Zone D -- The Foam

[Dane Regan]

So. What's the plan? 
I don't think we actually have one.
We've got Clownpiece. She can help if there's a fight at the item drop.
Everyone we've met so far has been in a group, besides the Wizard. If we come across two or more people who aren't injured, then I don't think we'll have much of a chance.
Then we'll just use Clownpiece as a decoy and hide. If things get hairy we hightail it out. If there's only one person there, then we get the drop on them.
So you want to lead the fairy to her death? Are you that desperate for a victory?
I never said that. We can probably pick her up on our way out.
Probably? I smell some hypocrisy here.
We did kill Ishmir for thinking similar things after all. He'd have gotten a lot of people killed. 
So? If she dies she'll just come back. Like Cirno.
You're thinking too short term. Wouldn't it be good to gain long term allies? Friends outside of this competition.
It's just a game. Why should it matter if we betray someone. It's not like we'd do that normally.
It's because it's a game that we shouldn't. The consequences are near non-existent, which is why, morally, we should be upholding our ideals.
You're going round in circles. But, yes. We do need long-term allies. And yes, it'd be a dick move to get Clownpiece killed by some bullshit plan just to save our arse for a bit longer. That said, if Clown is anything like Cirno, she might refuse or not even consider the concept of yielding or fleeing. She is a tad crazy. I just don't want us to be the direct cause of it.

I was knocked out of my thoughts as I made it to the end of the last building. We had to travel on the ground the rest of the way, but there was a reasonable amount of foliage about this coastal area. Enough that I could relax slightly about being attacked on the way there - I could, but I didn't. We were still making a good time, so I could afford to be careful.

Danepiece moved from C15 to D4.

Dane's Selfie Stick Count: 3

[Gildarts]

“Gilly willy, and Illy dilly, we-we-we’ve got an item drop at D7! D7! D7!” Karl’s voice kept repeating it and Gildarts was reminded again that the tablet Syntech technology was not waterproof, even if it was in the backpack he’d continuously toted around. It was likely a glitch, but it was getting annoying. And who was Gilly Willy and Illy Dilly? They sounded like names for dwarves or something. Frankly, the crash mage found it kind of demeaning, but then, when was Karl ever not?
 
Back on swampy land that would likely take him a while to walk, for the mud continuously sucked in his steps like a vacuum, the warmage thought he heard something and looked over his shoulder. Nothing was there. Maybe it was hallucinations again, from Mal, from the concussion and coma he nearly slipped into, and likely would have if the Malefactor hadn’t given him a mental slap. Still, it was hard to hear over Karl’s incessant taunting, Gildarts pulled out the tablet and attempted to turn the power down, instead he managed to adjust the brightness to sun levels (probably having something to do with technology mixing with some of the magic slipping out of his hand) and he also managed to make Karl’s voice louder.
 
Now he couldn’t hear what he presumed was behind him, nor could he hear anything other than Karl’s woeful moans announcing the location he was headed. Could the host possibly be any louder?
 
Jeebus, shut him up! The Malefactor screamed and since she was inside Gil’s mind, she was louder and overpowered Mr. Jak’s voice. You’ll get the entire forest after us if you aren’t careful.
 
“D-d-don’tt you tthink I’mm ttrying?” Gildarts stuttered worse than Bill Denborough.
 
There was a shuffling behind Gildarts and Malefactor, it sounded like squishing mixed with the brushing of the marshyland bushes.
 
Shhh, what was that?
 
“D7! D7! ……” Karl continued to shout as Gil strained his ears beyond the male’s low sassy vibes.
 
…
 
Meanwhile on Omnitwitter, Gildarts had taken a second to glance at what people were messaging him, he was quite surprised to find that there was a count being kept for how many “shots” Gildarts and Tearen were taking across the board, well, from their separate positions on the island. The audience was rooting Tearen on. Gildarts blinked, trying to determine what they meant by “shots” when Gildarts hadn’t found any booze on this island worth drinking, but now, the strongest prime had a drinking game named after him, as well as another game circulating called “Karl’s Bitches.”
 
 

D6 to D7 searching for the item that’s about to drop.

[Dane Regan]

"Alright. Clownpiece. We need a game plan." I stopped on the edge of the drop site. Still hidden in the shrubbery. It was selfish. But if something bad happened and Clownpiece agreed to the actions that led to it, then I wouldn't be the only one to blame. And, of course, the young looking fairy could have something useful to add.

"Why do we need to talk about that? You can just run in there and use your sword, while I stay on your back and burn everyone." The lunatic grinned.

"No. Maybe if you're needed to be mobile, but I'd rather move independently. I think it's better for us. That way we won't both go down if we go up against someone with a death cannon. I'll stay up in people's faces. You burn them and try not to hit me. What's your precision like?"

"Well, I can't see that great. And I usually just burn everything in one direction so..."

