Zone A -- Lowlands

[Sterling Archer]

Blue skies and bright sunlight. I could hardly ask for better weather, though it did come with its own set of issues. Though being dropped into the middle of a rainstorm or a blizzard might well have proved troublesome at first, it would also lend itself better to stealth. Standing in the middle of the field made me feel more like a mil-spec scarecrow than anything else. Not exactly helpful, especially if any of the supposedly super-powered combatants spotted me from across the plains. I really wasn’t keen on getting suckerpunched by Superman or the like.

“Alright,” I muttered to myself. “Looks like farmland to the south. Getting a ’Hills Have Eyes’ vibe from down there, though. Definitely don’t want to be raped by a bunch of disfigured rednecks.”

I dropped to a squat and rifled through my ‘gift bag’. The durable black backpack was covered in at least a dozen Syntech logos, though one would think they’d cool it on the advertising when the game was actually in progress. Ignoring the thought, I finally dug out the standard issue tablet computer and opened up the Map application. A quick survey told me the farm was indeed to my south, though it mentioned nothing about inbred yokels. Gotta leave something to the imagination, I thought.

“Safe house. Well, might as well get my daily check-in over and done with now.” I glanced down at my ankle, tugging my pant leg up to expose the new accessory they’d slapped on me back at the facility. “Tch. What am I, a suburban truant on house arrest?” Still, it was better than the other two options, both of which would have been left in plain view for an enemy to strike. I’d had too much experience with snipers to give anyone a blinking explosive target to aim for.

After tinkering with a few of the options, I finally set my device to GPS and shouldered my bag. Map in one hand, handgun in the other, I felt like either some kind of homicidal tourist or the world’ s worst hitman. Keeping a keen eye out for ambush, I made my way toward the ostensibly “safe” house. In a contest that advertised death as something of an inevitability, I imagined this was more jargon that anything.

A4 -> Safehouse A

[Sterling Archer]

Guided by the eternal wisdom of dubious global positioning software, I soon reached my target. I approached the fortified building cautiously, Walther leveled on the open doorway. It would be all too easy for a foe to simply camp the safehouse and take a potshot at anyone who happened by. Effective, but kind of a dick move. I couldn’t doubt the effectiveness, though.

“If anyone’s there, I promise not to blow your brains out the back of your head and teabag your corpse if you come out. I totally promise.” Little would they know, the verbal promise of a spy was worth the nonexistent paper it was printed on.

After a few tense moments and a quick peek through a window, I slowly stepped over the threshold. A satisfying chime from my pseudo ankle monitor informed me that my check-in was valid. I made a quick mental note before tossing the tablet back into my sack.

“And now to steal anything not bolted down,” I decided, examining the furnishings. “PLEASE tell me there’s some booze here. It’s been like...six hours since that sad excuse for a martini back at the facility and I can feel the beginning of what I’m terrified to consider might be a hangover.”

To my chagrin there was little of value to take, aside from a few folding chairs and a ratty oak dining table. A few cans of rations stood stacked on a set of shelves near the back of the room, but I’d sooner eat my own foot than resort to Spam. The tiniest glimmer of hope stirred within my chest at the sight of a dusty green bottle, empty save what amounted to maybe a few swigs. A quick whiff told me it was indeed some variety of red wine. “Any Port in a storm,” I mused, wincing as I swirled the contents. “Thank god no one heard that.”

As I tipped the discarded bottle to my lips, I froze. Though quite faint, from out the open window I could hear indistinct sounds of what could be a struggle. I quickly tossed back the last vestiges of the vinegary vintage before jamming the empty bottle into the side pocket of my backpack. Having scavenged everything I could find useful, I headed out the door toward the scuffle.

Safehouse A -> A9 (just passing through)

[Professor Sunshine]

"You'll take the demon? That'll make things easier, though I still have a bad feeling about this..." Abyss was still kind of nervous since she was not sure if Bendy would be able to deal with the demon swordsman, she knew that as long as she didn't have to face him, that she would have a much easier fight. As she quickly put her tablet into her bag so that it wouldn't get damaged during the fight, she quickly took a fighting stance as Bendy ran torward Shinmen while Dust headed for her.

Unfortunately for the squid girl, Bendy's promise to face Shinmen would come to be broken, as the two opposing fighters not only managed to run around the dancing demon, but were both getting close to attacking Abyss. At this very moment, Abyss was beginning to feel true fear as the two were getting very close, getting ready to kill her and making her shake in absolute fear. In her mind, there was only one thing that Abyss could do: Run. As she tried to run away to increase the distance between herself and her opponents, she started to form a plan from within her head.

"H-hey, try to keep up! As Abyss continued to run, she started to boost herself with small boosts of speed as she headed torwards Bendy, and as she finished running at the dancing demon, she started to tear at one of her two tentacles with all the strength she could muster, so she could try to tear it off, while Bendy tried to distract Shinmen and Dust by vomiting what looked like a stream of black ink at the demon swordsman and human, causing them to slow down a bit, and though it didn't hinder their movement by a lot, it was just enough for her to be able to finish ripping out her own tentacle.

