Match of the Millennium

Description: The Gemstone would normally be a luxury hotel, but power outages, poor lighting and non-existent staff service currently put it at a two out of five at best on TripAdvisor. Not to mention familiar fiends that stalk its halls - at least, they might be familiar if anyone could be certain of what they looked like...

[RODRIGO]
When Rhythm Renegades received their marching orders Rodrigo nodded. It wasn't like he had a problem with his role. Everyone needed resources and if they were going to be at their best, said resources needed to be secured. For the most part, those gathered had been trying to lower their dependence on the vehicles while trapped on the island. With the potential to bring back supplies, a vehicle was needed because who was going to carry boxes all the way on foot?

Rodrigo finds himself in the back seat of the jeep while one of the NFG production assistants drives the to fighters through the jungle towards the Gemstone Suite. The vehicle comes to a stop and the Spaniard takes a moment to stretch and look around for evidence of the delivery.

"I hope we can find everything we need here."

[SARAH]
You do what you have to. Sometimes you have to get resources to get by.

Sarah rode in the back seat alongside Rodrigo. Despite dressing casually (and barefoot as usual,) Sarah was more than ready to help bring back supplies as necessary. Unlike Rodrigo, who was probably less than thrilled with having to do this, Sarah was looking optimistic about the whole thing.

Upon their arrival, Sarah was quick to get out and stretch her arms over her head before looking around and nodding. "Let's get what we need and get back. I wouldn't mind a good soda."

[JUNKO]
The path through the jungle proves difficult to traverse even with the aid of motorized transportation. Years of neglect have left the paths in poor shape and nature has been aggressive in the reclamation of its domain. The dirt trails used by construction crews and staff cars have all but been swallowed by dense foliage making them almost impossible to spot by any but a skilled trailblazer. The roads remain both visible and usable but most are already starting to succumb to erosion, splintering into large chunks of mismatched asphalt like a lazily assembled jigsaw puzzle.

Needless to say, between the heat and the rough terrain, the trip isn't particularly pleasant. But with the aid of a map and some persistence the appointed driver eventually pulls into the parking lot of the Gemstone Suite.

Unlike the original Zack Island, which boasted a single monolithic hotel, the guest facilities on Site B have been divided up into three separate entities located on different parts of the island. The Gemstone was clearly designed for first-class clientele, its white marble walls and gothic architecture evoking the idea of nobility and comfort. The thick vines that have started to creep up its walls and the obvious signs of vandalism by local wildlife put a bit of a stain on the intended imagery, however.

Several of the Gemstone's windows have been smashed apart - likely long ago judging by the amount of dust and grime that has built up on the floors inside. The front entrance is in a similar state of disrepair, one of its tall windowed doors hanging wide open while the other seems to have been outright smashed out of the frame by something with considerable strength. Strange gouge marks can be seen scattered around the marble stairway leading up to the entrance and in haphazard groupings along the walls. Perhaps a bear or some other large predator marking its territory.

Unfortunately, a quick glance around the perimeter reveals no signs of a cargo truck or a convenient stash of large crates that might be full of preserved supplies. No doubt any large delivery of that nature would have been kept within the Suite itself. The kitchens seem the obvious place to check first though it's just as likely that there could be some sort of basement meant for long-term storage.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo walks up to the Gemstone entrance proper and looks around his eyes going to the smashed out door, then to the dusty ground, and then finally to broken windows and gouged marble. Already, the Spaniard isn't feeling good about the situation at all.

"I don't know about you, but this doesn't look encouraging to me."

The former toreador prospect removes his custom red cape from his shoulders and holds it at the ready to be used as a shield. He then turns to his mentor with his eyebrow raised.

"What's your take? Should we go through the front entrance and try our luck there or do you want to go around the perimeter and see if there's a loading dock?"

No matter the answer, Rodrigo is keeping his hand on the handle of his espada ropera, ready to be drawn at moment's notice.

[SARAH]
Upon arriving at the Gemstone, Sarah was startled slightly. She wasn't expecting the hotel to look the way it did, and upon seeing it she became very uneasy about the whole thing. She knew they had to find a way in to get the supplies, but it was obvious that someone or something wasn't exactly looking to welcome them.

Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, Sarah takes her water bottle from her jeans and takes a swig of water before reattaching it, and then she looks to Rodrigo. "Let's see if there's another way in. I've got a feeling whatever did this might be waiting inside for us, and if we can get the drop on it, we'd be better off."

The blonde-haired disk jockey moves towards the side of the building cautiously, preferring to walk normally as opposed to moving in the ginga. It's not her usual fighting stance, but she'd prefer to be stealthy if possible. She steps with extra caution, looking down at the ground as she steps, since even though she is barefoot, there's always the risk of stepping on a stick or something similiar that might make noise.

[JUNKO]
Proceeding cautiously, the pair skirt the outer perimeter of the Gemstone. Further signs of inhuman habitation become visible as they round the bend and get a look at the parts of the exterior that were hidden from view on their initial approach. More of the strange gouges pockmark the shiny white marble walls in seemingly random patterns, focused mostly around the towering gothic windows. The glass has been broken out here as well leaving the building riddled with dozens of potential points of ingress for all manner of wild critters.

As they get closer, a particularly foul stench starts to assault their senses, sitting somewhere between spoiled milk and rotten eggs that have been baking in the tropical heat on the yuckometer. Some of the more wilderness savvy members of the crew have likely given out a few survival pointers to the rest, so it's likely that one of the two explorers will know that predators tend to leave rather putrid odors in their domains. Whatever might be lurking within, it's probably not cute and friendly; and if those claw marks are any indication, it's bound to be dangerous.

The good news is that there hasn't been any signs of movement or noise coming from nearby that might indicate that their arrival has been noticed by the Gemstone's squatters. The bad news is that there aren't any signs of a delivery truck or a loading dock on the back side of the small hotel either. The designers likely didn't want to muddy up the fancy building with anything so mundane.

Which means that they're going to have to go inside if they want to locate those crucial supplies and potentially tangle with whatever is responsible for that stench.