"Alright, that's doable. I reckon I can be in and out fairly quickly. You burn people, then I go in and hit them. But that'd only work if there's only one person there. As fun as it is fighting two people with all melee weapons, I'm only doing that if they have no ranged potential. If anyone's got a gun, I won't be able to cope with 'em." I lifted my broken arm. The was a large purple bruise covering the forearm. "And it's not like I can use my shield." Unless I forfeit using a sword as well, anyway.

"But I could, right?"

"You don't have the skill. And just because you've got a piece of wood, leather, and metal, between you and a sharp or hard object doesn't mean you won't go flying. Hell, I doubt you could brace against anything with your bad leg."

"Yeah, but I'd be safer from guns and stuff." The fairy was correct there, but I liked having the thing on my back. It had saved my arse from many stray arrows in the past. Well, saved my back.

"Let's leave the shield for now. What matters is timing. We need a way to decide when you need to burn stuff. Otherwise, if you or I just yell out 'hey, I'm setting stuff on fire now' both me and my opponent are going to be able to dodge. Unless they're really fat I guess."

Clownpiece laughed. Maybe she was picturing a genocide of hippos, or just some tubby guy trying to run away from her flames. I didn't know. I couldn't read minds.

"Alright, so, I'm not using this hand." I raised my broken arm again. "But... I can still do hand signals." I demonstrated. "If that arm is closer to you when I'm fighting, then I can use this," I clenched the relaxed hand into a fist, "to tell you to charge your flames. And this," I stuck out my middle finger, "to tell you to burn 'em."

Clownpiece grinned, understanding. Then frowned. "I don't know if I'll be able to see that from distance away."

"Hmm... You're right. And me waving that arm around enough for you to be able to would get a bit obvious." That was annoying. "How much do you know about fighting with a sword? The footwork, feints. That sort of thing. They're large motions, so they'd be recognisable if you know what they are."

"Uuhh. Footwork is when you step about and a feint is when you pretend to do an attack and then do something else." So Clownpiece basically just knew the basics. That was fine. I could deal with that.

"Alright. I'll demonstrate." I stood up and moved about five metres away. Firstly, I flipped her off. "Can you see that."

"Umm... sort of. Not really."

It was worth a shot. I then demonstrated some stepping and attacking movements. "How well could you see those? Describe it to me."

Clownpiece did as I asked. She might have missed finer details like the rotating of my ankles or flicking of my hand, but she could see it fine. I repeated at ten metres away and achieved similar results.

"We don't know if we will have to fight anyone for this drop. But I need you to remember the following. When I do them I need you to charge your flames. Then when I do this I need you to send them out. It is a five-second charge right?"

"Yep."

"OK then. Let's go over everything a few more times. We've got a short time before the drop. Repeat the sequence to me and what you need to do."

It took a short while. But over the course of our wait, Clownpiece was eventually able to pick up on everything reliably.

"One last thing, Clown. There's one other thing I need you to remember. Don't worry, this one's fun. And pretty obvious..."

Danepiece moved from D4 to D7. Dane and Clownpiece will fight for the item drop.

Dane and Clownpiece have a secret code or list of signals to tell each other to attack or fall back, etc. Dane's are based on larger movements so Clown can see. These will be mixed into his fighting, but generally be indistinguishable from his usual attacks. Stuff like Dane shuffling right then left then right in quick succession. Think cheat codes.

Dane's Selfie Stick Count: 3

[Gildarts]

GIANT MONSTER?


You bet.

Following Gildarts and finally making itself known, was a giant monster covered in sludge. It had long extended tentacles that slithered through the mushy ground and snatched up the man's leg of flesh. 

"G-G-Get off me!" Gildarts growled as the creature stole him away from his idle perch on the drop, while the monster's tentacle held on tight, the OP prime was dragged through all sorts of foul smelling, bacteria infested cesspools. 

"I-I'll be b-back....!!" He slurred, not as badass as the well known and sensational Terminator.

Gildarts kept trying to charge his magic but the constant tussle and occasionally hitting a rock or bush caused him to lose focus. "D-d'oh," he said reminiscent of Homer Simpson while something hollow hit his head. Brushes and twigs kept slicing at his flesh and Gildarts eventually was pulled into a chocolate colored pool with a vibrant green surface with one colossal SPLASH!

The mountain of water erupted like a volcano and launched Gildarts into orbit. He came down, following the trickle of water suspended in the air and then colliding with the slippery creature's smooth tentacles. He rode them like a Slip N' Slide until he fell into the deep water with a tiny, Plop!

"Ughh," Gildarts frowned and felt the aches in his body come back to life, "I w-was right on the drop... Y-ya jerk!"

Gildarts thrust a punch into the water, causing an explosion of magic to whirl up around him. There was no need to tread water now, for He had parted the sea.