While Abyss screamed in pain from ripping out her own tentacle, since while it was cyberized she could still feel the pain from ripping out a tentacle since it was still a part of her own body, she still knew that it would be worth it to try to use the tentacle to attack her opponent. "Hey Bendy, in case this doesn't work, I need you to defend me for a few more seconds so I can try to think of something else!" While Abyss tried to dash a bit more away to give herself a bit more distance from the two fighters who wanted to kill her, she tried to make her tentacle move around on the floor like the squids could make their tentacles move in the book she read at the library.

Thankfully for Abyss, she was not only able to make the cyberized tentacle squirm, but she could actually make the tentacle slither at a surprising speed of 50 miles per hour. "Oh thank goodness it works! Now Bendy, focus on trying to take down the demon swordsman, and I'll try to attack the other guy. After one more second of slithering her tentacle, Abyss finally sent her tentacle at Dust, having it slither around him a bit before slithering around and wrapping around the man's waist. After that, Abyss started to think of what else she could do, but as she thought for a bit she was knocked out of thinking as Dust's claws managed to slash at her face with his claws, as he ran up at her while she was trying to think.

"Ouch, that hurt like heck! That's it, I'm going to make you hurt like there's no tomorrow!" As Abyss tried to get some distance between Dust again, she tried to make the tentacle wrapped around Dust's waist tighten up, and as the tentacle squeezed around Dust, bruises were starting to form around the man's waist, which made Abyss start to smile. Now that she thought that she would be doing some real damage to Dust, Abyss continued to dash around the man, as she continued to try to make the tentacle squeeze on him.

709 Words according to site.
Bendy used Ink Puddle on Shinmen and Dust.
Dust was successfully able to scratch Abyss with A Pup's Claw
Abyss ripped off one of her own tentacles and used Ika Wrap on Dust.

Ika Wrap (600 OM, requires Ranged Proficiency, Hive Mind)

Abyss tears off one of her two tentacles willingly or commands one of her tentacles if it was cut off of her body, so she can have it wrap around the body of someone. The tentacle moves at around 50 Miles Per Hour across the ground toward the opponent, and once the tentacle reaches the opponent, the tentacle wraps around the opponent's waist (or a equivalent to a waist if they do not have one.) After wrapping around the opponent's waist, Abyss can choose when to have it start to squeeze, and once the tentacle starts to squeeze it deals a moderate amount of damage in the form of bruises from the squeezing. In addition, Abyss can choose at any time to release the tentacle from the opponent so she can have it return to her, or to have the tentacle move from one opponent to another. The squeezing can last as long as the tentacle is alive, and the tentacle generally lives for four hours before dying. One of the major drawbacks of the move is that after the first use, Abyss cannot use her Coiled Tentacle Cannon with both of her tentacles any more, and after the second use she can't use any moves involving her tentacles. The Tentacle can only move up to 50 Feet away from Abyss before disconnecting from Abyss's focus and becoming useless for the rest of the battle.

There are a few ways to get the tentacle off of you if you happen to be squeezed by the tentacle though. While Abyss can still attack and move while using this move, if she gets hit while she uses this move, the tentacle will temporarily fall off until she gets back up. You can also break the tentacle and have it die early if you can tear it apart, but the less ATK you have compared to Abyss's DEF, the harder it would be to break out, and vice versa. You can also move out of range to cause the tentacle to become useless and fall off of you. Using this move also drains Abyss's stamina at a slow but steady pace, and once she gets too tired to use the move she is no longer able to control the tentacle.

[Oleander]

Dust was having a bad day. Struggling against the tentacle and stuck to the ground by the ink puddle, it seemed a perfect time for an evil soul to betray him. Luckily, he had made allies with Takezo. The ronin took advantage of Abyss' distraction and hope that the pair would divide up evenly. They did not and in fact appeared to fight with almost pack-like instincts.

The puddle of ink was not overly massive. While Dust was closer to the center of it, Takezo was far enough to the edge to evade it's radius and remain untouched by the tar-like ink. It was a clever move, to try and bind them helpless, but it's small area of effect was best suited for only one person. Dust and Takezo's nearly disorienting evasive maneuvers helped at least one of them avoid capture.

While Abyss was busy skirting around the captivated Dust, Takezu quickly skirted in the opposite direction - ignoring Bendy for the moment to instead catch Abyss off guard. A smirk formed on his lips as the left hand upon his sword swiftly twisted his scabbard. His right hand gripped the hilt and with a swift, single move, he lashed out with a well practiced Iaido technique.

Abyss had only turned her attention onto Takezo the moment before they were upon one another. He had circled in the opposite direction, so that with her speed, she would almost run into him while attempting to crush Dust with her Ika Wrap. He trusted Dust could be the distraction for just a moment, he seemed a hardy man.

The hiss of the blade leaving the scabbard is what made her heart almost stop, nevermind the flashing of the blade and the sudden cold sensation across her chest. The force of Takezo's first strike against her high speed let the blade sink deep. There was no pain at first, and then all the pain in the world. Every breath hurt as her expanding chest caused the bleeding wound to open.

In shock, she released her grip on Dust, the tentacle falling into the sticky puddle that Bendy had vomited. Dust then slowly began trudging his way out of the puddle. Seeing "Calamari's" blood spill, his blood boiled.

He turned on Bendy and smirked. The imp watched as the bare-chested man turned on Abyss and joined in Takezo's onslaught. Just as she was about to recover, he lashes out with the extended claws of his right hand, seeking to rake upwards between Abyss' shoulders. This was the best time to escape, would he really stick his neck out for the bossy squid? The duo was definitely focusing on her after all.

Takezo was enjoying every minute of this. He and Dust seemed to work like a well oiled machine. Dust took a hit for him, and it seemed he had no less dedication to their alliance. Full Assault, a little laughable name they had given their team, was all about the team. The Golden Alliance was built on fragile terms and false promises.

Takezo used Iaido: First Strike on Abyss, while she was focused on Dust
Dust ignores Bendy and attacks Abyss with "A Pup's Claw"

Iaido: First Strike
[spoiler]
Requires: Debuff
This technique can only be used once per encounter, as it requires drawing and immediately attacking in one fluid motion to catch an opponent off guard. Due to it relying on surprise, those with Foresight are immune, as they usually have the ability to predict this type of attack.

Takezo's first strike seeks to put a foe at a disadvantage. He does this by going for a vital slash, right across the chest. This grievous wound not only deals heavy bleed damage to those with low defenses, but hampers the victim's breath, due to each expansion of their chest causing extraordinary pain. A victim that cannot breath cannot properly move. If Takezo lands his Iaido: First Strike, the victim takes three seconds of heavy bleed damage (if DEF is 2 lower than Takezo's ATK; otherwise, reduce to mild) and suffers a slight reduction to speed (this occurs whether or not the bleed damage is severe or mild.)
[/spoiler]

[Sterling Archer]

As I crested the foothill, I spied the source of the commotion. Squinting through the early morning sun,  I caught sight of a small group of clashing combatants along the horizon. It was difficult to parse exactly who was involved in the squabble, though the sounds of their various cries echoed across the open plain. Noting that they seemed to be far more interested in each other than anything or anyone else in their vicinity, I made my approach, pistol at the ready. They were making no effort to conceal their location, and if they were warring over an important item, it would be the perfect time to swoop in and procure it.

“No lightning strike or Latin chanting,” I muttered, shielding my eyes from the sunlight. “Maybe they’re just killing each other for the fun of it.” While surely not the fastest way, it certainly would increase the odds of winning.

I holstered my pistol as I approached, passing within fifty yards of the group. A quick sweep of the area confirmed that there was indeed no item worth pilfering. I held a hand up to wave at the foursome as I walked casually by, tearing open an energy bar from among my rations with my teeth. After nearly a full day of eating precisely nothing, the bland green block of suspiciously soylent-esque sustenance would have to do.

“This one’s for...whichever of you is brutally beaten to death,” I vowed, spitting out the corner of the foil film and taking a bite of the ‘Syntech Super Ultra Fun Battle Bar X’. “I’ll remember you well. Like, the general concept of you, anyway.”

Having made my eulogy, I pressed on to the south. I consumed the rest of the questionable confection quickly, fighting my gag reflex to get the last few morsels down. I hoped what flavorings they had  eschewed were replaced with nutrition. Or amphetamines. Either or, really.

A9 -> A10

[Karl Jak]

End Phase 2 -- Day 1

Fights raaageeee

[Katrielle Layton]

Bendy wasn't quite sure what the duo was planning-- they were aiming to eliminate the squid first, completely ignoring him in the process. He thought it was a dumb move; they were leaving themselves open from the back. He would have free reign for just a moment. But what did he want to do? The self-preserving part of his mind urged him to back off, but where could he go? Sure there was the bunker, but if he chose to run, then it was possible that they would catch him, and that would probably be the end of that.

So he decided to follow his crafty side and help out his teammate. After all, who knew when he would need her help in the future? He reared back and launched a fist towards Shinmen, his hand streaking through the air like a giant, inky bullet. The samurai had probably been expecting to hear him running down the slope to attack , but the imp's protean body allowed him to fire off a punch, despite the distance. The humanoid demon had but a moment to realize what was happening, and when the thought finally struck him, so too did Bendy's fist, sending the man spiraling into the grass with a well-placed hit to the face.

Dust reacted quickly, turning around to see the cartoon descending upon him from the hill. As the demon launched himself at the shirtless fighter, the man swung his fist, raking his black claws against the side of the ink monster's torso. A burning sensation cut into the devil's side, and he hissed in agitation. Grabbing both of the foe's shoulders, the imp used his momentum to topple them both into the puddle of ink.

The warrior flailed, clawing at the demon as he was being pushed down into the abysmal pool. Bendy swayed back and forth to dodge, using his tail to poke and prod at his enemy. He had intended to pump ink into the fighter's body, but Dust's struggling prevented the barbed tip from finding purchase on his skin.

