Lair

by Carl Stubblefield

  Meaty undertones tainted the smell of the chamber as well, and Gus couldn’t tell if they were from some prey the zombies had eaten, or remnants of their own decomposition. He struggled to breathe in the cloying, sulfur-rich gases. After a half-coughing, half-gagging fit, the silver cracking centralized over his face. A bubble formed over his mouth, nose and eyes. Somehow the hybrid-Nth was able to filter out most of the fumes. It was like breathing through a thick cloth but it was clean.

  Taking a moment to clear the tears that had welled up with the coughing and irritating gasses, Gus saw that the mask allowed his hand to pass through but it maintained its shape. Once he was ready, he continued his descent.

  The path descended downward until it opened into a large dome-shaped alcove. As the light diminished, Gus’ display clicked and the darker areas farther away were highlighted with a green tint, revealing the contours underneath. Gus was glad he had so many stat points allocated into perception.

  Looking upward, Gus could see the remains of something large and man-made upended and wedged into the rock. It was entrenched so tightly that no light filtered in from around the edges. With his augmented vision, Gus could make out panels and some seats along one end of the cavern. The drones were inside and the yellow paths on Gus’ display showed their journey as they crawled like little spiders along the roof of the chamber, having shifted from their flying mode to this quieter stealth mode.

  Irregular rough walls of porous lava-rock were illuminated by the hellish orange light of a roiling magma pool along the right edge of the alcove. An ominous shadow played across the far wall, writhing and snapping like Scylla from Homer’s Odyssey. The majority of the creature making the shadow was enshrouded by the dark, and Gus felt a deep sense of dread. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.

  He crouched and sought to hide behind something, but the layout of the cavern offered no real cover. Only the general darkness appeared to have masked his arrival. Gus felt sweat slick the surface of his spear as his hands reacted to the adrenaline pumping through his veins. This… thing was something different altogether. Gus sensed that this monster was the driving force behind the zombies and their attack on the Manor, and was glad that they had all been cleared away.

  Gus stared at the black mass, trying to activate Wreck-ognize. The only information he received was a name:

  The One.

  Level: ??

  HP: ??/??

  Description: ??

  So helpful. Gus had no idea what weaknesses this thing had.

  Gus gave the mental command for Nick to roll the playlist.

  You have created a song-chain!

  RE: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 1.

  “YOU!!!” The One shouted mentally.

  Before he could react, Gus felt something like greasy tentacles wrenching his mind open. A voice in his head rasped like heavy stone scraping across the floor, low and grating. He dropped to his knees from the intensity of the mental attack. The attack felt like tentacles probing deep into his brain and Gus felt his muscles turn to mush.

  Before he totally fell on his face, dark whips emanated from the being and lashed his upper arms and hung him there.

  “I do not know how you have come this far. But you saved me the trouble of finding you. Come, puppet, let us claim my domain!” the voice commanded, and Gus was hoisted to his feet by the black tendrils. Gus could not tell what the tentacles were made of but they supported him without gripping him tightly.

  The figure elongated, stretching and sliding like a slug up the incline, carrying Gus ahead of it. The movement was painfully slow, and Gus could not budge against the tentacles that kept each limb secured. His soundtrack continued to play as he hung helplessly.

  Vegan Zombie by Zach Selwyn

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 2.

  Gus struggled internally against the tendrils in his mind. He began to get angry at the powerlessness he had felt the majority of his life. His brow began to furrow in fury, and he clenched his jaw in both determination and rage. The thing calling him a puppet had triggered something inside of him. He had felt like that was accurate for his past life; other people pulling the strings, and him dancing along at their whims. No more. With a surge of emotion, he shouted back mentally, “GET OUT!”

  The resistance must have caught the creature by surprise because it lost its hold and Gus pushed the influence out and away from him. With control of his faculties again, he activated Dodge and slid free of the jelly-like appendages holding him.

  He landed nearby along the cavern wall. Gus removed his naginata and readied it in front of him. The tendrils attempted to bat at him, but they lacked substance, like getting hit by a gelatinous wiffleball bat. Gus sheared off some nearby tendrils with his spear, and they fell away, splattering against the cavern floor. The writhing mass undulated and more tendrils extended and formed. They braided in a manner Gus recognized from using Ether Weaving. Gus jumped just in time as a braided tendril slammed into the cavern wall, blasting chunks of the soft porous stone from the impact. The thicker tendrils were going to be packing much more of a punch.

  Gus had to survive long enough for the playlist to ramp up damage modifiers. He stabbed out at the tentacles, slicing some that came close. More often, he was forced to hop around the bumpy surface near the wall, evading attacks and trying not to twist an ankle. His attacks were doing practically no damage. He would have to figure out something different. He would run out of stamina long before this thing did. His pathetic slices at tentacles didn’t move the red health bar to show even the slightest of slivers. He needed to do more damage!

  Monitoring his stamina and MP bars, he began dodging and ducking. He had to hold out as long as possible before using an ability to escape. Tentacles jabbed into the rock around him like black lightning strikes. Gus dodged and evaded partly on instinct, trying to avoid being hit. There wasn’t time to consciously process the motions, and he relied on his agility and used some of the moves from his naginata katas to move along the uneven ground.