Tumbling along with his Mizuwari, the mammoth monster's shape was revealed. 

It was a dark, ugly colored viridian mixed with deep tones of black. Like a lump of jiggly, slimy, squishy scat, but it had thin wormlike arms that were mostly sharpened like blades below it. Paddle-like tentacles That also doubled as swords most likely. This would be fun.

"Y-you just cost me t-the item, ya jerk!" Gildarts shouted out at it. "Y-yer gonna pay now."

Gil moves from D7 to D11.

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece peeked around the overgrown fern she was sitting behind, keeping a watchful eye on the dropsite. She knew she wasn’t actually being all that stealthy, there was no doubt in her mind that anyone with actual eyes would be able to spot her out. Her bright blonde hair, clownish attire, and the lunatic glow of her torch weren’t doing her any favors, but again, it was something that brought her peace of mind.

Vague, green forms blurred together in her vision, and no matter how hard she squinted, she couldn’t make anything out. The hell fairy breathed out a heavy, silent sigh, wishing she’d stayed out of range of everyone there. Maybe she wouldn’t have been in this position if she’d just kept out of reach.

“Hey, Dane?” she whispered, pulling back from the foliage and turning to her ally, who also kept watch.

“Yeah?” he responded, his stance vaguely shifting.

“Wanna meet up again after all this is over?” Her purple, partially-blind eyes stared intensely at his face.

“Sure?” there was a note of uncertainty to his voice, as though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why this question came about.

“Great!” she beamed for a moment, before she took on a more serious look. “It’s just that you’re the only one I know besides Cirno, and I didn’t get a chance to ask her where we should meet up. Maybe I’ll get lucky and stumble across her, but maybe I won’t, and wandering alone’s no fun!”

“I see...” he said, and paused for a moment. “The fountain’s as good a place as any, I think, right in the middle of the Nexus. You can’t miss anyone there unless they’ve already left.”

“Nexus, got it!” Her mouth turned up in a vibrant smile, even though doing so sent waves of throbbing pain through her face.

Danepiece is still at D7, waiting for the item drop. Absolutely nothing important happened in this post.

[Gildarts]

"G-Grrrr. I'm gonna h-hit you with your own t-tentacle!" Gildarts shuddered as his Moses effect gave him the casting advantage for his magic, for he stood with two feet planted in the still-wet swamp bottom.

Shimmering light sliced and diced the baby Cthulhu squid thingy and finally Gildarts was able to slam a punch into its greasy side. Quickly following this nicely landed punch was Miss Malefactor's warning, incoming!

Your left, Gildarts!

BOOOM!

The flat side of the paddle swatted the crash mage like a fly and into the wobbling water with another splash.

"Y-you won't gett t-the bestt of-f me!" He shouted as he spit a gob of water from his mouth like a fountain.

Gildarts was determined, pouring in buckets full of magic to slay this fish while he continued to get soaking wet, accentuating his anger. Sure, swimming was great for normal people, but when you had not one handicap, but multiple, you often sunk instead of swam with no other options.

"H-hey, when I defeatt you, I'm g-gonna make you m-my horse," Gildarts said with a smile and then cast another spell delivering a slashing spray of netting into the beast, "You're g-gonna be mine."

After several more punches, the sea monster was no match for Gildarts, who antagonized him extra by slapping the creature with his own flipper.

It soon stopped moving and Gildarts fish out of water spell filled back in the fishbowl. But the damage had been done. The squid stopped fighting and made gurgling noises as if to say it had had enough.

"Rightt t-then pony, saddle me up," Gildarts couldn't jump high last Dante's Abyss, it only made sense that he couldn't jump high this time either. The squid would do the lifting for him, raising him to its back which was significantly shorter when it was out of water. Still it would make a great steed, he already knew it could traverse dry(ish) land.

"Hiyah!" Gildarts said and spanked the squid with its own calamari. "L-let's go see what we can do. And if we can get back in t-time, whatt do you say, Lulu?"

Gil moves from D11 to D10 riding baby lulu

[Gildarts]

"Lulu, you know t-tricks?" Gildarts said nearly biting his own tongue

Lulu made a few purring noises but Gildarts knew the creature had no idea what he was saying, how could it, if it was a monster?

The little squid did a few twirls as though trying to appease its new master and slave driver before continuing on their marshy course. Bubbles gurgled below the monster as though its hidden mouth was eating a plant or animal below the surface of the water. When it was done bubbling, it let out one long bubble, assumably a burp, to signal the finish of its feast. What did Lulu's eat anyway? Did they eat Prime for breakfast and a mud salad for dinner? Gil hoped never to find out.

They rode on to what Gil had thought was the right direction, but was not. He went back to some similar looking swampland which all looked exactly the same to the man. "You bet-ter know where you're going," the mage said as he looked around. King of destruction turned king of the sea.