[RODRIGO]
The fact that the Gemstone doesn't seem to have an apparent loading dock confuses the swordsman because one of the purposes of those things is to handle the mundane things away from the public facade. Would a luxury hotel want trash pick up to go through the lobby to go out of the building? Would a luxury hotel want a contractor to go through the front door for repairs and possibly track dirt, dust or whatever byproducts their work creates as they go in or out. Either way, front door seems to be the only way in or out for now.

As they move closer to the door, Rodrigo gets hit with the foul odor. His eyes start to water and he fights the urge to puke. Considering how awful the smell was, he was sure that he'd want to have the blade at the ready. He draws the sword, pointed low to the ground. He didn't want to accidentally stab anyone he doesn't want to stab.

First order of business, look for a map or directory so they can find the dining areas which he hoped would lead to kitchens and from there try to find the supplies and hope they haven't gotten destroyed yet.

In order to accomplish the objective, he starts with the concierge desk and the near by offices since he believes this is where the paperwork would be whether it's documents of delivery, emergency exit routes which usually include a map, or something along those lines before moving further in to explore.

[SARAH]
No loading dock? That makes Sarah suspicious as well. She would think that a hotel like this would need a loading dock for things like receiving goods and disposing of trash. She also didn't see any type of underground garage or similar method of entry, which makes the odds of an underground loading dock seem extremely unlikely. Already, she's starting to narrow her eyes a little. "I guess we've got to take a more direct approach," Sarah comments as she rolls her eyes.

Upon arriving at the door, that foul stench hits her nostrils, and Sarah reels back a little before wrinking her nose. "Ugh, what the bloody hell happened here?" She says as her stomach starts to indicate it may not be willing to keep the contents of her last meal down there. She retches once but manages to keep from throwing up, and after stumbling back for a couple of gasps of fresh air, she rejoins Rodrigo.

This time, Sarah has gotten into the ginga as a way of being prepared for any unwanted surprises. She opts to stay close to Rodrigo and assist wherever he's searching, not wanting to be caught alone by anything unpleasant. All the while she's breathing through her mouth entirely.

[JUNKO]
The foyer of the Gemstone was probably quite the sight once.

Tall elegant marble pillars support a pair of sweeping stairs that lead to the second floor on each side of the large room. A large marble desk sits underneath the overhang of the second floor landing flanked on either side by massive vases and framed by a huge painting on the rear wall. One half of the entryway is filled with chairs, sofas, and coffee tables, offering a place for guests to rest their feet or enjoy a cozy morning paper under the warm radiance of the tropical sun spilling through the gothic windows. The other side contains a small concession stand of some sort, likely offering premium coffee blends, bagels, and things of that nature.

But however splendid it might have once been, the Gemstone's foyer is little more than a disaster site now. The elegant and plush rugs and carpets have faded to mottled washed out colors, ripped apart in places by time and the claws of wandering beasts. The shiny marble is stained with mold and fungal growths that create a patchwork pattern of browns and greens. Most of the fancy paintings and expensive vases have been knocked down or smashed completely and the room is littered with shards of ceramic and glass. The once comfortable sofas have clearly played host to a number of different squatters over the years, all but caked in excrement, feathers, fur, and a number of other unrecognizable substances that have all long since dried out and become a part of the upholstery.

A quick inspection of the foyer reveals a few clues. More of the strange slashes can be seen all around room, on the walls, on the furniture, even on the pillars and the ceiling. Whatever food might have been stored in the concession stand has long since been made a snack by the locals. It even looks like the shredded wrappers and plastic cups were used to make a nest of some kind, though it looks long abandoned now.

More importantly, the large picture frame mounted behind the lobby desk, now tilted and half fallen to the floor, contains a mostly intact map of the hotel. A quick review of its contents offers two pieces of information that might be of use.

Firstly, there is indeed a storage area and loading dock for supplies to be delivered to the Gemstone - underground. While neither of them spotted an obvious entrance on their way it's not that difficult to believe that the path either wasn't visible to them or has been devoured by the jungle overgrowth. Or, who knows, maybe there's a massive tunnel network connecting all of the facilities together to make it easier to distribute supplies from some central warehouse. Zack certain seems extra enough - and wealthy enough - to do something like that. Either way, the basement is clearly marked as "Shipping/Receiving", which makes it a possible location for any crates of supplies to be found.

The other lead is the location of the hotel's kitchen, which appears to be rather sizable. Judging by the equally unusual space set aside for what appears to be an auditorium-sized dining room it's possible that the Gemstone was meant to host fancy parties or conventions. It seems reasonable that there might have been a large supply of foodstuffs stashed away within its pantries before being abandoned.

Two possible avenues of investigation now open up before them. They can check out the kitchen and hope that whatever might have been stored there was properly secured enough to keep it from being pillaged by the wildlife. Or they can delve down into the basement, braving the dark and the unknown to search for a supply cache. Unfortunately, both potential locations show obvious signs of recent passage by the mysterious owner of those large claw marks.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo drapes his cape over his forearm allowing him to free up a hand while not relinquishing his hold on his sword then pulls out his cellphone and takes a picture of the map. If they have to go through this horror movie-esque scenario, he'd rather not spend any more time here than necessary just because he didn't know where to go.

The Spaniard turns to his team mate and says, "Now that we know where the key locations are, it should be easier to get where we need to go." r
He points to the basement on the larger map rather than the version on his cellphone and then says, "Since shipping and receiving is located right there, that should probably be our first stop. Keeping in mind the current condition of the hotel, I'm not sure that I'd trust the condition of the elevator so our best bet would be to take the stairs here." He then points out the stairway closest to the elevator.

With objectives pointed out, Rodrigo moves ahead while beckoning Sarah to follow. He then heads to the stairway with occasional glances at his cellphone to make sure they were headed in the right direction. Eventually they get to the stairway and Rodrigo takes a breath through his mouth to avoid smelling the rank odors before making their way down. He's not looking forward to this.