  Some powdery debris from a nearby strike momentarily blinded him and slowed him enough to be bashed by a tentacle. His armor tightened in response to the strike. The sharp tip of the tentacle flattened, not able to break skin. It did not absorb the entire force of the blow though. The rapid successive attacks appeared to overwhelm the armor. Good to know. Gus grunted as he hit the wall like he’d been kicked by a horse. Coughing to regain his breath, he barely rolled away from a huge tentacle swinging down to pound him into the ground.

  Who Do You Voodoo by Josef “J7” & Christopher H. Knight

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 4.

  The distraction also allowed The One to ooze out tentacles on either side of Gus. They were slowly enlarging, like huge black waves ready to crash down and envelop him. Gus sent his weapon to the left with Ether Leash, trying to carve out an escape hatch. The damage was quickly repaired as more black material flowed into the tear. Losing room to move, Gus ran toward one wall and planted the tip in the ground. He then dashed, using Ether Leash to push up and away, imagining he was pole vaulting. Whether it was his adrenaline or fear, it worked! Gus sailed over the black wall as it began to crash downward to smother him, the polearm following him with a tug to avoid being buried in the tar-like material.

  Gus turned and attempted to activate Wreck-luse, but the skill failed against the boss’ high level.

  The One remained near the center of the room. Gus couldn’t get close enough to engage anything besides tentacles. Gus jabbed at the tentacles and by another stroke of luck he hit Wreck-tums!

  The distraction was just enough for the Dark Nth to make its move on Methiochos. Clouded by anger, and weakened by the critical hit, Methiochos lost the battle he had maintained for so long. The Dark Nth took control, and Methiochos was no more, there was only The One.

  Before Gus could reach it and get in a k
illing blow, The One sunk two thick tentacles into the magma pool, which were somehow unaffected by the heat. They pulsed as if drinking from the pool and the HP drain abruptly stopped and began to quickly reverse. The magma was sustaining it somehow.

  Those tentacles have got to go.

  Gus dropped a T-Wrecks right next to the magma pool, and it went to town on the feeder tentacles. One of its taloned feet compressed one of the feeders, which seemed to impede its ability to regenerate HP. Magma spewed in large arcs as the dinosaur ripped flesh, causing a breach in the living pipeline. The heat quickly sapped the construct’s HP, but the tentacles succumbed to the carnage before the T-Wrecks started to dissolve. The mass of tentacles probed at the magma but they were thinner and were burned as they tried to mimic the function of the feeders. The One had regenerated to about 80% of full health, however.

  Zombie Me (Apoca-Mix) by No More Kings

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 8.

  This song-chain is taking too long to power up! Gus desperately slashed at tentacles by swinging his weapon in front of him like he was chopping wood with his naginata. He attacked any tentacle within his reach with abandon. So focused on his task, Gus did not notice that the hybrid-Nth around him had begun to emanate a crackling field of energy. Attacking tendrils were repelled by vicious shocks that caused them to lose cohesion. Nor did Gus notice the magma starting to cool as energy was leached from it, and the stone began to lose its orange amber hue.

  All Gus could see were the tentacles. He hacked and hacked and they regenerated. The lighting in the chamber changed to a pale blue-white as the energy ball around Gus expanded. He continued to chop and slash at the tentacles. After losing the ability to suction energy and convert it into tendrils, combined with Gus’ wild abandon, he must have hit a critical point, because The One shook. Without the supplemental energy to sustain them, masses of tentacles dropped to the cavern floor.

  Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 16.

  With the start of the next song, Gus’ arms began to move even faster. He felt like he was rowing with the back and forth slashing of his polearm. By the time he had completely severed the two large tentacles with sucker-like paddles on the ends, the magma had cooled to a solid surface behind him as his Nth pulled energy away from it using Energy Absorption. If he would have taken a mere one or two steps backward he would have fallen through the thin wafer of solidified stone covering the magma.

  Gus felt like his muscles were humming with pent up energy. He pushed forward and the sparking electric bubble followed him, burning away tentacles and the slime that composed them. Gus noticed the size of the energy bubble shrinking as its energy was used up.

  Sitting there, blanched by the crackling blue-white light, Gus got his first clear view of The One. His upper torso was strong and muscular, while his other half morphed into some inbred octopus-spider baby. A large segmented abdomen was supported by wriggling villiform legs underneath. Larger wriggling tentacles lined the sides and four long segmented spider legs crouched in a recess in the center of the room.

  Zombies Ate My Neighbors by Single File

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 32.

  “Ya nasty!” Gus shouted as he charged the abomination. A chitinous leg deflected the naginata to one side and Gus flowed into a kata, blocking incoming attacks from multiple legs. The blade severed the jagged sharp edge of an attacking leg, spurting ichor as if it were a lost limb in a Tarantino film. Gus whipped the naginata around with Ether Leash, managing to separate another leg at the joint near the torso. A rebound swing hit another leg and triggered Wreck-tums! Gus hit it again and it hung limp. The leg with the severed tip was moving much slower, so Gus could focus on attacking the last leg. Waiting for it to attack, Gus blocked and activated Counter Attack. He chopped the leg off at the first segment, leaving a tiny stub, waving ineffectually. Screaming in pain and anger, The One lifted his body up by tentacles and heaved himself away from the center of the room. “Anyone tell you that you’ve got them moves like Jabba?!” Gus taunted.

  Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen

  Damage vs zombies/Dark Nth increased x 64.

  Gus smiled as the beginning words of the song began. “Tonight I’m gonna have myself a real good time…” Good times indeed. Dashing forward, Gus threw the naginata straight at The One’s chest. Instead of dodging, The One brought his hands together and caught the blade between his pressed palms. Gus yanked as hard as he could with the Ether Leash, which barely slid the naginata out of The One’s grasp, but he also pulled himself forward unintentionally as well. Tentacles lashed out and wrapped around his arms and legs, pressing them to his side. The One lifted Gus to his level, exaggerated dark bulbous eyes visible under greasy unkempt hair.

  “Have you wondered how I have sustained myself, little worm? I have the abilities of all the Dark Nth… because I would consume them and incorporate them into myself.” A tentacle came up to Gus’ face, thin as a razor, and gouged into his chest, tearing his suit and into his skin below. Gus watched in horror as black particles dripped off the tentacle, crawling in the wound.

  He flung Gus into the corner. “Now I’ll let you get nice and tenderized, we’ll have a nice bite to eat, and then I will take the manor.” The One had only one ambition; to get off the island and feed. Regaining his brood and consuming everything. With Methiochos’ memories, it knew exactly what to do. The floor resonated as The One laughed deep and low. Gus lay coughing in a pool of his own blood, which rippled from the vibration of the laughter, mocking him, face down and gasping.

  The area he had been stabbed began to heat up like he was being branded. Gus finally pulled in a breath only to let it out in an agonized scream and the vibrations increased. So close! I almost did it. Liquid fire flowed through his veins and Gus began to seize on the cavern floor. All too soon the process was over. A tendril grasped his leg and lifted him high above the cavern floor, drawing him closer.

  The One lifted the tentacle above him and unhinged his jaw, retracting it like a snake and preparing to devour Gus whole. When Gus’ head was right at the opening of the gaping maw, Gus popped his head up and yelled “Surprise!” and jammed the naginata he had been loosely holding down the gullet of the monster. The blade began to spin more and more as the two ether leashes Gus had wrapped around it over and over again were pulled, turning the weapon into a whirling drill of death.

  The blade of the polearm shot out and bore into the soft throat lining of The One, shredding, slicing, and tearing—hitting the spine after chewing up the back of the throat and continuing to burrow downward. Gus felt the tentacles spasm tighter, then slacken, dropping him to the hard floor. The One slumped there, the very tip of the naginata protruding from his mouth, slowly spinning to a stop, while black slime bubbled and oozed out around it.

  Gus lay there while his log filled with a multitude of messages. It was over.

  “Your hybrid-Nth say, ‘You’re welcome,’” Nick quipped.

  Really? Snarky now? Gus looked down to his chest and saw the pristine skin exposed by the jagged tear in his suit. Apparently, Nick was right. Hybrid-Nth were resistant to hacking. They had surrounded the infectious Dark Nth particles and burned them out. Painful as hell, but better than the alternative.

  Gus looked back at the remains of The One, and with an Ether Leash, he lifted the naginata out of the gore. It was almost totally black with the sticky ichor coating it. Instead of having to clean it with his hands, he was able to manipulate the ether to clean the naginata completely of the black slime. A chime sounded.

  Due to its composition of Kroutonium, your naginata has obtained a new ability from having vanquished a boss!

  Vampire’s Kiss (Level 1)

  Upon critical hit, transfer damage dealt into health for the wielder of the weapon. Higher levels deal more damage and higher rates of transfer.

  The shaft of the weapon had acquired an ebony tone to it, glinting like
polished obsidian, having absorbed something from the boss it had just killed. It spun there and glistened with a menacing black sheen. Gus had a name for the naginata pop into his mind. Jet. Referring both to its speed and color. Gus pulled the weapon to him. As he grabbed it, he felt a tingle in his hands, as if locking in the special ability to him specifically.

  “Gus, reset those settings at Site B,” Nick yelled.

  Climbing to his feet, he swung the naginata, gathered the limp hand of The One and made his way to the console. He pressed Methiochos’ hand to a sensor panel on the far side of the room, and reset the magma channels. He couldn’t see under the hardened magma to know if it had worked, but hoped that whatever had diverted power away from the manor was restored, and that it would be enough to keep the volcano from erupting.

  He was ready to make the climb out of the cave.

  “I know you haven’t found anything good from those other zombies, but I’d recommend checking the boss. Sometimes they have a little somethin’ somethin’.”

  Gus looked at the remains and wrinkled his nose. He remembered mucking about in the fat zombie for Razorback.

  “It’ll be worth it, trust me. Just use Wreck-ognize if you don’t believe me.”

  He focused on the corpse of The One and thought about what he wanted. After three seconds, a message dropped: