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[b]Word Count:[/b] 2,082
[b]Level 7 Ganondorf:[/b] 17/70
[b]Level 9 Roxas:[/b] 50/90
[b]Level 4 Captain Falcon:[/b] 25/40
[b]Exp Gained:[/b] +3
[b]NEW EXP Balance---[/b] 20/70, 53/90, 28/40

[h3]The Dead Zone[/h3][/center]

This close, the massive tree that was the Qliphoth loomed even larger. And when no apparent entrance could be seen, it was the archangel Sandalphon who made the first move by drawing her weapon and opening fire on the trunk. This gave way to a cacophony of weapons and other blasts being let loose on the tree by the gathered Seekers there. Unfortunately, Roxas and Captain Falcon had little in the way of equipment or attacks that were suitable for this task. Roxas hacked away with his Keyblades, but the weapons’ shapes were obviously not optimized to be used like this. And Falcon had nothing but his fists and never-used sidearms.

Thankfully though, they had Ganondorf around. The warlord brandished his newly-acquired greatsword - Litania - and went to work with his immense strength. And soon enough an entrance into the tree was carved out for the intrepid group to enter through. Inside was the comfort of being out of the time fall - what little the atmosphere of the Qliphoth offered that is - and the almost immediate appearance of infested creatures of all sorts likely as a defense mechanism. Many were grossly misshapen insectoids, but others looked as though they might have previously occupied the city that was once located in this zone as well.

[color=1f66b2]”Looks like they’re not taking too kindly to us.”[/color] Falcon commented as he cracked his neck and knuckles, entering his fighting stance.

[color=gold]”What even are these things?”[/color] Roxas asked with a disgusted look on his face as he summoned Oblivion and Oathkeeper to his hands.

[color=797979]”Hmph, fodder, as far I’m concerned.”[/color] Ganondorf grunted in reply, brandishing his trident - Vapor. The warlord was looking rather pleased that he was finally going to be able to handle an enemy the old-fashioned way rather than having to run and hide like outside. He also summoned the newly-upgraded Phantom Ganon with their flowing crimson cape and sharp sword-like nail they brandished along with their default trident weapon. In addition, he summoned a squad of Moblin Spearmen.

And then the fighting started. A chaotic cacophony of shouts, clashes, blasts, and spells that rang throughout the inside of the Qliphoth. Ganondorf wasted no time in charging right in, pausing only momentarily when an illusory spell of some kind was cast on him courtesy of Blazermate. When the dark cloud of smoke around him cleared, the Gerudo found himself flanked by a pair of doppelgangers of himself that wielded tridents of their own. He could tell they were only half as strong as the original, but even that could still be plenty strong considering who it was they were mimicking.

Between them, the moblins, and Phantom Ganon - Ganondorf was practically commanding a “Legion” of his own much like the minions commanded by Sectonia or Midna. And they were able to cut a large swathe into the attacking Floodfestation before them.

Meanwhile, Roxas also took to the fighting with his usual agility and flare. Enclosed corridors allowed him to launch himself between the walls with Flowmotion to cut down the Flood that were caught within the trajectory of his movements. Occasionally he would even pause to let off a crowd-clearing Thundaga spell whenever he needed to create some space for himself to get moving again. Unlike outside, for once he was almost completely in his element here. These infested creatures may not have been the same thing as Heartless or Nobodies, but they still similarly attacked in swarms which made the battle tactics feel familiar enough to the Keybearer.

Between the three of them, it was unfortunately the Captain who was having the roughest time. Most of his techniques were geared toward taking down enemies in 1v1 fights. So dealing with a swarm like this was less than ideal for the bounty hunter. But he didn’t let that deter him, as Cap sprinted in and opened his fight with a fiery punch on what looked like the remains of an infected citizen from Redgraccoon City. He couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the poor souls whose existence in this world was tied to this dreadful place. But now wasn’t the time for empathizing.

Falcon kicked and punched his way through a handful more small fry. He wasn’t as built for taking on an army like some of his compatriots were, which was why the Captain smirked to himself when he managed to single out a not-so-small fry enemy. Whatever it was, it looked like some kind of [url=https://warframe.fandom.com/wiki/Deimos_Saxum]giant sentient pelvis that oozed with infection[/url]. And… was that a freaky-looking face in the central segment? Or maybe that was just the bone structure and muscle tissue giving a disturbing optical illusion? This thing looked less like an infected victim and more like a pure monstrosity. [color=1f66b2]”Okay then, this is definitely… a first for me.”[/color] Falcon commented, rolling his shoulder muscles and tightening into Robert Garcia’s martial arts stance.

[color=1f66b2]”Let’s see what you’ve got, show me your moves!”[/color] The Captain declared before he dead-sprinted toward the monster in question. When he was close he leaped forward and smashed into the Saxum’s midsection with a powerful [color=1f66b2]”Knee of Justice!”[/color] And then after landing he planted his foot on the ground and launched his other leg into a [color=1f66b2]”Gen’ei Kyaku!”[/color] That barraged the monster with a series of rapid straight kicks. Falcon’s strikes appeared to land, but with the way this creature looked, it was surprisingly hard to tell how much damage he was actually doing.

Cap also didn’t initially notice the projectiles shooting out of the thing’s shoulders until he had to jump back and even use his bubble shield to prevent himself from taking the brunt of a counterstrike. And even after avoiding the initial onslaught, the projectiles themselves left dangerous areas that dealt constant lingering damage to whoever stood in them. And that meant that the Captain would have to continuously keep watching his footing otherwise the lingering area damage could catch up to him.