[SARAH]
Sarah takes a picture of the map with her cell phone as well before putting it back in her pocket. She gives a nod to Rodrigo as she adjusts her cap. "Agreed, we'd be better off taking the stairs." Of course, the fact that it's in the basement only makes Sarah feel more nervous about it, since she remembered stories about monsters living in basements as a child, and while they were all just ghost stories, who knows what might be lurking down there?

Following closely behind Rodrigo, Sarah remains ready to fight at the drop of a hat. She's already got a bad feeling about this, and the horrible stench isn't making her feel any better. At one point she takes off her cap to try to wave off the stench, not that it does any good.

Once they reach the stairway, Sarah gulps a little. There's nowhere to go but down, and she is not liking this one bit. She takes another deep breath through her mouth before blowing it out. "Go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

[JUNKO]
With their path chosen, the two intrepid explorers set forth into the belly of the building.

The path to their descent is easy enough to locate. Like most hotels, the elevators are placed conveniently within a few moments walk down one of the hallways behind the front desk. Though the power has been restored to most of the island, only a few dim lights flicker overhead. Pressing the buttons on the lift brings no results which relegates them to a manual descent regardless of Rodrigo's warning and suggests that the suite's electrical grid may still be offline.

Further evidence of this is provided when they step into the nearby stairwell. As before, only a few dim running lights offer any illumination on the landing. The stairs themselves are cloaked in all but total darkness, spiraling down like rotten teeth into a gaping maw that makes the mental comparison to a horror movie seem a little more relevant. Fortunately, the two of them have their phones, allowing them at least a little light as they plunge down into the abyss.

The stairs wind down two entire floors before terminating at a large pair of industrial-sized steel doors. As with those at the front entrance, both of the heavy barriers have been demolished, though the destruction is far more concerning here as whatever bullied its way through seems to have peeled them open like a kid tearing through the box of their birthday present - assuming said kid had claws capable of shearing foot-long gouges into solid steel.

Beyond the ruined doorway, a T-junction hallway stretch out into the darkness, offering paths forward and to either side. Checking the map, it appears that the main shipping area lies dead ahead, utilities and electrical to the left, while the right is seems to be an area for the employees with a lounge, locker room, and showers.

As they pause to gather their thoughts, soft scratching sounds can be heard from somewhere deeper within the basement, a rasping movement of claws dragging across stone. Vermin? Or something larger? Attempting to listen closer offers no further insights as the noise seems to be echoing through the open halls making its intensity and source impossible to determine. On top of that, the enclosed space has only exacerbated the foul stench. At least in the foyer the open windows gave the putrid odor somewhere to go. Now it permeates the air in a rotten cloying miasma that makes the prospect of delving deeper into the darkness even less appealing.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo watches as the lights flicker. If he had to guess, he'd suspect that even the backup generator is likely to have one foot in the grave. It gets added to the list of things not encouraging about the situation.

Their path takes them down the stairs and to the mangled doors. He glances at the sword he's carrying even less sure about their situation. He takes a picture of the door so there's evidence of what wrecked the hotel.

"When we get back, I'm going to lock myself in my room since I don't trust myself not to slap Tom and Lou for sending us here."

With that, Rodrigo leads the way forward to the shipping area. He really isn't liking their chances of coming back with anything worthwhile.

[SARAH]
The flickering lights are unexpected to Sarah, given what they've already seen here. Her usual smile is replaced with a scowl as they go down the stairs and to the mangled doors, at which point she can only shake her head. Unlike Rodrigo, she doesn't bother taking any pictures with her phone.

"I've got a bloody good mind to demonstrate my techniques on them up close and personally," Sarah replies. "But even I have standards." The girl aims the flashlight on her phone at the floor, not wanting to step on anything sharp in her bare feet. She's wondering if there's actually anything worthwhile here or if it's all just a trap.

Sarah pauses as she hears a strange noise, almost like something scratching. She struggles to listen, but she can't pinpoint where it is or what it's supposed to be. To top that off, the stench has only gotten worse from here. "Something's not right, be careful!" Sarah says as she gets ready to attack if need be.

[JUNKO]
Not wanting to deviate from their objective, the pair forge straight ahead towards the shipping area. The hallway seems to stretch on for an inordinate length though between the poor lighting and their growing paranoia it could simply be a trick of the mind. The soft scratching sounds continue to haunt them at irregular intervals, sometimes seeming to grow closer and louder only to fade into distant echoes the next time they hear it.

One subjective eternity later brings the explorers to another pair of ruined doors, slashed and battered down like the previous ones. Shining the meager light of their phones into the darkness ahead offers a little good news to soothe their nerves.

The doors lead out onto a wide upraised concrete shelf - a loading dock, by the looks of it. At least a couple large delivery trucks sit abandoned nearby, their massive cargo trailers backed up to the edge of the shelf. Beyond that looks to be a large open area - a motor pool, perhaps - but the weak beams of their phone lights are unable to cast enough illumination to see very far without venturing further in.

The nearest of the parked cargo vehicles looks to have already been ransacked by the mysterious creature. The thin metal doors have been slashed to ribbons and the contents of several wooden crates lie scattered around the dock in a haphazard mess.

On the upside, there appears to be the remains of several packages of non-perishable foodstuffs. Chunks of chewed up dried meat reveal the snack of choice for their elusive interloper. Bags of rice and pasta noodles lie ripped open and discarded, clearly of no interest to the creature. The remains of half a dozen chewed up cans of preserved fruits can likewise be seen, the metal containers sheared open by something with incredibly powerful jaws and large sharp teeth.

Unfortunately, while half of the contents of the truck still appear to be intact, the interior of the trailer is thoroughly coated in some sort of foul slime. The same nauseating stench wafts off the small cache in a concentrated putrid wave. If there's anything edible remaining among that nastiness it's going to be one of the worst jobs of their lives trying to clean it off.

