I unceremoniously faceplant on to the lab's floor, the Fortress spell having tanked the impact of my fall once again. Fortress might be effective at stopping damage, but it hasn't done my dignity any favors judging from the wide eyed stares the lab staff are giving me. I'm going to need to work out a cooler way of traversal if falling from great heights is going to be a regular thing.

Stop daydreaming.

"Right. Right." I murmur back to the voice of my heart, "Still in danger and all that. We're on the lab floor now, so that means the alternate exit back to the orphanage should be close by."

Thankfully all the guards have disappeared somewhere. Might have something to do with that disturbance in the facility's systems Latour had been complaining about. I've got a clear path to escaping this dump, as long as I hurry.

No. Return to the reactor core. I need you to -

"Wait, what?" I stop at the sudden shift in tone from the voice of my heart, "What do you mean by 'you need me to do something'? Aren't we the same person?"

Yes and no. I cannot explain here. But you must trust me.

"This is so sus. You know that right?" I pick myself up and begin marching in the direction I saw Charlotte enter from, "And you're only making me feel less inclined in doing what you want."

Things have changed. There are larger issues at stake now.

"Yeah? From how I see it," I grimace while pushing aside the panicking lab staff in my way, "The largest issue at hand is my life."

And I can help with that. I have always helped you preserve your life. But now I need you to do something for me.

Before I can shoot back a comment, the Acting Grandmaster gracefully lands on his feet before me, with Ms VVIP securely bundled in his arms. The monster quirks an eyebrow at me, as if mocking my attempt to get away from him.

"Pretty neat princess carry there." I snort, aiming Love squarely at the monster, "Too bad you haven't cleaned the puke from the lady's mouth."

"I was in a hurry to catch up with you." the monster shrugs as he gently lays Ms VVIP on the floor, "Since Combatant Department is obviously too engaged to do their jobs properly."

"Hard to get good help." I purse my lips and take a deep breath, ready for action.

"Too true." the monster agrees affably and breaks out into a light jog, throwing a limp wristed punch my way -

--------------

Hard Rock posted:

That video's sick.

Psyko posted:

How did you do it? That's a level 1 character taking on a bonus mission boss right?

Gitgudscrub posted:

Throw two punches. Turn the other way for 1 second. This resets the rush combo. Then throw two punches again.

Psyko posted:

That's all it takes to set up an infinite combo?

Hard Rock posted:

And any character class can use it?

Gitgudscrub posted:

Yup. The basic level 1 combo is potentially infinite as long as you don't knock down the target. Game's fucking broken.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Psyko posted:

This needs some kind of cool name something like -

------------

ON THE FLOOR! NOW!

The voice of my heart roars in my ear and I instinctively throw myself back onto the ground. The monster's limp wristed punch weakly flies over my head. Despite the total lack of power behind it, I know, just know, on a primal level that the blow would have killed me if it had connected. The monster raises his eyes in surprise at my sudden dodge, clearly expecting me to just slap aside such an outwardly feeble attack.

Roll. Roll like your life depends on it. AND DO NOT GET BACK UP TO YOUR FEET.

The sheer urgency from the voice of my heart leaves no room for debate or argument. I begin rolling across the floor like an overgrown sausage, my face reddening with embarrassment as the lab staff stare at me with dumbfounded expressions. The monster scratches his chin meditatively as he follows alongside me, the gears turning in his eyes.

"So you know how to evade the Touch of Death." the monster nods to himself, "I must say Mr Everett, your understanding of the fundamental truths would be anathema to most Awakened."

"I have a way of surprising people." I fire back while continuing with that stupid roll, "So don't mess with me!"

I quickly take a snap shot with Love at the Acting Grandmaster and as expected, he easily swats the bullets from the air using the moment of invincibility. But the monster is no longer following me quite so closely, now that he realizes I still have some teeth.

"Need some help here." I whisper to the voice of my heart. The rolling trick has managed to foil the monster for now, but my position is incredibly bad. I barely have any ability to fight back and there's no telling what new bullshit attack the monster will try next.

Head to ... core

The voice sounds faint and weak. I'm about to object at how returning to the reactor core just makes my escape more difficult, but the voice of my heart tiredly continues its spiel.

Heading ... Tentac 5 .... Epsilon 9 .... remember .... Tentac 5 .... Epsilon 9 ...

"What does that even mean?" I hiss in frustration at how unhelpful the voice is being, all the while taking potshots at the monster, forcing it backward.

Running out of bandwidth ... debugger still tracking map status ... an opening to escape ... soon ..

I hitch my breath, my nerves roused to full alertness. The voice of my heart has gotten me even more confused than usual, but the last part of its speech was crystal clear. My chance to escape is coming up. I need to be ready.

"Is rolling on the floor all you can manage, Mr Everett?" the monster sighs in disappointment, "I had honestly hoped for more."

NOW!

A massive explosion rips through the lab and I hear the staff screaming about a containment breach. The automated doors for the cells roll open on cue, releasing hordes of very confused and miserable kids. The kids hesitate for a moment before stampeding for the exit, several of them stomping on me in the process. In the panicked crowd, I see Charlotte and the orphanage's teachers push their way through, trying to guide the kids in the right direction. The lab staff are completely helpless, swept aside like garbage caught in a raging river.

So that was Padu's plan huh? Rescue the trapped kids as a final act if his lifeline ran out. I suppose its sort of noble, except Padu had waited until he literally had nothing to lose before attempting to do the right thing.

The monster frowns as the surging tide of kids slam into him, separating us both from each other. Wasting no time, I scramble to my feet before realizing that those same kids are blocking the way to the facility's exit. Meaning my only way forward back to where I had come from earlier. The reactor core.

No doubt the voice of my heart is as pleased as punch at this turn of events. Except it had gone completely quiet. A sudden sense of loneliness strikes me. For every life or death battle, the voice had been my companion. Not having it around all of a sudden feels like losing a limb.

"Make way! Make way!" an angry shout rises over the crowd punctuated by a gun being fired into the air.

Damn it, that was Excelsior. Thankfully Excelsior's antics had only fueled the mad panic infecting the kids but it was only a matter of time before he and Latour catch up with me. The ridiculous duel I had with the monster had already allowed the duo to close much of the distance. The swarm of kids swallows up the monster entirely and Charlotte briefly looks at me straight in the eye. There's a flicker of distaste on her face but she quickly returns to trying to herd the kids out of the facility. Not happy about me using your plan as a distraction? Too bad, that's just how the cookie crumbles.

"Reactor! Which direction?" I grab one of the lab staff and point Love right at his face. The sweating man babbles incoherently before pointing toward a nearby elevator.

"Great. You're my guide from now on." I smirk and shove the man at the elevator and gesture at him to get on with it. The techie nervously waves his pass card before the a wall mounted sensor and the elevator opens with a cheerful ding. I hustle the lab tech in and he quickly jabs at one of the elevator's buttons, causing the contraption to plummet into the depths of the facility.

Blaring klaxons resound through the night as the elevator enters an exposed stretch of the shaft. The winter squall pounds the metal exterior, causing the elevator to shake worryingly.

"That's normal." the lab guy smiles weakly, "I think."

"Great." I mutter back, not feeling particularly relieved.

Then the lights cut out. And the elevator grinds to a stop.