((3-way tie remains. Moving forwards if I don't get a leading option within a week of the update, Adwarf will pick whichever leading option they prefer and I'll run that. This time, they picked Dev's choice.))
Send Ada back and just run through the smoke low down. Eating them would attract too much attention and this town sucks too much to get caught up in its nonsense. I'm sure you can outrun them and either find the source of this just by randomly running through the smoke, or by climbing a building and getting up high.
You order Ada to retreat to a more defensible position while you scout out ahead. Gorillas shouldn't be a threat, they have that crowd fuckery but you're confident you can still outrun them when it comes down to it. With that in mind you flare your thrusters and sprint forwards, angling your approach to come close to the approaching gorillas but not close enough for them to catch you. If there's anywhere the source might be it'll be from the direction they're coming from, and if they try and catch you it'll just buy more time for Ada anyhow.
You close the distance, the gorillas already making their presence felt as the crowd grows restless and turbulent, small shoves and faint collisions trying to halt your escape. It won't be enough, you already accounted for-
"Get back here!"A thousand voices. A thousand whispers. The clerk. They're calling out to you. A warning. A threat.
You recall Ada's words
"But if we try to run there will an immune response."But you aren't running! They had already vetted Ada your business should be done!
No time to think, you cut your thrusters and skid to a halt. Then, the gorillas are upon you.
A flash of steel. Gorilla #5 erupts from the crowd not so much lunging as much as being
thrown by the motion of the phantoms around them. A wok grazes past your head as you dodge, guess they picked up some kitchenware on the way here. The gorilla's momentum carries them past you, but they continue the motion of their swing, whipping their arm around and tossing their weapon low going for your legs. So sway to the side evading the utensil as you shove a cleaver-wielding Gorilla #6 to the side just in time to catch Gorilla #7 kicking the damn thing back up at you. A quick shot from your gun intercepts the ballistic cookware reversing its trajectory but before you can fire more at #7 themselves, #8 comes in kitchen knife in hand aiming for a disarm. You drop your weapon arm, thwarting the attempt and maintaining control of your weapon at the cost of your shot as you spin around and slap #6's attack out of the way and launch into a thruster-assisted dropkick slamming #5's newly-acquired stool into their chest before they can bring it to bear. You drop to the floor, knocking #6 off balance with a sweep before flipping up and kicking #8's knife out of their hands.
The blade flies up, spinning into the air before meeting a heel, #7's heel. Motherfucker catapulted themselves into the air. They come down on the hilt with a flying axe kick, and the blade comes down right into your shoulder.
Molten metal flows like blood, oozing from the wound. It begins to rapidly cool, hardening into a misshapen scab of metal. It's
clotting you realize. Structural integrity will be sub-optimal, but you won't be bleeding. The blade itself lodged in a bad angle, interfering with your arm's movement, though thankfully it's not the arm holding your gun and you can feel it beginning to melt down already, dissolving into your molten metal, just like that smoke.
That black smoke from the gorilla you ate. That was when it happened wasn't it?
When the clerk suddenly turned their attention to Ada. They didn't say
"Thank you" they didn't acknowledge that the vetting was over, it was as if they suddenly stopped caring. The vetting definitely wasn't over if they're responding to you trying to leave. Something must be interfering with them somehow. Was it because you ate that gorilla? Was is the smoke from their body? Something else?
The four gorilla continue their offense. #5 picks itself off the floor, brandishing a leg from the shattered stool; #6 brings its cleaver to bear with wild slashes trying to target your wounded side, #7 and #8 circle aiming to cut off your avenues of escape and keep up the pressure unarmed as they are now.
The gaze of the clerk remains on you, a light occluded by phantasmal crowds.
"Get back here!" the whispers repeat.
What will you do?
> [] Fight defensively. Find an opening, escape, get back to Ada and the clerk, leverage the latter as meatshield> [] Fight aggressively. Drop one of them and devour them, you don't know if it will work but that's what start this mess> [] Release smoke. Vent the stored smoke from the gorilla you ate from your thrusters, you're not sure what will happen, but it's worth a shot> [] (Write in)
Author
Topic: Turbulence (SG) - Storm, Web, Casket (Read 5463 times)