On the other hand, there's at least one other truck for them to check - and it hasn't been opened yet. Good news is there's a solid chance that it has more preserved food inside just waiting to be claimed. Bad news is the rear door is quite solidly locked. They're going to have to find a way to get inside, either through brute force or by locating a key; and the longer they stick around the more noise they're going to make.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo in this particular case would love to use the brute force just so he can get this over with, however, he's realizing that the particular brute force method he wants to execute requires skills he doesn't have. Or else busting the glass, hotwiring the truck and driving out would be a viable strategy. This might not be the first time Rodrigo might have thought that there were others better suited to handling this particular task.

The swordsman keeps his voice low as he speaks to the DJ, "We're in quite a predicament here. If we bust into the truck, we can get to the food quickly but we'd have to make several trips to the Jeep, attract whatever is down here and might not be in good enough condition to get everything we need. The other option is search for the keys to the truck, and if we end up encounter whatever is down here, hope we're in good enough condition to drive the truck back to the radio station."

He shifts his weight as he looks towards the large open area.

"What about you? Any ideas?"

[SARAH]
So they've finally found the place where the foodstuffs are stored. Unfortunately, it's next to impossible to get to them without busting into the truck or finding the keys. It's almost like the climax of that short story by Harlan Ellison, although Sarah doubts she and Rodrigo will be turned into blobs that can't speak if they mess up here. Nevertheless, she knows that there's definitely something wrong with this place, and whatever caused this is most likely still nearby.

Even worse, that stench is literally on top of her, and it's making her want to gag. Sarah steps away and takes a quick swig of water to get the nasty taste out of her mouth from breathing through it so much. After that, she returns to Rodrigo and looks at him. "As much as I'd say we could just break in and take what we need, odds are whatever did this might hear us. I'll try to find the keys, but if we can't find them, then we'll just have to break in." The girl begins to search carefully, keeping an eye on the ground beneath her bare feet, since there's no telling what she might step in given that the mysterious nightmare behind all of this might have left an unpleasant surprise for someone walking around barefoot.

[JUNKO]
Not wanting to force a confrontation if they can avoid it, the two place their hopes that the keys yet remain nearby. While Rodrigo stands ready to act, Sarah descends to the road and starts to scan around for any clues.

It's a slow process, heavily impeded by the lack of light. The faint cone projected by her cellphone's tiny in-built bulb reveals only a few square feet at a time forcing the teen to sweep slowly from side to side as she makes her way around the truck, her attention split between looking for something shiny and avoiding stepping in any of the foulness that's scattered about. The lack of shoes makes the latter goal a particularly difficult task.

Eventually, she makes it down one side of the large cargo vehicle, finding herself in front of the semi's cab. Thus far her search hasn't turned up anything other than more of that disgusting stinky gunk. A quick check of the truck's doors results in another dead end - locked. If the keys are to be found inside the cab - a fairly likely place for them to be stored - then they'll have to break through a window to get at them. But, there's still the other side of the vehicle to check before they have to resort to that.

A faint sound interrupts her, close enough to push all thoughts of the keys aside for the moment.

*plop*

Something wet and sticky hits the pavement nearby, splattering with a particularly unpleasant squelching noise. In the darkness it takes a few moments to locate the source. A small puddle of slime, one that she's sure wasn't there a minute ago, spreads out on the pavement not but a few feet away. It sizzles softly, a tiny wisp of smoke drifting upwards as the pavement discolors beneath it.

*plop*

Another fat glob of the mysterious goo drips down and hits the puddle, splashing acidic gunk in all directions, some of it landing within centimeters of Sarah's feet. Turning their lights upwards to trace the source of the slime, and the smell, reveals that they've just fallen prey to the old classic horror movie trope - they forgot to look up.

They have only a few moments to get a glimpse of the creature. Something vaguely humanoid but very clearly not. Raw red muscles quivering beneath a thin layer of filth and slime. Massive blood-stained claws digging into the concrete ceiling as if it were Styrofoam. An eye-less skull topped by a pulsing exposed brain. And a distended jaw full of jagged teeth and unnaturally long tongue.

The monstrous creature lets out a sharp hiss, more acidic drool spilling from its open maw. Its claws dig into the stone as it slowly slithers forward across the ceiling, its movements surprisingly quiet. Well, that explains the faint scratching noises they heard earlier.

Strangely, it doesn't move to attack immediately, instead lifting its bulbous brain-topped head and swiveling it back and forth as if searching for something.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster has started a fight here on the top side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-------

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo has joined the fight here.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|

[RODRIGO]
Unfortunately, the search for the keys has not been fruitful as the two circle around both trucks. As the figurative clock ticks, Rodrigo in particular was getting more tense as the two remained empty handed.

When the sound of caustic liquid hits the ground the swordsman knows their time has run out for escaping with the foodstuffs without an encounter. Rodrigo's phone which still happened to on camera mode from when he took the picture of the map. The jumpscare from seeing the creature darting across the ceiling causes him to accidentally take a picture of a blurry humanoid creature with weird features but could be a person in a costume. Honestly, the picture is not definitive proof of anything.

At this point, with the creature not having come down from the ceiling, Rodrigo is presented with a problem. He's not able to get in striking range until it is on the ground. Throwing his cape considering the liquid from the creature's mouth seems like a bad idea. Throwing his cellphone is a worse idea. So he does the only thing he can do for the time being. He chuck flings an empty milk crate at the creature.

COMBATSYS: Sarah has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
It's bad enough that Sarah is unable to find anything. It's even worse that she has to watch out for stepping in the random foulness that's on the ground in her bare feet. Unfortunately, it seems Sarah's been too focused on finding the keys that she forgot to consider the possibility that whatever caused this whole thing could still be nearby. Of course, when the drool hits the ground, she hears the sound of it hitting the ground, and it doesn't sound pleasant either. The plopping sound is bad enough but then there's the sizzling noise which puts her on high alert.

Then another droplet hits the ground and it splashes this way and that, some of which nearly hits Sarah's bare feet. "What the hell?" She yells as she sweeps around with her flashlight, trying to find the source of the drool... and it's only when she looks up that her eyes widen as her jaw hangs open.

