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Central park is thusfar still, unsealed for various and sundry reasons. Unfortunately, demons do not appear to be a union shop. It's been raining all night,and they're still coming on and off. Even more unfortunately, this has not stopped the curious from taking a peek. I mean most folks have never seen a demon, so like honestly can you even blame them? I mean Eito can, but Eito can blame mortals for anything. It's also why despite the rain, and the wind, and the darkness and the fact that he's probably done his part a few times over by now? Yeah of course he's still here.
That Martini Carbine barks, and well theres a rather incredible burst of light and of course the report. Muzzle swinging skyward under recoil, as that big lead slug ploughs into what looks to be an enormous spider constructed almost entirely of stitched on sections of human skin. Lovely, right? The thing shrieks, stumbling rapidly to the side before knocking over a hotdog stand left derelict for some time. Brilliant green blood glowing bright in the dark, and making it all the easier to see in this black.
Eito cranks the action open, letting that empty casing hurtle over his shoulder with a sizzling pop. "You know, You could have stayed home and does whatever it is that giant spiders do at this time of night. But no, you had to come up here and start shit."And in goes a fresh round before he cranks that action closed, calmly walking over to the shrieking, flailing, glow in the dark skin spider thing. Loosing another round from near point blank into the place he presumes it's face was, and well in a shower of spidery ichor that thrashing comes to an end.
*
Demons wandering still wandering around Central Park? Curious people sneaking in during the darkest hours of the night to catch a peek? Of course Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, is going to want to make sure that the Park remains safe so that those who can't protect themselves against these demons won't have to. The big rock man pushes his way through some of the shrubbery, figuring that creatures of the night won't always take the main paths.
Having just punched a rather zombie-ish looking being quite a ways, he runs in its direction, feet pounding the ground. It lands not too far from where the dead demon-spider that Eito killed lays. Ben erupts from some bushes nearby and looks around. "Where'd that little bugger get ta? I ain't done with 'im yet!"
*
The last time Keiden came to the park looking for adventure, he found a cat and an old man, neither of which were typical of their archetypes, and proved sufficiently curious to sate the elf's need for adventure for the evening, at least. But the park is still set upon by otherworldly creatures the likes of which Keiden hasn't seen before in any of his travels through the realms. Midgard seems to be a hot vacation spot for creatures of all origin, not just elves.
While the Kitsune dispatches the oversized arachnid with his guns, Keiden looks on from overhead, perched on branch in a tree, an arrow nocked in his wooden bow. "Well fought, friend!" He shouts to Eito, congratulating him gleefully on the kill. "These creatures seem unlikely to follow any kind of nocturnal routine, however!" The elf hasn't bothered to disguise himself, at least not for the moment, appearing in his naturally blue form, and, in fact, mostly without clothing. It's rather warm here, at least as far as he's concerned; he's got pants, at least, and a quiver slung over his shoulder. When Ben bursts out from the bushes, questioning the direction of his prey, Keiden answers, whether it was rhetorical or not. "If you were chasing the large arachnid, that particular pest seems to be have eradicated," he says. "But it seems there are plenty of others to choose from," he says with a smile, and levels his bow at a target some distance away, moving through the trees. The arrow is released, and a moment later plants itself in the heart of a lesser vampire, who drops to the ground, dead(er). "Sixteen!" The elf shouts gleefully. It appears he's been keeping score.
*
Nobody ever accused Eito for being Human without his disguise, and yeah like for real how could you? He's all fox shaped, save for the two leg part. Two tails, two big triangular ears and a fuckton of gear. A neat black Kimono, Brilliant red armor fastooned with bandoleers, hand grenades, a pair of swords, and then theres the Carbine in his hands. Nevermind the fox shaped mask, worn by a fox, which would appear to be constructed out of pure moonlight. Nor the fact he's soaking wet, no the show stopper here? It's the gore. He's been splattered with at least six different colors by now, and that armor looks like its been dragged down the road a few times to boot. Well and the fact he's smoking a cigarette everyday, but not everyone knows Foxes are habitual chain smokers.
"The zombie looking thing, didn't survive the impact."Eito offers calmly, motioning with the end of that carbine to where whatever's left of that poor monster or whats left of it lies. His attention though seems drawn towards that hotdog cart, though a momentary peer confirms his worst fears. "I really should have packed a lunch, is it wrong to expect there would be a diner -somewhere- near by at this hour? I mean we're not the first three to come running in here, there has got to be business there."