Eventually the demon decided that he had other things to worry about, and so he leapt away from his target, leaving him almost smothered in black slime. Of course, the puddle would let up in a second or two, but Shinmen was already back on his feet and dueling with Abyss. The squid launched something at the samurai, who dodged it and left the projectile to evaporate behind him. The swordsman retaliated by pressing onwards towards the Egg Boss and swinging his blade at the cephalopod. The first swipe missed, but the second one hit its mark across the side of her head. She cried out in pain, but fought back with another watery orb. This one was too close to dodge, splashing against Shinmen's chest as he winced from the scalding heat.

The muscled demon prepared another swing, but before he could attack, Bendy interrupted him, grabbing the wrist carrying the sword and yanking backwards. The blade was redirected into the cartoon's chest, but he formed a hole in his torso just in time to allow the sharpened steel harmless entry through his body.

And then everything fell into chaos as the battle continued.

Bendy used Tail, Abyss used Balled Water.

[Dust]

Abyss was a quick creature, but this would not save her. Dust chased her one way, only for her to dodge and escape the other way while preparing her counter attack by ripping out her own tentacle and dropping it behind her as she tried to hide behind Bendy. Dust stopped to curiously look at the dismembered appendage, not unlike a curious canine at something that fell to his feet, but quickly passed it up for the prize; too focused to deal with the madness of his target. As she was trying out her controls, he took the opportunity to slash at her face, claw marks appeared seconds later with some satisfaction just shortly before Bendy began to vomit. Trying to dodge out of the way, Dust ended with his muddy paw pressing into the now operable limb. As it sparked to life and slithered up his leg, leaving a clean trail in his mud collection, Wolf was unfortunately distracted and hit with the Ink Puddle.

His eyes made swift and direct contact with Abyss, as he steeled his resolve his gaze became rock solid. It didn't have the soul-chilling effect as Takezo's, or the bone-rattling of Gildarts' fear, but he dared her to look away from him!! She might even feel compelled to keep her eyes locked onto him, despite the puddle hindering his movement and the tentacle gripping his muscular waist. He proved his worth of a distraction, before Dust could break her feeble attempts to bind him, Takezo slashed into her undefended chest and while her blue blood spilled out of the wound and she slowly lost control of her heavier breathing. SW-808 bolted up behind the child-sized creature and keenly sliced horizontally across her back, clutching her useless detached body part in his free hand. Shock began to set in as she was batted between sword and claw, she barely managed to stay on her feet while the two surrounded her like hungry sharks in the water.

The two men hadn't even broken a sweat, and it would seem their prey was on her last leg. Shortness of breath, in a great deal of pain, vision beginning to blur, surrounded and cut off by the two men she turned to Bendy for help. To everyone's surprise, perhaps even his own, Bendy took action - and it wasn't to run away. He jumped head deep into the water as he tackled the titan into the ink and the two thrashed about, each fighter trying to land a decisive blow! Dust seemed to have the advantage despite his position and back in the inky goo, a deep growl emitted from within his throat as a warning to him, then wisely the demonic figure left him to rot to double team Shinmen with Abyss, seemingly turning the tables on the swordsman.

Dust's well built body tensed up, before he arched his back in an attempt to pull free, which he felt the nightmarish ink weaken as it thinned from his pulling, only to snap him back into place. Fortunately, he did not have to stay still for long. The Ink Puddle's magic ran out, shortly after they busied themselves with the ronin Volk felt the elasticity of the ink melt away from the carved muscles. Rolling over on his side he observed the fight for a moment, the now common ink falling from the now stained strands of dark locks and making ripples what puddles were left behind.

A grin slid across his face.

This hunt had never been about the challenge, Dust knew this. Takezo and himself could never take this group seriously, but it was nice of them to try to put up a decent fight. Rolling onto his hands and knees, then lifting his weight onto his toes he aimed his body at Abyss, eyes on his target as the muscles in his legs tighten and flex. Not wanting to let her think she wasn't out of danger completely, he used what power he could draw from the wolf inside him and the stored up tension in his legs to swiftly cross the growing space they were making in an attempt to separate him and his pack member. His claws bare and his objective always in mind he dashed towards Abyss, catching her by surprise and by the throat. Landing on top of her, he puts a knee into her ribs and lifts his right arm. As the light reflects off his charcoal nails he met her eyes again. While he could not invoke the same fear Takezo can, she could read the very real signs that this would be the end of her if she didn't do anything. Maybe even if she did!

Site Word Counter: 800

Dust contemplates life before going back to the basics and tackling Abyss, using his burst movement, and is choking her while readying the final blow.

[Professor Sunshine]

As Abyss was still reeling from the slash at her chest laid upon her by the demon swordsman Takezo, Abyss was in complete pain from how her breathing was only helping the bleeding, and as she was wishing the pain would end she found herself to still being attacked on both sides by the two warriors. As she was screaming in pain and starting to lose vision from the blood loss, a miracle happened for her as she saw that Bendy was starting to use his extendable limbs to attack the demon swordsman from a distance rather than running away like a coward.

"Oh thank goodness Bendy, for a second there I thought I was-" Before Abyss could continue saying what she wanted to say, Dust had already tried to divert the dancing demon by using his claws to scrape at him, which left her scared that she would have to face the demon swordsman all on her own. As Abyss tried to create a Balled Water and tried to shoot it at the demon swordsman, Takezo managed to dodge the balled water, and as the balled water reached it's max distance and evaporated, Abyss found herself face to face with the demon swordsman, with him giving the Egg Boss the same demonic gaze from when they first met.