Sarah is in so much disbelief by what she sees that she can't even scream, let alone move for a moment, before her adrenaline kicks in and she realizes that she could be in great danger if she doesn't move.

Unlike Rodrigo, who attempts to hit the creature with a crate, Sarah shuffles backward slowly, watching carefully to avoid stepping in that acidic drool in her bare feet. She tries to give herself some distance between herself and the creature, even if it hasn't noticed her or Rodrigo yet. Although after that crate makes contact with something, it's going to know that it's got company.

COMBATSYS: Sarah focuses on her next action.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo successfully hits Unknown Monster with Thrown Object.

                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|------=
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
The pair finally lay eyes on the mysterious creature that's been haunting them since they arrived. No simple wild animal, it seems - this thing is a verifiable nightmare pulled right out of a horror movie.

Sarah's outburst causes the monstrosity to snap its head, its eyeless skull swiveling towards the startled teen. A raspy hissing roar bellows from its distended mouth, acidic saliva dribbling between razor-sharp teeth the size of kitchen knives. The creature's legs tense up as it prepares to strike, the cords of raw muscle clearly visible on its skinless body.

Rodrigo's swift action proves timely. The fiend's head snaps to the side as the milk crate comes sailing through the air, diverting its attention away from his partner. A swift lunge to the side attempts to take the beast out of the path of the projectile buts movement proves a few moments too slow and the makeshift weapon shatters against it in midair sending the beast sailing to the ground in a messy heap.

However, even that well-placed shot proves little more than a minor set back. The thing scrambles to its feet, its body hugging low to the ground as it bounds forward in staggered lunges like some kind of demented frog. The massive claws rip gouges out of the concrete with every furious leap but the creature doesn't limit itself to staying on the floor. A final powerful hop sends it smashing into the side of the ruined cargo truck and it clings to the vertical surface with the ease of a spider.

Pausing a moment to sense its surroundings, the frog-thing turns towards Rodrigo and snaps its head forward with a quick twist of its neck. Snapping like a whip, the long tongue extends nearly twenty feet as it attempts to entrap the matador. Small but numerous barbs make themselves obvious in the powerful appendage as it tries to wrap around him, dozen of little hooked protrusions that make escape from the creature's grip both difficult and painful.

Should the duelist prove too slow to avoid being snared the monster lifts him bodily off the ground, its tongue possessed of incredible strength, and slams the Spaniard against the surface of the cargo crate before flinging him aside into the other.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo instinctively blocks Unknown Monster's Tongue Slam.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|------=
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rodrigo          0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Sarah

[RODRIGO]
The talented blade fighter tracks the movements of the monstrous creature as he runs towards it. There's too much distance to use his dancing footwork.

It becomes clear that the monster seems to want to keep that distance between them the moment it leaps to cling to the truck. The tongue whips out at Rodrigo who turns it aside with the cup hilt of his sword. He still gets grazed on the leg with the barbed tongue but it's not enough to stop him from attempting to close in on it.

% Once he's in range, he pins one of the creature's fore limbs to the truck while he attempts to slip the blade between torso and truck and slash across abdomen then following up with a stab to the exposed back before yanking it to the ground. It wasn't the ideal execution of the move but the ongoing theme of being stuck on the island was adaptation.

[SARAH]
The strange creature has quite unique skills. It can crawl over surfaces like an insect or something. Not that it matters to Sarah, who's still staring in disbelief at this bizarre being. She doesn't know if it can see them or not, but she doesn't care either. All she knows is that both she and Rodrigo have alerted it, and she knows they have to fight it off.

At first, Sarah's about to rush in and strike, but the acidic drool makes her wary about attempting to strike it while she's barefoot. She remains in the ginga and watches the situation carefully before deciding to take action.

With a yell, Sarah throws forth a chi projectile that loosely resembles a large butterfly. She watches carefully before making her next move in case the creature has something else up its sleeves.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster dodges Rodrigo's Ensnaring Spiral.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-----==
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Unknown Monster with Flash Butterfly.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|---====
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
The creature unleashes another inhuman hiss as Rodrigo escapes its grasp, the long tongue retracting as rapidly as it had lashed out. By the time the matador has managed to close the gap the monster is already on the move, leaping powerfully away from the thrusting sword towards the other cargo truck. Metal squeals in protest as the massive talons dig into the thin steel container, the beast once again clinging to the vertical surface without any effort.

This time it is Sarah's turn to catch the vile thing off guard. Watching its movements, she times her attack to catch the beast just as it lands, her lepidopteron energy blast slamming into its skinless flank. The impact knocks it loose from its perch and it tumbles to the floor to land on its back with a wet splat.

As before, however, the impacts hardly seem to faze the twisted nightmare. Flailing its clawed limbs about, the beast scrambles to its feet like an angry dog and whirls around face this new threat. It pauses a moment, head shifting from side to side between the two human as the brain pulses disgustingly with whatever foul thoughts are running through its exposed grey matter.

After considering its options, the creature turns it attention towards the most recent threat. With a wet hiss it bounds towards Sarah, acidic spittle splattering from its lolling tongue. Its tactics don't seem particularly clever or unorthodox, merely hurling itself in a rage-fueled lunge at the dancer's general location.

It quickly demonstrates that the giant claws it possesses aren't merely for clinging to unusual surfaces. Five deadly talons lash out at the girl's midsection, each razor sharp and covered in all manner of foulness. Considering the sorts of substances they've been exposed to on this excursion, both of them are probably going to need to bath in disinfectant when this is all said and done. Assuming, of course, they survive long enough for disease to become an issue!

[RODRIGO]
The reaction Rodrigo gives to the creature bounding to the other truck is a cringe that happens so quickly that if one blinks, they could miss it. He wanted to keep it away from the now mostly unharmed truck.

When Sarah's butterfly hits and removes it from the truck, Rodrigo decides to press the attack hoping to keep the monster ground bound and away from the truck. Of course, the monster pursues Sarah, so Rodrigo is forced to pursue it in turn. Unfortunately, it's too late to interfere with the nasty looking (both in hygiene and viciousness) slash with its claws.