Pull out your tablet and figure out where this beast is taking you, and pray, gods, pray Karl's voice doesn't start yelling at you incessantly again.

This was a nice recommendation. Nice being an extreme red flag to the Prime given it was basically Satan talking. Hmph, I can't have you dying out here in the backwater swamps. You'd never come back for me, now at least you'll see I have use.

Gildarts rolled his eyes, Some part of me hopes I am hallucinating t-this entire ordeal.

Oh yeah? That makes two of us. I was sitting high and mighty on my Gildarts throne before this. she sneaked back.

The sun moved across the sky and Lulu had made it to dry land. Which meant the wading and slow churning of its tentacles in the water would soon turn to an uncomfortable crawling below Gildarts. Jumps and lumpy jumbles of movement wiggled below his knees and helped him sail across the island with ease.

D10 to D6. Lulu can ride on flat ground, but she prefers to go underground which she can't with Gildarts who has to breathe so

[Clownpiece]

“Alright, item secured!” Clownpiece called out, unceremoniously shoving the vital artefact piece into Dane’s sack.

“What is it?” The voice of her ally called back from somewhere in the surrounding foliage, floating in without a source.

“No idea,” the hell fairy said, pushing herself to her feet. “You’ll have to look at it later.” She glanced around pointlessly, brilliant greens melding into one big blob as she slowly turned herself around, carefully balancing on her good foot and leaning against the drop. From just off to the side, she could hear the faint rustling of grass, footsteps created from nothing, and suddenly Dane was there.

“There’s no one,” he said as he slid back into the visible spectrum, a hint of disappointment showing on his face.

“Hmm....” Clownpiece frowned, “That’s no fun. You’d think someone would be here. It’s part of the super important thing, isn’t it?”

“There was someone,” Dane answered, “They left tracks around here, but apparently they’re gone.”

A smile giggle escaped the child as she climbed up onto the swordsman’s back. “They must have seen us and run off scared.”

“Maybe...” Dane gave a halfhearted reply, and started forward.

“If we find ‘em, I’ll show them a real hell!” She continued to rant, excitedly waving the torch above her head. “Teach them to even think about challenging our item!” Though she buzzed with enthusiasm, there was still a pit of worry deep within her. They were both in pretty bad shape, another fight wouldn’t turn out well.

The duo pushed out from thicket, and were greeted by a sprawling expanse of water and sand.

“Woah...” Clownpiece stretched up, leaning over Dane’s shoulder to get a better look. Small waves lapped delicately at the edges of the sandy beach, and the setting sun cast a fiery glow across the rather calm water. “What’s that!?” she asked excitedly, leaning so far forward that Dane stumbled trying to keep them upright. “What’s with all this water!?”

“That’s a... sea?” her ally answered, again wondering where such a question could have come from.

“A sea? Like the Sea of Tranquility? That didn’t have any water though.”

“The Sea of Tranquility?”

“A biiiiig ole sea up on the moon!” Clownpiece said, stretching her torch high into the air. “It’s sorta like a giant... plain, I’d say?”

“This is a different kind of sea, then.”

“Huh,” she hummed, as she lowered herself again, returning the swordsman’s balance. “I wonder why they’re both called seas?”

“That’s a question for the books,” Dane responded, and started forward again, travelling parallel with the tide.
 

Danepiece collects the item and moves from D7 to D6. No intention to challenge, just wandering along the coast.

[Dane Regan]

"Let's head south. There's a platform out at sea. We might be able to use that as a base of operations until the next set of drops come along." I comment.

"And then we'll scare everyone away again."

"Yep. It might get a bet wet though." I trudged along the beach, heading down into the ocean. Once we got closer, I came to the conclusion that the area was actually flooded. There wasn't enough erosion on this part of the beach, and there were pieces of drowned and dead shrubbery in some parts of the water. It didn't look like it would get too deep. At least, it probably wouldn't get deeper that I was tall prior to use reaching the platform. We wouldn't make fast progress, but I reckoned that we should have been able to travel at a reasonable pace.

"Urgh. Now I'm all wet." Clownpiece tried to scramble higher up my back in an attempt to avoid the salty water. Eventually, she made it up higher to a sitting position on my shoulders. She was safe from the water for now. Until any large waves came for us, at least. The sea seemed calm for now, but I wasn't sure how long that would last. I just focused on plowing on forwards towards our destination. At the moment, the water reached just above my waist, but I expected it to get deeper soon enough.

I was left pondering how we manage to get the important quest thingamajig. Maybe there was a lone person there who ran off or something, but that didn't explain why no one else went for it. Did they all go for the healing? It was good if they did. I know I did pass one group heading in that direction a while back when I was still in the city. The more people that were wounded, the less worse off I was in comparison. Heck, at this rate I might have even been better off than some of the others.