Elsewhere, both Ganondorf and Roxas were still more or less thriving. The King of Evil had been taking full advantage of the illusory doubles that had been granted to him for coordinated attacks alongside them. His Moblin Spearmen fought as long as they were capable, but it was all but inevitable that they’d fall eventually. Even Phantom Ganon, with his new powers granted by N Corp’s Nail and Ripping Bear, couldn’t last forever. He was still fighting but it became clear that he could only last so much longer before he was either overwhelmed or his time ran out. After Ganondorf’s doubles wore off, he paused long enough to consecrate some Hallowed Ground for Phantom Ganon to remain near in order to benefit from some of its regenerative effects. This would hopefully let him last long enough for his time to run out so that his defeat wouldn’t cost Ganondorf any extra energy. After that he summoned a fresh squad of Moblin Spearmen and went back on the offensive against the Flood.

As for Roxas, his efforts were similarly bearing fruit. His tactic of launching himself between walls in tight spaces allowed for him to sustain a remarkable amount of momentum in his fighting style. This also meant that he had to spend MP on spells a bit less often, allowing him to conserve his resources a bit while still maintaining his effectiveness. He coupled that by occasionally summoning his striker, Poltergeist. Her Psi attacks were a good way to soften up clusters of enemies so that Roxas could zip by with his Keyblades for the finisher. Her ability to grant him buffs with The Sun Is Not Gentle after a while was also a welcome addition to Roxas’ repertoire.

Meanwhile, Captain Falcon found himself in a tough matchup against the infected Saxum. Its size and ability to cover its surroundings in hazardous damaging zones made it difficult for the Captain to maintain a proper melee engagement with the warframe in question. It was fortunate for Falcon that he had a striker like Bianca to help him in this kind of pinch. Her ability to shift the types of arrows she fired combined with her fairly short cooldowns made for a useful bit of versatility to get off occasional ranged damage or slowness on the monster in a way that also gave Falcon some breathing room to try and study the monster as he fought it.

Through this, Falcon managed to figure out that the two femurs that served as the creature’s shoulders appeared to be taking more damage. So Falcon started concentrating on them. When he was able to get close enough, he could strike at them with punches or kicks. But while away from them, he could have Bianca concentrate her shots on them. Then at one point the Captain shifted gears a bit and summoned his other striker, Tyr. The man appeared and began to hack and slash away at the femurs with telekinetically controlled greatswords. After the damage that was already dealt, Tyr’s attack even managed to destroy one of the femurs before he vanished.

With this, Falcon saw what he thought was an opening and launched forward hoping to take advantage of the creature’s damaged flank. But when he saw corrosive bombs begin to spew out from the spot where the femur had been he zigzagged away and had to rethink his plan. The lingering damage from the projectiles was going to start catching up to him if he didn’t do something [i]now[/i]. Then - as if answering his prayers - Captain Falcon found himself being healed. It was Sandalphon, one of her uses of Angelic Wings included the Captain within its twenty foot radius. This got the bounty hunter’s health back up to full and then some.

[color=1f66b2]”My turn!”[/color] Falcon declared, flashing blue momentarily as he renewed his frontal charge against the infected Saxum. He attacked from the side containing the other femur to avoid getting a face full of explosions. And the lingering damage zones didn’t concern him quite as much when he was now at above full health thanks to Sandalphon’s timely divine intervention. All the fighting he’d been doing had allowed Cap to build up a full 3 stocks of Power Gauge. And now it was time to capitalize. [color=1f66b2]”Ryuuko Ranbu!”[/color] The bounty hunter shouted as his rush connected. He launched into a high-speed flurry of punches and kicks against the Saxum’s femur before launching straight upward with a Ryuuga as the finishing touch.

The tall warframe staggered back as the second femur exploded and was destroyed. After that more corrosive explosions spewed out. But Falcon noticed the warframe’s movements became increasingly weakened, realizing that the explosives spewing out was the monster’s own way of bleeding out, as it were. So all Cap had to do from here was keep a safe distance and let the monster finish dying off. He grabbed its spirit, unsure what could be done with it but figuring the group could figure it out later. Roxas and Ganondorf, meanwhile, were mopping up the rest of the section of enemies they were fighting against as well.

From here, all three heard the recommendation from Sandalphon about ascending the tree to escape the area. And at this point, neither of them were particularly inclined to argue with her logic. For Roxas, this wouldn’t be hard at all thanks to Flow Motion. Falcon and Ganondorf would have to put a little more oomph into it, but between the former’s athleticism and the latter’s Bullet Jump, they could make the ascension as well. Of course, the transit up the tree eventually landed all three in different hollows with different people acting as their temporary partners.

Roxas found himself in a hollow alongside Zenkichi. [color=gold]”Separated into pairs.”[/color] The Nobody quipped before adding, [color=gold]”Again. It’s like Arahabaki all over again.”[/color]

Ganondorf found himself in an entirely different hollow. And when he looked around, the only ally he could find was Primrose. [color=797979]”Is it only the two of us here?”[/color] He asked. [color=797979]”Seems we’ve all been separated again.”[/color]

And then the Captain, who looked around in the hollow he was in and could only find one of his fellow former Smashers. [color=1f66b2]”Just us?”[/color] Falcon asked Pit. [color=1f66b2]”Does this sort of thing normally happen whenever the Seekers complete their missions?”[/color]