While their styles of movement are different, both Rodrigo and Sarah both share the fact that mobility is a key component of their respective styles. To maximize their ability, he suspects he will need to minimize the monster's so when he catches up to the creature, he attempts to deliver a lunging stab to one of the rear limbs to reduce some of its speed then stepping to the side to enter a flanking position and forcing it to give one of them its back if it wants to attack the other.

COMBATSYS: Sarah blocks Unknown Monster's Medium Claw.

                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|---====
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
Sarah doesn't smile in the least when her projectile knocks the creature off the truck. She may have landed a solid hit, but that thing knows where she is now, and it's trying strike her with its claws. Her midsection may not be uncovered, but given all she's got on is a t-shirt, it means she's got little to no protection.

Her first instinct is to avoid it, but there's no room to maneuever, meaning she'd do more harm than good if she did that. Knowing there's no other option, she decides to take a defensive stance.

Tensing up, Sarah brings her arms down to protect her midsection against those claws. Thanks to her tensing up, the claws don't hurt as much as they could have. They do cut into her flesh a little though, causing the blonde-haired disk jockey to let out a grunt as she's hit. "I'm gonna need a long shower after this," Sarah says with a scowl as she shakes off the pain, not caring about the fact her blood is going onto the ground too.

Using her parkour skills, Sarah attempts to give herself some distance by free running around a little, which is easier said than done given that she's barefoot and must avoid the foulness on the floor as well as acidic drool that might still be there. Once she's gotten some distance, she runs at the monster and attempts to deliver a flying kick. The fact she's doing this while barefooted shows how courageous Sarah truly is.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster dodges Rodrigo's Random Strike.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|--=====
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Unknown Monster with Light Kick.

                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-======
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
Unfortunately, Rodrigo's dogged pursuit comes to naught - or so it first seems. The creature slashes into Sarah's flesh leaving a line of ragged red marks across her arms as she attempts to ward off some of the attack. It lets out another raspy hiss at the scent of freshly spilled blood, the long tongue flicking around on the floor to lap up a few of the scarlet droplets hungrily. If they were harboring ideas that this thing is simply defending its territory they can safely put them to rest.

The clatter of the matador's shoes echoing on the pavement behind it cause the fiend to react immediately. While Rodrigo's ideas were solid, he doesn't seem to have adjusted his thinking to account for the absurd mobility of their opponent. Rather than remain on the ground to be encircled, the devil frog lunges straight up towards the ceiling with a single bound, its body twisting around to dig those foul claws into the concrete.

Sarah once again times her intervention perfectly. The flying kick catches the slimy thing just as it hops away from the Spainard's blade, diverting its agile upwards momentum into a pell-mell sideways tumble. It seems by being a distraction Rodrigo is allowing the more experienced fighter the moments she needs to strike the elusive beast cleanly and, hopefully, steadily wearing it down.

While this impromptu teamwork manages to keep the monstrosity from darting out of reach again, it has the unfortunate side-effect of knocking the creature further into the storage room where it vanishes in the darkness. The sound of curved claws on stone echoes to them out of the void, noisy as first as the thing clambers back to its feet, then steadily growing more soft until only a faint ominous rasping remains. The sound seems to come from all directions in the cavernous underground space and every time they think they might have located the beast again their phone lights reveal nothing.

The seconds tick by in tense silence with no signs of the twisted abomination.

Did it run away? Have they managed to scare it off?

Another soft scratch draws their attention towards the ruined cargo container but once more the lights reveal nothing.

No... wait. There's some sort of... distortion? Like a heat mirage, only its rather cold down here.

The two explorers have only a moment to ponder this mystery before it reveals itself. The strange patch of warped space suddenly explodes into motion with a now familiar hiss. The creature's body once again becomes a mass of raw red muscle and twisted claws as its camouflage drops away, emerging from the darkness like a paralysis demon made manifest. It hurls itself at Rodrigo, teeth gnashing, attempting to tackle him to the floor and made him look like just another one of those shredded meal packs lying around on the floor.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo fails to interrupt Camouflage Strike from Unknown Monster with Rising Blade.

                 [          |||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|=======
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0            Sarah

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo lets out a breath of air upon drawing back his blade without having made contact. He is still allowing Sarah to, as Tanwen would put it, make an attack of opportunity that sent it tumbling. So one can't say that he's made no contribution since the initial crate toss. In fact, the creature might still have been out of reach on the ceiling otherwise.

The nightmarish being fades into the darkness. Losing sight of it, Rodrigo's heart starts racing. Realization hits him that the attack can come at any moment. He tries to prepare but then he sees the distortion. He attempts to meet the tackle with blade but he's taken off his feet.

"¡Mierda! They gave it Predator camouflage too?"

The matador who almost was gets ready to scramble away since he's not exactly in a position to yet.

[SARAH]
It can even camouflage itself? Whoa, this thing is truly more dangerous than even Sarah thought.

Keeping her focus on the weird creature, Sarah dances around in the ginga as best as she can, knowing there's foul crud on the floor here and there, and the acidic drool doesn't sit well with her being barefoot. Then again, she doubts her flip-flops or sneakers would've protected her much either.

When the creature goes after Rodrigo, who takes a bad hit in his attempt to counter-attack and causes Sarah to wince, she waits until the right moment to attempt a forward diving somersault towards the monster before attempting to hit it with a rising uppercut.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster blocks Sarah's Roll With It.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|-------|=======
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
The only answer to Rodrigo's incredulity are the grime-coated teeth tearing at his flesh as the creature bowls him over and bears him to the ground beneath its skinless bulk. The monster's jaws snap down on the matador's arm as his blade goes wide and it shakes its head back and forth, worrying the limb like a dog with a fresh bone.

Sarah once again leaps to the rescue before the situation can get out of hand, only allowing the creature a few moments to maul her padawan before forcing it to withdraw. Sensing her presence, it releases its hold on the Spainard and hops to the side, batting her powerful punch away with one of its claws. The monstrosity hisses with annoyance, its tongue lashing at the pavement with a sharp crack upon being denied the chance to take a bigger bite out of its prey.