Danepiece moving from D6 to D10.

Dane's Selfie Stick Count: 3

[Dane Regan]

The water was slowly getting deeper. Luckily I didn't have any open cuts or anything, because that would have probably stung quite a bit. Our actual destination if the safehouse on the platform wasn't as far as I thought it was. It was a bit closer than it looked from the shore. Or maybe that was just because I figured our travel speed would be much slower than it actually was. I'd got into a nice little rhythm as I walked and bounced through the slowly rising water. Clownpiece's feet were almost touching the surface from her position on my shoulders. I had my bag raised up next to her. I didn't feel like soggy meals and I wasn't about to test any waterproofing the thing may or may not have had.

I kicked something hollow, yet hard, on the ground watching the piece of coral break off through the blue waters. There hasn't been any hostile fish or sea animals so far, and I hoped it would stay that way. I doubted I'd find anything too bad in waters this shallow, but I kept an eye out. It was best not to test my chances after all.

I also had to keep an eye out behind me. Anyone really after what I had would be swarming the area sooner rather than later. And, the chances were, they were healed and had got the supplies from the north part of the city or the mountains. Unless they were in a group, when only one of them would likely be fully healed.

What did worry me was how likely it was for me to be culled. There can't have been many people who hadn't gone to the Colosseum. And, unfortunately, or fortunately, I was one of them. That meant I could easily have been next.

Danepiece moving from D10 to D14

Dane's Self Stick Count: 3

[Dane Regan]

The water wasn't too cold. And we were on the very last stretch of the journey. At least until the next item locations were revealed. It was about four foot deep now, and seemed to have levelled off. So Clownpiece had to stick her legs out straight to keep her feet about the waves. She still got sprayed a small amount, but there hasn't been any large waves so far, which was a plus. I just wanted to get there and dry off. If only selfie sticks had levitation powers or something like that, then we could just fly there or something.

I wondered if I had a fanbase. Did any of the viewers root for me? Or hate me? Or just follow what I was doing in general? Maybe. I'd made it this far, so there was probably at least one person out there besides maybe Cepheya that was watching me. Red had lost his Colosseum fight and been eliminated, so I wondered if he was watching me and Clownpiece. Or maybe he was following and rooting for Black, or simply the really strong prime that beat him. I'd seen the replays of all the fights there if I hadn't been able to watch them live. It was useful to learn how the others fought. But some of the people were incredibly strong. I'd definitely have to wait for them to take each other down or weaken themselves. Maybe try to double team one of them with Clownpiece.

"Almost there." I sighed.

"Yay."

I trudged forwards through the last ten metres. Behind me, I could see no one (except for the fair sitting in my shoulders). To my sides, also no one. In front of me, a big wave and the safehouse.

"Umm... Dane."

It was good to know Clownpiece could see the big blue mass of water, even through her blurred vision. I quickly jumped and ran through the rest of the water, sending spray everywhere. Clownpiece covered her face with one hand. I jumped out of the water and climbed onto the platform just before the wave passed.

"Made it."

Now time to eat, dry off, and wait for the next set of item drops. I took some food out of my bag and then tossed it, quest item inside, on the floor of the safehouse, letting it skid along. I gently placed Clownpiece down onto the floor. Armed with jerky, three selfie sticks, two things that could take selfies, and a collection of medieval weapons, I went off on a search for towels.

Danepiece moved from D14 to Safehouse D

Dane's Selfie Stick Count: 3

[Karl Jak]

As of yesterday, it is now Day 5, for the purposes of safehouses and posting requirements.

Day 5 will run until July 4th at 430 PM CDT

[Tearen Wover]

The pair of hiking Primes finally took a turn off of the highway they had been walking on down into the suburbs of the city to the northeast. As they walked down the winding switchbacks, Tearen took a moment to raise an eyebrow at the flooded district to the southeast. This was a particular curiosity of the island that he hadn't been able to reconcile yet. He was tempted to chalk it up to more arbitrary decisions on Karl Jak's part to add interest to an otherwise unremarkable area. It raised the question, then, of why exactly Karl had thought this particular brushstroke to be the most fitting. Indeed, looking at the island was much like staring at a masterpiece painting. So many innuendos and quirks, one began to question where the border between intent and improvisation lay.

Or, perhaps, he was giving the Syntech CEO too much credit. At any rate, they were reaching their desired position on the map. A nice, centralized location to launch potential strikes against their desired targets. As always, Tearen also had a personal reason for having reached D1 as their decided ambush point. He just hoped that, when the time came, patience would win out over impulse. The elder Prime glanced over at his bleached comrade, who seemed almost tranquil as they walked in silence along the sparsly lit road. Streetlights blasted light down onto the blacktop every fifty meters or so, but otherwise the environment was largely rural and full of tropical plant life. Certainly not choked like Zone E...more like the perfect balance between verdance and reason.