*
A low rumbling sigh emits from Ben. "I was really hoping I'd get more of a fight from it." He scratches his forehead, creating a sound similar to rock scrapping against rock, as he looks at the defeated body of his foe. But it only keeps his attention for a moment as he glances toward Eito and Keiden. "Well, you two sure ain't the usual crowd." He sounds more amused at the sight of them, rather than shocked. "But I'm glad to see some others protecting the general public…no matter how unusual they look." He chuckles softly, knowing full well that he doesn't quite look usual either.
He lets out a little whistle as the arrow is loosed. "Well, that's a skill I ain't never picked up. Even before I had these bulky hands," he raises them up and wiggles his fingers, "I wasn't much of a bow master. I was great at other fighting forms though." He chuckles. "But I'm rambling. Don't mind me."
*
"This does not seem to be a place where those of average human appearances do well to visit, these days, though I am told that this Central Park was once quite a popular destination," Keiden replies to Ben with a smile. "You and the Fox certainly make a unique impression. Your rocky outer layer must serve as most excellent protection from these beings," he says, not making much of a fuss over the man's appearance, but is instead rather impressed by it. "I have trained with a bow since I was born, my friend; it is not an easy skill to master. These creatures, however, many of them seem susceptible to wood? Other, more explosive methods seem effective as well," the elf laughs, giving a nod toward the Kitsune, "But I lack the armament of our friend," he says, and lets another arrow loose across the distance. THWACK, another direct hit into the heart of some kind of rampaging hellbeast. "Seventeen!"
*
"I am exactly as the goddess made me, and she made me handsome. Speak for yourself there man."Eito offers a chuckle, pausing to flick a bit of gore off his shoulder guard. "I've been at this every day since it started, I'd have tied this all down myself were I able. Unfortunately, I don't have the hardware to pull that off."A pause as he casually ashes that cigarette aside. "Had a cop bring me a burger and a few boxes of twelve gauge earlier, but I burned through that and busted my shotgun earlier tonight. Almost enough to make me miss fighting the commies, yaknow?"
Eito hoists the barrel of that veritable elephant gun up to rest against his shoulder, as he turns to peer back towards the core of central park. "We should be due for something else fairly nasty though, the powerful ones seem to come in sporadic waves. Give it a few and I'm pretty confident we'll see something, maybe another burned man or one of those guys in masks."A beat as Eito peers skyward in thought. "I think those are called, True Horrors?"
*
"Oh yeah, when this place ain't crawling with the creepy crawlies, it's a great place to hang out." Ben replies to the blue elf. "Wonderful place, especially during the day." He glances at his rocky hands and grins widely. "Well, it's certainly a boon, this…rocky outer layer, as you say. Gives me a strong punch, too. Won't complain about that come a fight!"
He considers Eito for a moment, looking over the person who is also a fox. "We've got Mister Blue up here fighting with a bow and arrow, me with the strength of stone, and a Mister Fox with guns." He shakes his head, looking amused. "I've come across one or two of the nastier ones. I tell ya, this place ain't for the weak of heart no more. A shame, really. This used to be a family friendly place, during the day."
*
"Every day? Do you not tire, my friend? Even the gods must take breaks, occasionally," Keiden says, a bit incredulous at the Kitsune's dedication to the cause. "When we are finished here, I will bring you whatever food you desire! I am certain I saw a hot-dog vendor outside of the boundary of the Central Park. Did you know they do not contain any actual dog?" The naming of things is still a point of amusement. When Eito comments on the expected arrival of something greater than the lesser demons, vampires, and large spiders they have so far faced, he actually looks even more excited, if that were possible. Something new and shiny! "Whatever comes, I am certain that the three of us can destroy it. We may not be the Warriors Three, but I believe a man made of rock, a well-armed fox, and myself are capable of defeating any creature this Hell-mouth might unleash." Rah rah! Go team! Another arrow, another hit. It's like he's barely putting any effort into this. "Eighteen!"
*
They arrive with a rush of wind, tinged with gunpowder and the scent of rotten flesh. It's not the undead, it's not even some manner of unholy spirit. It's something else, a personification, a nightmare made in the flesh. One forgotten by many, but once a thing is given form well it never really fades away without a fight. The Uniform is the blue of a French soldier, covered in gore and bullet holes. The heavy siege armor certainly German, but the Maxim it carries without much effort is decidedly british. A spiked trench club left hanging from one hip and a bandoleer of grenades stretched across his chest. His face covered in a bloodstained mixture of shattered glass and cloth that once upon a time was a gas mask. It's every nightmare from the first world war, a mixture of true terror given form and now well. Now it walks, leaving a trail of faint yellow smoke that smells of geraniums.