While she managed to avoid the first slice despite the pain from her chest hindering her in speed by a moderate amount, a second slash from the demon swordsman managed to cut her cheek, making her yell out in pain even more. "I can't take any more of this pain! Take this!" With that, Abyss quickly ran back 10 feet from the swordsman before creating another Balled Water which was created and launched 10 feet away, point-blank into the swordsman's chest. Upon the swordsman getting up and preparing to strike only to get intercepted by Bendy using his malleability to redirect the slash into a hole in his chest, Abyss quickly dashed at the demon swordsman and delivered a kick at him, sending him through the hole in Bendy's chest and sending him onto the ground.

Unfortunately, while Bendy and Abyss were dealing with Shinmen, the Ink Puddle on Dust finally ran out, and he quickly dashed at Abyss before grabbing her by the throat and delivering his knee into her ribs. Abyss was starting to teeter close to death from the blow to her ribs, and the choking wasn't helping either. The Egg Boss was really running out of options now, and as she struggled to break free, Dust was not flinching from the blows she was trying to launch with her fists. With no option left, Abyss hoped for the best and launched the strongest kick that she could muster at the man, hoping that the kick would help free herself from the man's grasp.

Luckily for her, the kick managed to connect with the arm that was holding her in the air and choking her, and as she fell back down to the ground she tried breathing only to find pain from the slash on her chest, although at the least for the squid the pain was not as bad as when she was first slashed. Now that she was free from Dust she decided to help Bendy out and after regaining focus on the tentacle that was on Dust's waist before she was slashed, she had it wrap around the demon swordsman's waist before having it start to squeeze on Takezo and giving him bruises.

"Hah, that's payback for that slash you gave me! I mean, it could give me a cool scar to impress others with, but it still hurt so much! Now take the full force of the Golden Alliance!" With that, Abyss started to dash around Takezo, making sure to try to avoid his slashes with bursts of speed, delivering powerful kicks with each rotation before finishing with a kick at the back of the head, knocking him down to the ground. As Abyss huffed a bit while trying to recover from running so quick, she said to Bendy "Bendy, remember what you did to that dummy back at the gym? Well I think now is the perfect time to try to do the same on this guy!"

736 Words, according to site.
Abyss managed to kick Dust's arm and got free from his hold.
Abyss regained control of her Ika Wrap and transferred it to and used it on Shinmen.
Abyss used Hi-Speed Kick Combo on Shinmen.

Hi-Speed Kick Combo (300 OM) - Requires Burst Movement, Physical Strength
Abyss dashes around the opponent with large bursts of speed, circling around the opponent as she delivers a series of stronger than usual kicks at the opponent, finishing off with a strong kick going at 100MPH aimed at the opponent's head. As soon as she lands the last kick onto her opponent, Abyss then dashes 10 feet away from the person she attacked. Because this move requires a lot of speed, Abyss will be tired after she finishes the technique.

[Sterling Archer]

I continued my march through the sun-soaked hills, at this point not even bothering with the illusion of stealth. Any form of foliage in which to hide seemed few and far between anyway, and crawling through the grass seemed like the quickest way to snag and rip my turtleneck. I’d sooner catch a bullet.

The sounds of the scuffle to my rear had now faded to almost nothing, with only the occasional holler reaching my ears. I wondered how many, if any, of the combatants would survive the encounter. I hadn’t taken a very close look in passing but I could swear most of them looked more like cartoon characters than actual people. Imagine that, fighting a cartoon character? Completely ridiculous.

A sharp ping from my backpack drew my attention from my musings, momentarily directing my attention to my anklet. Having confirmed that it was not in-fact primed to explode at any moment, I shifted my assumption to the tablet I’d been afforded. “Has Syntech finally loosened the purse strings and dropped something for me?”

I tugged the device out from under the various bags of trail mix and protein powder I’d been ‘gifted’ and took a quick scan of the immediate area. From what I could tell there were a few locations that would soon be graced with some kind of event, the squares bearing a flashing red outline with a lowercase letter ‘i’ in the middle. The shitty map application lacked any kind of key in the corner, instead emblazoned with a large flashing banner advertisement along the bottom of the screen, depicting a faceless silver man proudly holding a bottle of Pepsi. “Couldn’t spring for the Premium version, huh? Just stuck with ‘KarlyMaps FREE TRIAL’. If I end up tripping into a ravine I’m going to be pissed.” Sighing, I set my destination and launched navigation.

A10 -> A11

[Odin]

Odin jerked awake. He had never intended to fall asleep but was exhausted. The grueling battle plus trying to move with his injury took everything out of him. He massaged his good leg, trying to loosen the knots it developed from doing all the work of carrying him.
 
I might as well give up. If I can’t compete when healthy, how am I going to do it in this state? He unconsciously reached up to the collar around his throat and touched it gingerly. It’s the smart thing to do. I’ve wasted an entire existence on a lost cause and got nothing but heartache for it. Two fingers slipped between his neck and the collar, and he sat there for a good long while.
 