Seemingly wary of throwing itself back into the fray with both of the fighters close enough to support the other in a brawl, the creature instead utilizes its inhuman anatomy to try and separate them. The long barbed tongue suddenly lashes out in a wide horizontal sweep, whipping sideways at Sarah's head. The slimy appendage moves with incredible speed and in the darkness keeping track of it might prove difficult.

Unless she manages to get out of the way, the monster's tentacle-like organ wraps tightly around her neck and starts to drag the girl towards its gaping maw with unnatural strength!

[RODRIGO]
Thanks to Sarah's timely intervention, Rodrigo wasn't completely rag dolled. That being said, he was starting to get irritated by the creature.

It tries to separate the two fighters and Rodrigo has no problem with this since now it has to deal with attacks from both sides. He does have a problem with the way it does it. Whipping the tongue around someone? It wasn't fun when it was attempted on him and he doesn't exactly want Sarah to experience it either.

Rodrigo delivers a stab towards the ribs. Maybe an application of steel might make the two a bit less appealing.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster successfully hits Sarah with Tongue Grab.
Grazing Hit

                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|------=|=======
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
When you don't know what to do, it's usually best to run or something like that. At least that's what Sarah intends to do when she sees that tentacle-like appendage coming at her, but she doesn't know its speed as well as she thought. Before she knows it, she's got a gross appendage wrapped around her neck! She can't even speak!

Struggling as best as she can, Sarah tries to break free, but it's no use. That monster apparently intends to have Sarah for lunch! Not that the disk jockey wants that to happen, mind you. And she's sure Rodrigo wouldn't want that to happen either. But how can she get free?

As soon as she's within range, Sarah decides to go for extremes. She attempts to strike at it with her hand, hoping that the force of her strike will cause it to let go of her long enough to get away... and catch her breath too!

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster dodges Rodrigo's Medium Strike.

                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|-----==|=======
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Unknown Monster with Aggressive Strike.
- Power hit! -

                 [               ||||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|---====|=======
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
For whatever reason, Rodrigo just can't seem to pin down this particular opponent. Every time he goes to strike the creature is one step ahead, seemingly able to predict or anticipate his actions. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to learn from past mistakes all that well.

Yet again, the fiend devotes its attention to avoiding the point of the matador's blade only to fall prey to a sucker punch from the DJ. Only this time Sarah finds herself getting dragged along for the ride as the barbed tongue digs into her neck, the wicked bone hooks doing what they were designed to and making it almost impossible to escape the creature's slimy grasp. Still, it's a solid effort, and the impact of the blow manages to catch the disgusting thing right in its exposed brain which leaves it disoriented and angry.

Mostly angry.

Rotten jaws parting in a maddened hiss, the abomination reels its tongue in and leaps at the dancer, attempting to gain a bit of momentum by closing the gap at both ends. A fresh burst of putrid vapor hits Sarah in the face as she's pulled towards imminent chomping, the creature's breath even worse than the miasma left behind by its secretions. Unless she finds a way to fend it off, the beast gets a good chomp in and gnaws on her tasty flesh!

[RODRIGO]
At this point, Rodrigo suspects that he has been discarded as a threat. He's fine with this seeing as the attacks he misses seem to create opportunities for Sarah. He has no problem with watching her beat the brakes off this monster.

What the blade dancer does have a problem with is said monster trying to take a bite out of the capoeirista. While he knows that he has to act fast, he can't afford to be impulsive. That tongue is too close to her neck for him to not exercise at least a little bit of caution.

Having been ineffective at landing sword attacks so far he decides to change tactics slightly. He'll utilize broken rhythm to change the timing of his next thrust. His previous attacks that hadn't found their mark were on similar points on the beat. The powerful thrust he delivers to its back now is angled so he doesn't pose any danger to his partner and with bad intentions should it not let go of the DJ.

COMBATSYS: Sarah full-parries Unknown Monster's Hungering Predator!!

                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-------
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1            Sarah

[SARAH]
Sarah is a good disk jockey and dancer, and she knows how to fight well too. She's also good at parkour, even without shoes. But she's definitely not a snack!

The monster may be looking to get a quick bite, but Sarah's not about to let that happen. Just before the monster lands, Sarah literally seems to shift in the blink of an eye from where she was originally to a spot a couple of feet away. "Don't ask how I do it, I just do it!" Sarah says with a smirk.

Not one to wait for her opponent to take the next action, Sarah drops down and begins to spin around with her legs outstretched, one at a time for each spin, while balancing on the palm of her hand. Apparently she's quite agile and strong!

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo successfully hits Unknown Monster with Fierce Strike.

                 [                   ||||||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-----==
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Unknown Monster with Tornado Warning EX.

                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|--=====
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1            Sarah

[JUNKO]
Well, if he was feeling ignored until now the beast finally has a good reason to pay attention to Rodrigo.

Sarah's clout to the brain seems to have left a lasting impression and the creature stumbles drunkenly upon missing its big chomp at the dancer. Both fighters instinctively key in on their opponent's moment of weakness and blade and bare feet slam squarely into its slimy hide as it wobbles unsteadily in an attempt to avoid the strikes.

While Sarah's rapid kicks keep the beast staggered briefly it is the plunging sword through it's tough hide that seems to deal the most harm. A sharp hiss of pain and rage explodes from the thing's fanged maw as foul black blood spurts out of the small but deep wound like rancid oil. Looks like the matador will be scrubbing his weapon as well as himself after this unfortunate encounter.

But, while clearly badly wounded, the tenacious monstrosity yet has some fight left in it. Leaping away from the double beating its receiving, it's jaw opens wide and the long tongue flicks back and forth wildly at the air in front of it, as if to ward them away. However, the true purpose of this retreating maneuver becomes more obvious when fat globs of bubbling goop begin to rain down on the both of them in a random but deadly shower of acidic spittle!

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster successfully hits Rodrigo with Acid Spit.

                 [                        |||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-======
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1            Sarah

[RODRIGO]
Honestly, Rodrigo was not expecting the strike to land but he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. As he draws the blade back he ends up realizing how much upkeep the sword is going to require. After all, if the creature has acidic spit, their blood isn't likely going to be all that good for the blade either.

As the monster backs away, Rodrigo steps forward to pursue once again. This turns out to be a bad idea as when it flicks its tongue all over the place. He's in no position to avoid the acid rain which he was unsure of what it would do to his cape which he's unable to have repaired or replaced while they were trapped here on the island. In desperation, he goes into a dive roll and still gets splashed with acid. When Rodrigo rises back to his feet, he takes a moment to assess the damage. Bits of his hair fall to the ground. Parts of his clothing have been eaten away. Most of his cape has come out unharmed with bits of chain mail layer of the cape exposed due to the acid eating through small portions of the cut resistant cloth used to make his cape.

Between the damage to his hair and his cape, Rodrigo is enraged. He darts towards the creature with his blade flashing in the cellphone light with a rapid series slashes and thrusts into its tough hide. He then slips the blade between forelimb and torso and uses it to hook it in the junction between them and then pull beast close while he spins around it to its rear. From there he delivers a hard slash to the hind limbs in order to knock its legs from under it and put the creature on its back. From there, Rodrigo stomps twice on its chest before spinning away. It was a series of attacks that displayed why he called his art The Dance of Cape and Blade even if he had kept the involvement of the cape to a minimum in this particular encounter.

COMBATSYS: Sarah blocks Unknown Monster's Acid Spit.

                 [                        |||||| ]
                 Unknown Monster  0|-------|-======
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1            Sarah

[SARAH]
The creature seems to be on the ropes, but it's also even angrier than before it seems. Despite the fact her signature attack made contact with the creature, there's the fact that she was still barefoot when she made contact. "When I get back, I'll be soaking my feet until the bloody cows come home," Sarah comments to herself as she gets back into the ginga, waiting cautiously for the creature to launch its next attack.

Unfortunately, it does launch it before Sarah can react, and in desparation, she raises her arms to block it, since it's too fast for her to avoid.

Yes, she's blocking acidic spit. With her bare arms.

Needless to say, even though the acid doesn't hit her face or body, it still touches her arms, and as soon as it hits her, she immediately shakes her arms out upon feeling the first burn, getting that horrific spit off of her arms. She even drops to the ground and rubs her arms on the ground to get it off. By the time she's done, she has a couple of first-degree burns on her arms, but nothing too serious. Nevertheless, it's quite obvious that Sarah is not pleased at all, since there's a noticeable scowl complete with bared teeth.

"This has gone on long enough! It's time we finish you off!" With that, Sarah launches forth a series of smaller projectiles, similar to the butterfly she launched before. These may be smaller, but they're coming en masse, meaning the more the not-so-merrier.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo successfully hits Unknown Monster with Merciless Dance.

                 [                             | ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|------=|=======
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Unknown Monster with The Swarm Is Coming.
- Power hit! -

                 [                               ]
                 Unknown Monster  1|---====|=======
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Sarah

[JUNKO]
It seems that Rodrigo's last strike must have hit something important. The previously elusive beast lets out an enraged hiss as the matador comes at him again but doesn't attempt to leap away, instead hunkering down like a cornered animal. One of the massive claws swipes out in a defensive gesture, attempting bat the darting blade away as it slashes and thrusts repeatedly. A few of the blows are warded off but the Spaniard's flurry of strikes scores several direct hits adding a multitude of fresh wounds to the exposed flesh.

Battered, maimed, and kicked - for good measure - the slimy abomination flails impotently on the floor as Rodrigo spins away with a stylish flourish to give way for his mentor to get her own licks in. The swarm of deadly butterflies descends upon the prone creature and tears into it, each tiny mote of chi searing a chunk out of its hide. One of the glowing projectiles slams square into the disgusting exposed brain, digging several inches through the quivering gray matter before detonating in a fatal burst that sends gore flying like a confetti popper.

A pitiful screech pours out of the creature's fanged maw, its tongue and claws lashing wildly about in its death throes. Fortunately both of the fighters have put some distance between themselves and the dying creature so its final act of unhinged malice proves fruitless. After a few moments of flopping around like a beached fish the creature's spasms die out and it goes still in a steadily expanding pool of dark ichor.

Somehow, it manages to smell even worse dead.

But, the ordeal is over, the day won; and their prize is thankfully unharmed. While it's unlikely there's anything salvageable from the first truck, the second remains secured and ripe for the plunder. Now all they have to do is find a way to transport it back to the others - and hope there aren't any more of those things lurking nearby.

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster takes no action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Sarah

COMBATSYS: Unknown Monster can no longer fight.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Sarah

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo returns to his stance as he watches Sarah demonstrate that quantity has a quality all its own. As he sees the one energy butterfly turn the brain matter to chunky salsa.

The blade prodigy sucks in a breath of air through his teeth as the creature thrashes wildly. He didn't want to risk the foul smell making him even more nauseous than he already was. When the body goes still, he lets out the breath of air before carefully breathing once more.

"I guess we should resume the search for the keys. I'd rather make one trip than multiple trips having to smell this over and over again."

He gives a glance at the shipping area torn apart by the creature and their battle.

"What do you think? Should we finish our search in this area, then search the employee area and if neither are successful, check the utilities?"

[SARAH]
Sarah breathes a sigh of relief, but that sigh is replaced with another scowl as she holds her nose. "Ugh... bloody thing smells even worse now!"

After a moment, Sarah looks to Rodrigo and shrugs a little. "If you want to, but if we don't find anything, I say we just rough it. I mean, it looks like the thing we were dealing with is dead now." She narrows her eyes. "As long as nothing else is lying in wait for us."

Log created on 06:23:11 08/19/2024 by Junko, and last modified on 09:08:50 09/10/2024.