The two Primes made their way into a smaller outlying district of the city to the north. I was a quaint little town, as nameless as the roads they had been traveling, but with amenities to spare.

"How long are we going to stay here?" Strazio asked as they jointly broke down the door to a rather nice looking hotel. Marble floors and untended planters littered the foyer, but most importantly, central air conditioning caressed their trail-weary faces with a chilled embrace. Tearen flopped down on one of the red satin couches and withdrew his Synpad with a psychic yank.

"Well...that depends on everyone else."

Tearen and Strazio moved from E9 to D1

[Gildarts]

Swamp master G continued his trek and pulled up the map app from the tablet and Gildarts thanked the universe that the automated Karl voice didn't start blaring with an alarm.

Gildarts you need to sterilize your wounds. Malefactor mom advised, They'll get infected since you decided to swim around in the muck.

"I-infected ? I t-thought my magic p-prevented inf-fection," the mage said, never really considering that the Omniverse was the type of place that would change the very components of his flesh and the fact that it was woven with magic, creating a very aggressive immune system with antibodies who waged wars on viruses.

Ugh, you're worse than ever, listen Gil, magic may be in your bones and blood but it can't protect you from everything. Especially bacteria. That stuff is killer, ha, I should know, parasite and all. Anyway Clive, why don't you try and treat your wounds or something with that can stop the infection. Got any potato chips? The saline mixing them with water could do you good. Maybe if you pull ol' Nessy over you can go on a search to find something useful for a change. Nag Malefactor was his least favorite. She was always so degrading and it was probably her most abusive ruse, for she pretended to mean well while berating him.

So Gildarts zoned out as he approached the next zone.

Little Lulu continued to ride on, Gildarts was glad to get a break and took this chance to fish out one of his saved M.R.E.'s from his pack. Just add water! Was the motto, Gildarts didn't have the focus to read any more about the instructions so his tinfoil packed lunch was really... Slimy and lumpy. It was somewhat warm though, something about friction with something about the powder warmed up the meal.

Gildarts wasn't using his active tastebuds as he scooped up the bits of meal with his culled fingers, he could barely taste anything but his stomach aching and growling showed him that he was being neglectful to his fit bod.

One thing was positive from the oblivious man's lack of focus helped his tongue remain blissfully unaware of his terrible his food tasted.

   Gil D6 to D3

[Strazio Rockwell]

“My asshole detector is starting to pick up a signal,” Strazio said, “we’re getting close to a hotbed of pricks.”

Tearen simply nodded. They had been walking for hours, and though they had stopped for rest every now and again five days of fighting and running would leave even a spartan weary. Strazio lagged behind his companion and cursed himself for doing so.

As they crested the final hill the two stopped to rest at its apex. Below them the derelict city sat spread across the landscape. The highway carved a vein of asphalt directly into the heart of the city. They were still a few miles out, but it was an easy and flat stretch of lang that led them to their destination. Strazio meandered to the side of the road and found a rock to sit on. Tearen stood facing the city with his Synpad floating a few feet to the side of his face. He mentally cross-referenced the physical city with its representation on the tablet’s map.

“Hey,” Strazio called out, “what do you suppose is in this thing?”

He held up a silver canister, about the size of a twelve ounce soda bottle. It was cool to the touch and he could feel liquid sloshing about inside. There was a thin seal about three-fourths up the canister and upon noticing this Strazio tried to unscrew the top. It was sealed tight and he had to brace the thing between his legs to finally break the seal.

“Having one hand sucks,” he muttered.

The bottom portion of the canister was filled with a pleasant smelling red liquid. Strazio raised his eyebrows and tilted the cylinder towards Tearen so he could see the contents.

“Smells nice,” Strazio said, “what do you suppose it is?”

Tearen thought for a moment, “it could be poison.”

“Yeah, could be,” Strazio said.

He dipped his finger into the liquid and tasted it. Well now, that was a pleasant surprise. Without another word Strazio downed the entire thing in a few contiguous gulps. The alcohol burned his throat, but it tasted fine otherwise. Fuzzy sprites invaded his insides and sent pleasure vibrating through his body. Tearen watched as the Avatar threw the cylinder aside and sat with a faint smile on his lips.

“That was damn good,” Strazio said, “but I think there was more than just booze in that drink.”

Tearen observed the rage mage and did a quick telekinetic scan of the boy’s body.

“You’ve stopped bleeding internally,” he noted.

“Hand still ain’t back, but I feel fucking unstoppable,” he said and whooped before continueing, “let’s go fuck some motherfuckers up!”

Strazio consumes a Sanderson Special, healing himself for 4 HP this should (if my math is right) make it so he only have 6 hp missing. Tearen and Strazio move from D1 to D3 and linking up with Gdarts

[Dane Regan]

Well that sucked. No more drops unless people died. Hopefully everyone had started killing each other or something. That'd be nice. I'd stick with Clownpiece until we were the final two, however. No sense in killing an ally just to make a drop item happen. Anyway, the pair of us would become targets soon enough given that we had one of the parts of the victory item between us. So at this point it was a process of careful movements until we got forced into a fight together.

No one else was by the coast. I was fairly sure of that. And I reckoned the mountains were also fairly empty. It seemed like everyone was converging on the city, or already there. I'd fight better in the streets for one, but I wasn't sure if the teamwork between me and Clownpiece would work very in streets or in the ocean. The beach was a good place though. I reckoned it'd be best to set off to there so when people eventually chased us down, we could function together better. Although, in my opinion, it'd be best to just hand over the item to whoever happened to threaten us. That said, Clown wanted to go out with a good final stand. Death wasn't permanent here and our chances of winning were pretty low, so who was I to take that away from the brave little girl?

After explaining my reasoning to Clownpiece, we both set off north towards the beach, and then possibly the city. Waiting was boring, and once it became apparent staying around this empty area wouldn't help us, it was only logical to push on and get a piece of the action. I had another good fight in me, and Clownpiece still had her flames. I'd rather use it than regret my inaction later.

Danepiece moved from Safehouse D to D14

Dane's Selfie Stick Count: 3

[Clownpiece]

The silent night air hung heavily over the duo, disturbed only by the light wading of Dane as he pushed forward through the flood-grounds. High above their heads, the moon hung almost still, moving imperceptibly through the sky and casting its lunatic light across the calm sea. From her perch atop his shoulders, Clownpiece stared at it. With her vision the way it was, she couldn’t make out any of its defining features.

“You know,” the hell fairy broke the silence between the two. “The moon’s a pretty nice place.”

“Is that so?” Dane responded, continuing to push on.

“Yeah. It’s very...” she paused for a moment, searching for a good word to use. “Pure, I’d guess? Too pure. It’s the perfect place to go and mess around.”

“What does purity have to do with that?” he asked.

“Because when us, impure fairies go up there, it throws everyone into a panic!” A rather cruel giggle escaped the child. “You shoulda seen what happened last time! Silly Lunarians couldn’t even touch us.”

“So you went up there and ruined some people’s homes? That sounds kinda mean.”

“Well when you put it like that...” she muttered, sinking down a bit and leaning on Dane’s head. “But no! It was a bit more than that!” she suddenly straightened up. “Well, it was sorta that. I don’t know the specifics, but I know that my Master was kinda angry with them. It wasn’t like a buncha fairies got together and decided to storm the moon. Though that part was fun~”

“I’m guessing they must have done something pretty bad if they pissed off the...” Dane trailed off. “I’m assuming your Master’s probably someone pretty high up in Hell. So they really messed up pissing them off.”

“Yeah!” She agreed earnestly, “But anyway! The point is the moon’s a nice place. I wanna go there again. And maybe show them a lunatic hell~”

The swordsman pressed on through the tide, only vaguely listening to the giggling lunatic on his shoulders.
 

Danepiece moving from D14 to D10.

[Clownpiece]

“Land ho!” Clownpiece called out over the still water, climbing up even higher on Dane as she did. Her voice carried out across the sea, a dull sound that travelled out and was gone, never to return. The coastline the duo had desperately been searching for peaked over the horizon, illuminated by the brilliant light of the full moon.

“So it is,” Dane responded placidly, never breaking stride.

“Come on!” she sunk back down to her usual perch. “Give me some enthusiasm! I wanna hear you roar like the demons of hell!”

“I’m good.”

“Hmph...” the fairy let out a small noise, leaning against his head once again. “That’s no fun.” To that, Dane offered no response, and silence fell over the two, silence which was quickly broken by the impatient fae. “Hey, waaaaay earlier, back before I got summoned to the Colosseum, you mentioned you could teach me some of your silly little spells, right?”

“I did,” he answered, raising his good arm even higher above the water. “Wanna learn?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, shifting a little bit to the side and staring intensely at the raised hand.

“So, obviously you know how to use magic, with that hellfire you’re able to cast, right?”

“Yup! I can actually do a bit more than that! Imagine a lot of stars and lasers, like my dress. I can conjure up that.”

“Good, so we have something to work with.” With a snap of his fingers, his hand was engulfed in illusory fire. “I showed you this one earlier.”

“You did. What else can you do?” Even though her vision was impaired, she stared enraptured at the display.

“Hm...” He glanced around, humming. “Unfortunately, not a whole lot out here at sea. When we hit land, I’ll show you some stuff, but for now, let's focus on fire.”

“Got it!” the child nodded earnestly.

“Okay so, here’s how you do it...”
 

Danepiece moving from D10 to D6.

[Enel]

I wipe my chin. I keep having flashbacks.