Time ticked on and the sun set below the horizon.
 
“Damnit,” he grumbled as he pulled his hand away from his neck. He just couldn’t do it. He had no reason not to. No hope of pulling of a win. It just wasn’t something he was capable of doing.
 
He pulled a rune-carved bowl from his belt and set it on the floor of the barn. He chanted for a moment and mist swirled in it until he could see the dataverse. He checked omni-twitter and some bloggers to catch up on what he had missed now that he didn’t have his tablet. Apparently, he was at the site of an item drop coming soon.
 
“Perfect,” he grumbled. A wave of his hand disconnected the bowl, and he returned it to its place. With a groan, he struggled to his feet and checked out the window. Everything looked clear, for now at least.
 
Odin made his way toward the beach with the hope that any opposition would be coming from further inland. Of course, he avoided the sand itself. It would be hell on the leg.
 

A6 -> A5

[Karl Jak]

End Phase 3 - Day 1

[Odin]

Odin followed the beach until he saw the old farmhouse. There was no light coming from it, so he decided to check it out. As he got closer, he saw there was an old well and a lot of animals wandering about. The fences of the pens appeared to have been intentionally smashed, and the livestock took no interest in Odin moving nearby. They must have been forced off the land before the game started.
 
The blinds to the house were drawn, but the door had been left open. “Hello?” Odin called inside, but there was not answer. He repeated the process a few more times, and still there was nothing. It would have to do then. He couldn’t check the whole place out with his injury.
 
Odin hobbled back outside to the old well in the front yard. He gave it a few solid pumps, and water started to flow. It was clear and cool to the touch. He placed the nearby bucket under the stream and filled it. He took his time drinking as much as he could since he couldn’t carry it back inside.
 
Once he had his fill, he looked to see if there was anything smaller than the cows or pigs. He found the chicken coop around back. It appeared they were still nesting inside because a number were pecking around right outside.
 
Inside there were plenty of eggs, and Odin decided they would be easier than killing a chicken. He found some burlap and formed a little bag. He filled it with eggs and made his way back into the house.
 
Wood was stacked high near the wood-burning stove, and it wasn’t hard to get a fire started. In the darkness, no one would be able to see the smoke. Half an hour later, he finished his first meal on the island. He was still in pain but felt a lot better than a few hours ago. He struck back out into the darkness and continued his path north.

A5 -> A4

[Harlan Higgs]

Hendy and Enel stood on the lowlands plateau, a seaside cliff overlooking the ocean surrounding the island. The Ravnos took the time to check his weapons again, trying to keep an eye on the horizon for any approaching foes looking to fight them over the item that would soon be here.

Sigh.

Enel was absently poking at a weird, mirror sheened square in his hands, looking quite negaged. He was biting his lip, furrows of incensement crisscrossing his brow. Eh. Best not to meddle in the affairs of Gods, especially when they looked so ticked off.

Hendy stared into the sky and waited.

Waiting to claim item drop in A6

[Odin]

The make-shift splint was chaffing and digging into his leg as he limped along. It appeared Odin knew less about first-aid than he liked to think. Luckily, it wouldn’t need to last too much longer. The safehouse was visible in the distance.
 
He trudged forward and tried to pick up his pace. It increased the pain, but he grit his teeth and kept going. When he finally arrived, and pulled the door open, he almost collapsed inside. He refused to give in to the fatigue until he reached the first aid station because he knew he would be in no hurry to move again once he was down. With a grunt, he pulled himself onto the bed.
 
Gently, he cut the bindings holding his makeshift splint on. The act was met with both pain and relief, and when he finished, he took some time to just lie back.
 
From his vantage point, he could take stock of some materials available to him: Sutures. A proper splint. Padding to protect the skin. Advil, the official pain reliever of Dante’s Abyss 2017. He took a handful of the pain reliever with a glass full of water before getting to work on his leg. He found some kind of hard, squishy material that claimed to be a bite piece. Placing it between his teeth, he found it had the perfect amount of firmness and give.
 
He started with the sutures and was immediately glad that no one else was in the safehouse was with him. He managed to finish them despite the tears and groans. Then he wrapped his entire leg in the soft protective cloth before strapping the splint in place.
 
By the time he was finished, the first aid area had supplies scattered everywhere and was covered in blood. Odin was too tired to even move out of the macabre, little room. He slept right there on the exam table.

A4 -> SHA

[Oleander]

It was a surprise when Bendy struck him. To be fair, it was a surprise Bendy was even still there. Though the impact had sent him tumbling, he rolled swiftly back to his feet. The blow was rather strong and it would definitely bruise in the morning, but it could have been worse. Roll with the punches, as it were.

He was about to reenter the fray when a tentacle wraps around his waist. Then the squid started circling, throwing wild kicks at him from every angle. They were tactless; he could see each kick and adjust to reduce the impact even with the grip around his waist. The final kick of the combo was particularly powerful and sent him to his knees, only catching himself by releasing his sword with one hand.

A growl rose form his chest. The sound quickly turned into a rage as he launched back to his feet and cut through the tentacle on his hip with one clean cut followed by another to ruin the appendage before it hit the ground. After the Calamari's appendage was left in bits, he reclaimed his sword in both hands for proper form.

Abyss was not looking good. The numerous slash marks were bleeding to the point she could hardly stand. The open wound on her chest was the worst of all, leaving her panting with short, labored breaths. Takezo smirks at the creature. Any way one looks at it, she had lost. Takezo's waist was bruised, and there was a ringing in his ears from Bendy's punch, swelling to come shortly, but otherwise he was fine. Dust was stained slightly bruised from the previous use of Ika Wrap, but for the most part he too seemed fine.

The scattered tactics of Bendy and Abyss did not quite stand up to the singling out method the pack hunters used. With Abyss still bleeding out, Takezo turns on Bendy. The turn was so quick, Bendy only saw the flash of the man's grin before the sword arced across his body. It had carried the momentum of the turn, and in the swift movement Bendy could not shape out of the way, or grab the swordsman's attack as he did before.

The gash left by Takezo's blade was brutal against his protean body, painting the ground behind the imp black with ink. Bendy was still weakened from vomiting some of his mass as the sticky trap, and in the heat of battle with the two animals-among-men he had not had the time nor opening to reabsorb the lost mass.

As Bendy stepped backwards, holding his bleeding chest, Takezo switched hand placement and jabs his blade backwards - right into the approaching Abyss. "Your tactics are so predictable... you attack like child with a stick..." He had predicted she would try to capitalize on his turned back. Her lacking technique versus a man who had trained many, many years with the sword and tactics was her downfall.

Bendy, recovered from Takezo's attack, was about ready to strike back when Dust, having positioned himself the moment Takezo turned on Bendy, raked both sets of claws across the imp's back. The criss-crossing of elongated nails did not cut as deep as Takezo's, there were more of them and the force of the clawing pushed him right back towards the swordsman, who happily withdrew his sword from its home in Bendy's ally, to slash at the imp once again with a mighty force.

The Protean imp may have stepped in too late. Abyss' blood loss and slower speed damaged what was possibly her greatest asset, which meant he was pinned between two fighters who had an almost unnatural thirst for blood to bond over. Full Assault not only planned better, but they did not hesitate to take hits to make an opening for an ally. One might go as far to say that the two were damn near harmonious.

Broke free and ruined Abyss' Tentacle
lessened the blows from Hi-Speed Kick Combo
Tricked Abyss with a false opening, created an opening for Dust to flank Bendy for a "Full Assault Combo."

[Enel]

I check out the Dataverse and laugh. Nobody’s near us. Seems like everybody is scared of me. Guess I’ll just amble over to my victory then.

“No rush, Hendy!” I announce goodnaturedly, using my golden staff as a walking stick. “It’s a beautiful evening, we should deign to take in the sights and sounds!”

“As you say, m’leggiance.”

Even my tiredness has taken a backseat, fuelled as I am by victory. Totally. Completely. I’m wiiide awake.

In the distance I can see the safehouse, but at this distance it’s going to take ... hours … to reach it.

We take a short break to try out the ‘food’ we’ve been assigned.

“Chicken … pesto … pasta.”

Reads mine. I open it with a degree of suspicion before reading the instructions. It heats itself. Good.

I consider having Hendy take care of this business, but frankly, I’m curious about this land-technology. I remove the flat, food-filled packet and the heating dial-like panel, and I place them inside the plastic bag provided.

It says to wait five to six minutes. Ho-hum. I do so while watching with interest. Hendy doesn’t seem to be heating his.

“Not hungry, Vic?”

Hendy shrugs. “Just not worked up much of an appetite yet.” He pats his stomach.

That’s weird. He hasn’t eaten all day.

He pats his stomach and smiles dumbly. “Had a huge breakfast.”

Heh.

Come to think of it, I’ve not seen him take a drink either this whole time. My flask is nearly empty. I suppose he must have been drinking while he was walking behind me. But … it still feels weird. He’s too perfect. Am I being set up?

Finally the meal is done, and I take it out and open the packet.

And the smell does not please me.

I take a piece of the ‘pasta’. I nibble.

And I nearly retch.

“Dear me, what the hell do they call this? Pasta? It’s disgusting. Here, Hendy, you can have mine. We’re going hunting.”

Hendy looks at the packet, then holds his hand up. “I’m alright, boss. Honestly.”

Even Hendy won’t eat it? Damn, this must be slop. I sigh.

Harlan and Enel go A6 to A5.

[Enel]

We stalk across the hills, and I stretch out my senses. Tch. I can hardly sense a thing. And my headache is worsening. I need something to eat, now.

I jump across the ground, not even caring that Vic is lagging behind. That old fart isn’t gonna catch anything. It’s my job.

Good thing I came prepared. I channel a surge of lightning into my bō staff, forcing the metal to melt and reform into a shape of my choosing, pushing and twisting with the jolts of electricity that I control. It takes me a good ten seconds – I’m tired – but eventually it takes the shape of a trident.

I spin it to inspect it. Beautiful craftsmanship, of course. A little known fact about this particular God is that I’m also a goldsmith and craftsman of sorts. I miss the satisfaction of working on my Ark Maxim. A God must indulge himself in some Creative measure, in order to balance out the Destruction. And Destruction is quite a large part of my job, so by necessity, my Creative measures are quite vast.

