caught sight of the dangling Doll and instinctively placed himself into a state of phase. In that days since he had abandoned Arcade's Clearing, Jianyu had undergone such a transformation that she was now completely unrecognisable. Her whole demeanour had changed. Gone was the snappy optimist who had dared to defy Arcade's game. In her place, flew a girl with murder in her eyes.
"I'm starting to think that staying up here might not be a good idea..."
"Get out of here, Wally."
"What? No! I said I'd have your pack. I promised you!"
"You also told me you had a kid waiting on you back home. So get out of here. If I get out of this mess, meet me at Camp Angel."
"No-no-no-we're-not-going-back-there-you-said--"
"We regroup. We pack up. We head out. No use losing our whole team here and now. Besides... I think I know what she wants..."
"Damn it, fine. Camp Angel. I'll be there. Don't die"
"Not planning on it"
Dismantling one wing of the boardwalk in a heart beat, the Flash span around, repurposing the stolen planks to build a new tree top path heading North East and deeper into the jungle. In another flash, he was gone.
"Just you an' me now..." Bucky drawled, slipping his final rifle from his shoulder and resting it against a handle rail. "My guess is that you weren't a fan of what went down at the river, right?" He narrowed his sights, closed one eye, and lined his graticule up with Jianyu's eyeline. The smoke from the growing forest fire would throw his aim off a little. He'd have to bide his time. He doubted he'd have another chance to test Jianyu's bullet resistance. "I'm sorry, pal, but this is war. We can't keep our hands clean if we want to get out of here in one piece. People die. 80 years ago I made a promise to protect my country and all it stood for. No matter the cost. 10 years ago, I made a promise to protect my planet. No matter the cost. I've got a job to do back home..."
"No matter the cost. I'm getting back there. I've made promises, and I intend to keep them. Sorry, kid, but my hands are tied. Let's not pretend I had a choice."
Jianyu glared at Wally, her anger burning within her yet again. She didn't care how many kids that son of a bitch had. He was every bit at fault for this as Bucky was. Even worse...he was a coward. He stood by and let Bucky set off the bomb, he gave up on the alliance the second things went sour...and now he was running away, too. She had never forgiven him for putting Xiayu in danger yesterday, and now? Now she was going to kill him. But first...someone needed a lesson in remorse.
After his little speech, Bucky would find Jianyu had gone completely missing, as if she had vanished into a puff of dark smoke. Then-
"Is now really the time to be running your mouth, dumbass?!"
Jianyu teleported behind the Winter Soldier, slamming him into the wall of the hut at full force. That was another thing Bison had been able to do with ease, and that she managed with help from that spectre of hers. Though despite the phenomenal power flowing within her, she could even still feel her body starting to cave in. Crap, she was going to have to make this quick.
If the gun had been knocked from his hands in her surprise attack, the Doll would kick it out into the fire. Otherwise she would try to wrangle it from him and do the same. "You think I care why you did what you did?! Why you decided to give in to Arcade like some spineless worm?! I don't! All that crap you just said went in one ear and out the other! I didn't even care about you until this afternoon! You could have gone on, hiding out in this hut, nice and safe until the last day, and I would've left you alone! ...but no." She gulped, feeling her throat tighten. "You just HAD to 'thin the herd,' huh?! You just HAD to blow up everything you wanted, not caring about who got in your way!!"
Her breath got shakier, her emotions threatening to spill out as she screamed at him. All she could see now was that video of Xiayu going over that river. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again and again and again and again and againandagainandagainandagainandagainandagain-
"My sister is DEAD because of you!! COWARD!!!!"
Her control slipped, and her vision went red. She lunged at him like a feral beast, not caring about anything other than her own vengeance. All she cared to do was rip him to shreds.
Alice Swayne--> Lost and Alone in the Lost City of the Deadlands View attachment 3920 "Let's not pretend that you're going to shoot me now, child." Renfred sighed, slowly peeling his hand from his face. Still wet with blood, a trembling eyelid danced. He wasn't about to show weakness at a time such as this. He straightened his back and slowly began to make his way down the cracked street.
"For my bodyguard, you haven't done the greatest job at keeping me safe now, have you?"
Crossing the distance between the two of them in a heart beat, Renfred pounded upon Alice's head with like a hammer striking an anvil.
"Stupid child! I had half a mind to abandon you when I heard you were gone! And perhaps I still will..."
@Heart of the Jungle
After running for what seemed like hours, Laura found herself lost in the heart of the jungle region. Still somewhat influenced by the lingering Cursed Trigger Scent, her sense of direction had been thrown off. There wasn't a single notable landmark in sight. Only bushes, trees and more trees. Any local scents had long since been masked by the stench of the morning's storming. The orange glow of evening stirred bad memories.
Yet, as she fled the scene, Laura would come across a flicker of light amongst the grey; a wall of steel sparkled in the light of the setting sun. Shimmering so brightly it was almost hard to look at, the rounded barrier appeared to have been built from hundreds off flat, thin, techno-organic spikes, each one tightly packed beside the next. The wall itself seemed unscaleable, stretching upwards for approximately 3 meters.
A dozen trees remained standing around the fortress, which might've provided her with a better vantage point, or a means of jumping over the wall entirely. Alternatively, getting to close to the wall might alert those hiding behind it, and earn her a meeting with the owner of the thought without cloaks and daggers, perhaps earning the charity of its inhabitant. Or maybe Laura intended to abandon the wall completely, opting instead to push on deeper into the jungle as night closed in, and scramble to find her own food, water and shelter.
As the mines screamed to life, the shock of wave alone was enough to uproot the tree. The flames that followed leaped onto and tore through the bark, engulfing the wood in a raging white fire that would light the coming night like a second sun. With a heave and a creak, the treetop looked out began to tip forward. The Winter Soldier braced himself against the wall.
"I thought you said those things were safe!"
"They are! Someone must have--"
[CRUNCH]
With an ear-splitting cry, the tree passed the point of no return and began to crumble, tumbling forth into the undergrowth. Moments before striking the earth, a yellow bullet leaped from the shattering bark, before shooting back up and into another hut in the blink of an aye.
"My guns were in that shelter, Wally!"
"Yeah? Do you want to go down there and pick them up?"
"Which one of us has super speed?"
"And which one of us said that we should 'stay in the crow's nest at all costs--"
Wally caught sight of the dangling Doll and instinctively placed himself into a state of phase. In that days since he had abandoned Arcade's Clearing, Jianyu had undergone such a transformation that she was now completely unrecognisable. Her whole demeanour had changed. Gone was the snappy optimist who had dared to defy Arcade's game. In her place, flew a girl with murder in her eyes.
"I'm starting to think that staying up here might not be a good idea..."
"Get out of here, Wally."
"What? No! I said I'd have your pack. I promised you!"
"You also told me you had a kid waiting on you back home. So get out of here. If I get out of this mess, meet me at Camp Angel."
"No-no-no-we're-not-going-back-there-you-said--"
"We regroup. We pack up. We head out. No use losing our whole team here and now. Besides... I think I know what she wants..."
"Damn it, fine. Camp Angel. I'll be there. Don't die"
"Not planning on it"
Dismantling one wing of the boardwalk in a heart beat, the Flash span around, repurposing the stolen planks to build a new tree top path heading North East and deeper into the jungle. In another flash, he was gone.
"Just you an' me now..." Bucky drawled, slipping his final rifle from his shoulder and resting it against a handle rail. "My guess is that you weren't a fan of what went down at the river, right?" He narrowed his sights, closed one eye, and lined his graticule up with Jianyu's eyeline. The smoke from the growing forest fire would throw his aim off a little. He'd have to bide his time. He doubted he'd have another chance to test Jianyu's bullet resistance. "I'm sorry, pal, but this is war. We can't keep our hands clean if we want to get out of here in one piece. People die. 80 years ago I made a promise to protect my country and all it stood for. No matter the cost. 10 years ago, I made a promise to protect my planet. No matter the cost. I've got a job to do back home..."
"No matter the cost. I'm getting back there. I've made promises, and I intend to keep them. Sorry, kid, but my hands are tied. Let's not pretend I had a choice."
The spikes nor the wall didn't seem like something she wanted to mess with, especially in her current state. Perhaps when this poison from her system finally left her body she'd be ready. For the time being she climbed up one of the trees with a strong enough branch to hold her and that was full enough that she was able to stay hidden from any prying eyes.
Despite her fear of hurting the others among them she wasn't ready to cast her own life away. There was still work to be done.
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