I throw forth my hand, unleashing a sizzling column of lightning against the poor boy. He’ll be dead before he hits the ground.

Then …

It fades, and he’s still there. Immune? Rubber?

His kick smashes into my sternum, and I go flying.

Is this a premonition? A future that was yet to come?

The great ark is complete! I stand atop it, the craftsmanship a testament to my genius, my mechanical expertise, and the sway I have over the former God’s guard.

He pummels it, completely disregarding my fine work. I rush towards him, confident that my mantra renders me immune to his blows ….

And then the ricocheted hits smash into me, trapping me in a flurry of blows that can’t be detected by my mantra. Of course … if he doesn’t know where they’ll land, I can’t read his mind! I can’t evade them! After what seems like an eternity, the hits stop, and I fly backwards.

I stand. See him turn towards me.

“GOMU GOMU NO …!”

No …!

“BAZOOKAAA!”

NO!

I stop and lean to lean against a nearby building. But there’s … no building?

My vision blurs and I topple sideways onto the floor.

“God!” cries Graowr and flies to my side.

I look up at her. Look down at her rubbery body.

“Get away from me!” I cry, stumbling backwards on my hands and knees. “What …?”

What was I?

Lightning in the sky. My plan stands at its final juncture.

What is this? Why would I …?

I will destroy this land and go to Fairy Vearth.

Is that me?

The only thing that stands before me is one puny mortal. I ready my final attack.

I vomit. My head spins.

I wake up to see the others standing over me. The green one hisses.

“We ssshould take his ssshit.”

I rear up. “Back off, bug-boy! Wait.” I eye him. “Aren’t you the one we janked that necklace piece from?”

He growls. “Ssso you do remember. What’d you do with it?”

I laugh. “I gave it to my servant, Hendy.”

Suddenly the very average and very fucked-up looking mortal man pipes in. “That guy in the colosseum? Man, why’d you give a necklace to a furry?” He half-laughs, bracing his ribs. “The-hey don’t even wear clothes!”

I roll my eyes. “That necklace’s what turned him into that … wolf-thing. Glad I didn’t put it on.”

“No kidding!” He laughs again.

I turn, annoyed, to Graowr. “Where’d you pick these fools up?”

Graowr looks a little brighter than before, a little more like her usual self. Tch. How can one so stupid be so happy? It boggles the brain. “This is uh, Cell,” she gestures to the bug man. “And Archer.”

“Sterling, Archer,” he corrects, arms folded across his bloodied chest.

I rise to my feet. “And I am God. God Enel.”

I don’t extend a hand. Whatever these fools have to say, it can wait.

I need to figure this out. What it means.

God and Friends™ go from C2 to D3.

[Clownpiece]

“This time I got it, I swear!” Clownpiece extended her right arm out, keeping her palm turned out towards the sandy beach. As she’d found out, conjuring flashy, magic-trick type fire was a lot harder when you were used to conjuring up the blazing fires of hell. Every attempt thus far to make the heatless fire had ended in resounding failure. 

“Remember what I said,” Dane added, rather unhelpfully, as the hell fairy could barely make heads or tails of his complicated instructions. Infernal heat welled up in her palm, and with an ungraceful squeak, she cut off the fire before she could scorch anything again.

“Uh... Fourteenth time’s the charm?” she muttered with a pained grin on her face, not that her ally could see it.

“Want to try something else?” he suggested, head turning slightly to look around them again. “I can show you some of my other cantrips now.”

“No! I’ve got this! It’s this time for sure!” she stubbornly exclaimed, keeping her arm extended.

“You’ve gotta focus on the light more than the heat. It’s not supposed to burn, so if you add heat you’re making it real fire.”

“Light, not heat,” she muttered to herself, concentrating once again.

“Try turning your palm up,” he suggested. “Right now you’re sort of acting like you’re ready to burn someone, which you’re not supposed to be doing. Remember, it’s sorta like an illusion.”

“Illusion,” she repeated absently, vaguely wondering if she could possibly bring about madness accompanied by illusions with her torch. That was a test for another day, however. Magical power flowed through her body, different from the hellish energy she’d been calling up earlier. “I got it! I got it this time!” she cheered as her practice finally came to fruition. The magical power she’d summoned exploded to life in her palm, producing a brilliant, flickering blue flame.

“Good job!”

“Haha!” Clownpiece raised her hand, wreathed in blue fire, high above her head. “Tremble before me, Clownpiece, the smartest, strongest, and cruelest fairy in hell!” She wrapped her legs even tighter around Dane’s chest, and released her left hand from his shoulder. With a flick of her wrist, she produced a white flame in that hand and lifted it to the sky as well. “Fear me! The fiery fairy of red, white, and blue!”

“Alright, calm down, we’ve got more.”
 

Danepiece moving from D6 to D3.