I trifle on! But right now it’s time to take a life. I scan and scan and scan until finally, something of substance finally crosses my radar. I grin.

“Hendy!” I call back to the slowpoke. “I’m off to kill, don’t wander off!”

He yells something back but I’m already on the move. I leap the distance, my lightning-powered legs taking me up into the sky.

I can see it now. Below me. It’s barely a dot.

My senses sharpen as gravity beguns to assert its hold on me and I fall.

I point the trident down.

As I grow closer, I see that it’s a large cat of sorts.

But I can’t control the angle of my descent. As the dot grows closer and closer, I’m woefully off target. So I make a lob with my trident …

But it’s way off. It spikes into the ground, and the cat, spooked, turns and runs.

My bare feet hit the ground with a thud, and I see the lion running off. “Tch!” I move after it, snatching up my trident as I go.

It’s quick. I’m losing it. I’ve got one chance.

I hurl the trident with all my might.

I see claret. The large cat drops.

“God-damn I’m good! Hendy, make us up a fire! We’re eatin’ cat!”

I turn around. Hendy is nowhere to be seen. Ah shit.

I sit down and wait for him to catch up.

Moving Enel and Harlan from A5 to A4.

[Enel]

Hendy finally catches up. Sometimes I don’t know my own power. “Check it out!” I call to him as he jogs over. I hold aloft my prize: the dead mountain cat, its blood spilling from the fresh wound my trident made.

“Ah, don’t be holding it like that, sir,” he says. It’s the first time I’ve seen Hendy almost concerned about something. “Let me take it. I’ll fix the meal up for you, it wouldn’t do for a God of your stature to be guttin’ a mountain lion.”

“Very well.” I drop the lion in a crumple and wander off to amuse myself.

I go to twitter to upload the picture of myself holding the lion.

[float=left][/float]

GodEnel
Fresh meat, baby! No shitty packaged meals for this God of Lightning. #God #Cats

While Hendy busily and noisily guts the animal, I dart off to find some dry wood for a fire. It hardly takes long for me, and soon I’m back, setting them up in a tent formation. A single spark of lightning and it’s a roaring flame.

I head back to the Dataverse tablet to amuse myself.

[float=left][/float]

GodEnel
Seriously though, how can you mortals eat that stuff? Eh, I suppose your palates aren’t as refined. At least my servant can tell the differe

[float=left][/float]

GodEnel
nce.

Stupid fucking Dataverse. Apparently it won’t let me send a message of more than one hundred and forty letters at a time? I suppose their technology isn’t all that. Pathetic, really. I guess most of them are just sending messages like ‘ME HUNGRY’ and ‘LOOK AT MY TITS’ so it doesn’t make much difference to them, but a God does not limit his words for anybody.

Finally, Hendy announces that my meal is ready. Oh goody. I take a roasted leg and sink my teeth in.

“…”

I turn to Hendy. “Are you aware that this meat is dry?”

He looks taken aback. “Ah …”

Tch. “You must have overcooked it, you dope!”

“I’m sorry, m’lord.”

Honestly. I can’t leave basic tasks to anyone.

Still, it’s a damn sight better than whatever came out of that packet. I tear into the meat. Hendy evidently already had his fill. As I stand up, sucking the juice off of my fingers, I address him.

“One other thing, Vic. A servant does not eat before his lord.”

He balks. “Y-yes, God Enel.” For God’s sake, man, I can see the juice around your lips. Don’t pretend you weren’t hungry. I’m not that imperious of a God.

“Hmph.” I turn around. The safehouse isn’t far now. We should get there by nightfall.

Moving Enel and Hendy from A4 to the Safehouse

[Larfleeze]

Chakravartin began to laugh, the moment he regained consciousness. This resulted in him coughing up a little more gold liquid as he regained his senses, "Did I die?" it didn't feel like dying did in his old world, if that was the case.

"No." Erika growled, the single word expressing how large disappointment that was for her. She was standing on the other end of the safehouse, glaring at an unfamiliar box. "Karl cut the match short."

"Talk about high-tension shit." Gamzee said, grinning a bit, "You really peppered me there, stings like something fierce."

"Kekeke..." Chakravartin laughed, "I can barely move. By My holy Name, that hurt... I want to offer taking this outside- finishing the match how it should, with at least one of us dying, but I don't think I can make it out the door, for a little while. Transformed too many times." Chakravartin frowned, and looked to the clown, "You there, we shared a toast, did we not? Can you help me up?"

"That was a distraction for you to blow us up." Erika growled.

"It's all good, fight's all done and overwith." Gamzee said, reaching over and lifting the child to his feet without much effort, "Tuckered out kid?"

"Hah! Yes. Though... let's see if I can't get to my feet."

Before he could manage to stand up without the support, two more Primes entered the bunker, a truly massive man with extended earlobes, and the handyman from the bar. "Getting a bit crowded in here." Chakravartin muttered, taking in the sight of the man, he liked his style. They both wore baggy pants.

Teleported from Zone X to Safehouse A