"I tire, I bleed, but I have a duty to the Goddess and I am not made to give up just because it's hard."Finally pausing to flick that cigarette away, before Eito freezes in place. Lifting his nose for a sniff-sniff-sniff before snapping to attention. "Lewisite! Something's come through!"And he's off in a blur of white and red, sprinting through the trees before diving to the ground as a stream of gunfire rings out. Heavy machinegun fire belting out in the night as the foe breaks from cover, running that heavy machinegun from the hip with expert aplomb and turning the trees around our favorite fox to splinters.
*
"We all have a duty here, I'd stay. Protecting the innocent is a very important duty!" Ben nods his head firmly, crossing his arms. He frowns when Eito's attention seems to be caught by something. "Lewisite…lewisite…I know I know about lewisite…" He'll probably figure out why he knows it after all the fighting's done and he's home in bed. "Wait, where're ya headed!" He glances at the blue elf before he starts running after the fox. "What's going on?"
*
Elves are nimble creatures, and when the Fox starts dashing off, Keiden is not far behind. He gives Ben a grin, hopping down from his perch. "Something exciting, no doubt! Come along, my rocky friend!" The elf follows the path of the Fox, and dives to the ground just in time to avoid being ripped to shreds by the gunfire. "These creatures have upgraded their weaponry, it seems," he shouts, not sounding particularly upset about the unexpected change. "It matters not!" From his prone position, Keiden nocks another arrow, and looses it toward the being. He's not fool enough to expect the arrow to find purchase in its target as it had with the lesser demons, but he would be remiss to not at least try, right? He has other options, should his arrows prove utterly ineffective.
*
"Fuck you! I'm going home you fucking monsters, I'm going home!"The Machinegun fire continues without interruption, even as that arrow bounces off his thigh plate. The horror continues his advance, though it's a slow one thusfar. That belted heavy machinegun churning out deadly fire with expert accuracy, but the geography is on our heroes side for the moment. Free hand swinging back away from the water jacket to strip free a potato masher before letting the grenade fly.
"Grenade!"shouts Eito, before he gets a move on. Snapping upright in a dead sprint to one side, drawing the fire off before he takes a leap. Theres a mid air twist and a grunt, as that Martini Henry explodes. The recoil is entirely sufficient to spin Eito the opposite way around mid air, before he goes down behind a conviently located boulder. Downrange that massive .577 Nitro finds purchase, slamming into the horror's armor and for a moment? That fire slacks, and it stumbles, before it begins again. Focused for the moment on that boulder Eito dropped behind.
*
"Great. Dead…an undead soldier. Just what I needed." Ben grumbles to himself. "Alright folks, I'm going in. For better or for worse." He starts running toward the…whatever it is. Though bulky, he attempts to zigzag at least a little bit. The first one he comes across, he clenches up his fist and hits straight on the head, hoping to crumple the undead soldier. "I can do this all night. I'm not even close to being tired." He tells the soldier of…many origins.
*
Keiden jumps and dodges along with Eito as he evades the grenade blast and machine-gun fire, making good use of his elven agility. He ends up crouched behind the boulder with the Fox, planning his next move. When Ben charges in, he can't help but pop his head out to see what happens; quick enough to duck back in to avoid gunfire, thankfully. "Our rocky friend is providing a much-needed distraction," he says to the Fox, pulling another arrow from his quiver and nocking it into the bow. If he is able to keep the beast from shooting its bullets at us, we may be able to strike where it is weakest. What do you know about these creatures? They are foreign to my experience," he says calmly, and perhaps a little too cheerfully given the circumstances. Nonetheless, he pops out again, and looses another arrow toward the thing, aiming to put it between its eyes, if that broken gas mask is penetrable. "This one ruined my streak," he says, sounding a little less enthusiastic for a moment. "A shame."
"
*
Ben hits the Horror, and hard. That helmet crumples and falls away, and it's wearer crumples to the ground. "Nnngh, Fick Dich! ICh will heim!"Ok so he's German now by the sound of things? In either case up close the sickly sweet stench of that lewisite is thick, and well it's nasty shit. The eyes burn, the lungs may as well catch fire. That horror just rolls onto his back, before swinging that heavy MG upwards to open fire oncemore. Letting that thing belch hellfire and brimstone in an effort to pound Ben's skull right off his shoulders if he has any say in the matter.
Eito skitters to a halt, before he cracks that action open oncemore and stuffs another round into the breach. He'd have preferred to stick back and pick away, but well Ben's up there mixing it up. "Don't ask me man, I just work here!"And with that Eito snaps off a shot with an incredible crack, one which pounds into the Horror's MG. That done he explodes fourth in another dead sprint, thistime closing the distance to help ben out.
The MG keeps chugging for another few rounds, before that round ploughs in through the feedway and deposits nearly an ounce of solid lead where it's not supposed to be. The result is immediate, the next round fails to strip cleanly and the delay is enough to run the bolt into the back of the unseated round. The round goes off out of battery with a pop, before the explosion spreads to the second round in the belt and then the cloth belt itself catches proper fire as the feed tray is blown free of that weapon. The belt fails and the drum beneath explodes in a mass of fire and shrapnel as the gun chews itself apart, but the fucker's not quite dead yet it seems.
*
Tapping the soldier, who apparently likes to speak German, with his foot, Ben eyes the creature with suspicion. "Keep saying that. I'm sure it'll all come around…" And then the thing starts spitting fire at his head. He can withstand a lot, but there's only so much heat that the rock man can handle! Shutting his eyes, he stumbles back. "That's gonna keep me warm for a few days!" He complains. "Not to mention it's gonna ruin my sight for a little bit!"
*
Keiden smiles happily, watching the Horror become somewhat less horrible, its main weapon destroyed by the fire. "Proof that simple is often best," he says with a chuckle to himself. He's managed to keep pace with Eito, though has not managed to to nearly as useful; arrows haven't proven effective, and so he replaces the bow with a pair of long wooden-handled daggers. If arrows won't do, maybe ramming a couple of blades into its face will? He leaps out and up, bringing the pair of knives down together onto the Horror's 'face', such as it is. The elf is stronger than he looks, and the force with which he's able to punch the daggers down would be enough to break a concrete block.
*
The Horror stumbles to his feet, smoldering but stalwart to the end. "Jemti vais voir mon fils !"Before stripping that club from his hip, and getting right back into the fight. He brings that club down after Eito as he rushes in, and smashes through that Martini Henry like a twig before laying the hurt on the fox hard enough to send him to the ground in a pile. He turns just in time for Keiden to get those daggers in, and it's enough to send him staggering. Lifting one hand to his face, before ripping one dagger free before reaching for the other.
Eito hits the ground -hard-, sending a shower of bright red armor shards skyward as he goes down. He is not however, built in such a way that surrender ever crosses his mind. The fox rolls onto his back, before stripping that 1903 from his holster and opening fire. Ploughing rounds into the fucker's head, until the horror finally tumbles back to the ground and remains there. "Cut the head off before he gets back up!"
*
"Cut off the head?" Ben rumbles as he rubs his eyes, blinking, squinting, and looking in the direction of the others. "Oh…I'll get its head off all right!" His gravely voice says, sounding rather annoyed. His feet pounding toward the Horror, he growls. Placing one foot on the Horror's chest, he reaches down and places his hands on the head. "Don't be offended if I don't invite you over for Thanksgiving." And grasps on hard and pulls the head off. "Good riddens to bad company."
*
Keiden manages to duck away before that club comes out, leaving his daggers behind, to be pulled out and discarded. He's up again once the Horror goes down from the barrage of bullets, moving swiftly over the ground to collect his weapons, and trying to reach the thing and, as Eito had instructed, remove its head. But Ben's right there, and Keiden gets close enough to witness him pop the thing's head from its shoulders with his bare bouldered hands. "Nicely done, my rocky friend," the elf says gleefully, clapping the stone man on the back. "Nicely done indeed!" He takes a moment to look back at Eito, offering the Fox a smile as well. "We are victorious! A celebratory feast is in order!"
*
"That rifle, was built in eighteen eighty one for me as a gift."Is Eito's immediate retort as he rises, holstering up before reaching across to gingerly reset his dislocated shoulder with an all too audible -pop-. "You guys go ahead, I've still got some fight left in me and dawn isn't that far away."Armor busted, beat to hell, rifle busted and yet he remains. Reaching across to draw one of those swords of his with an audible almost hollywood -shwing- of well honed steel. "Well fought though, I appreciate the help."
*
"Don't get yourself too hurt out there." Ben tells the fox, looking him over seriously. "I'm sorry about the gun. I'm sure it was precious to you. I wish there was something I could do to fix it but…" He sighs and shakes his head. "Even if I was a gunsmith…well, there's no use wonderin' 'bout what could've been, huh?" He shrugs. He glances toward Keiden. "I'm afraid most places would be confused about serving a rock guy and a…blue guy." He doesn't even know what Keiden is.
*
In an instant, Kaiden's appearance goes from blue and half-naked to that of a caucasion, snappily-dressed Midgardian. "I will bring the feast to you, my friend," he says with a wide grin, "Come, fellow victor, we shall search out a meal for our hungry friend, since he cannot leave his post to do so himself!" And with that, Keiden is off toward the exit. Gotta be a pizza place still open, or a hot dog cart making a quick buck off all the heroes still trying to clean up the remaining ghouls in park. Food and drink, the true spoils of victory!
*