The Forest

[dont_turn_around]

The woods are lovely spooky, dark and deep...

The mist has not lifted.

The trees are still.

There's not so much as a bird singing or a fox trundling through the undergrowth.

Even the paths seem to lie in waiting.


Deep in the forest is The Tree.


If you think you know where it is...you don't.

Comments

[mnt_mike]

He moves faster than any human ought to, which is frightening enough, but even more so when one considers that he's not yet back to peak performance.
You never think!
The bullet strikes the tree with a dead thunk as Mike is already on the move.
How can I ever trust you again?
He leaps out at the ones advancing on the tree. Arms wide, made wider by the broad spinning of the nunchucks in his hand.

[flip_the_lights]

Oh, hell.

Olivia pulls up short fast enough to stumble a step, darting to the side in an effort to keep clear. For an instant, she glimpses the man's face -- oh, hell -- and has a moment, as she bites back a curse, to be glad her instincts to try a non-lethal shot first were on the money.

"Mike!" she shouts, already fairly certain it won't do anything.

Which is why she's already lined up a second shot and pulled the trigger -- this time, aiming for his shoulder.

(In her other hand, the canister continues to hiss.)

[will_scarlett]

He knows the general principle of nunchucks and curses as Mike descends.

Quickly he gets his sword out of the way of the spinning wood and tries to slice Mike's tendon. They're running out of time.

[a1enzo]

Enzo swears and fires a stun-beam at Mike. Better if they can take him down without injury, or at least slow him down.

[ami_imperfect]

Realizing that her saber's not going to be very effective in this instance, Dani powers it down. She then lobs an ecto-blast in Mike's direction.

[dont_turn_around]

Perhaps it's the wind of his passing that causes it.

There is no wind.

Or it might have been an illusion; depth is hard to perceive when the mist is smothering drowning stealing hiding enshrouding everything.

The loud CREAK is the only warning the would-be heroes have before two of the tree's branches crash down in thunderous fury on each side of its dark child, deflecting the brightness of beams and blasts from their intended target.

[mnt_mike]

Mike is half way through his arc when Olivia's bullet catches him. The recoil is what keeps him from being struck by the branches as they fall.
USELESS! You serve no purpose and we're better off without you!
He growls through the pain.
And then he is on them. He has been trained to deal with swords, and this is not the first time he's been on the wrong end of a blade. Tendons may sever, but it takes more than a firm stance to split bone.
I hate you! And I never want to see you again!

[flip_the_lights]

Olivia falls with a grunt. There's no time to think, only to act: in a swift one-two of movement, she rams her knee up to try and catch Mike between the legs, then swings the butt of her gun toward his head.

Nothing you do will work --

[will_scarlett]

As Olivia and Mike fall, Will moves towards the canister.

He doesn't know if there's anything left in it but at this point he should be able to reach it. Jack will find a way, he's holding onto that thought through everything, because if he thinks more, he might give up.

[a1enzo]

Enzo leaps clear of the falling branch, then hacks away some of the smaller sticks so he can try for another shot.

[ami_imperfect]

Dani turns intangible even as she flies out of the way; as it is, part of the branch ends up passing through her as she evades.

The moment she's clear, though, Dani's back to shooting off ecto-blasts.

[mnt_mike]

The kick to the groin doubles him over, but he moves with the gun which lessens its impact to his head.
Just stay down! Stay down and die
He's just grabbing for the gun when one of the blasts skims the skin of his back and he howls with rage.
Die and let us be rid of you once and for all!
He makes as to grapple Olivia for a throw towards the blasts.

[flip_the_lights]

Shit --

She meets the grapple, but not quickly enough; as Mike hurls her into the air, all Olivia can do is try to shift her weight and throw off his trajectory.

It works, but barely. A blast misses her by inches just before she hits the ground, and, breath knocked out of her, she can't do anything but cough, and cough, and keep coughing.

Somehow, she pulls up the words like someone dredging sludge from a lakebed. "Throw the -- canister -- " she wheezes.

[will_scarlett]

He grabs the canister before jumping over the fallen branches and tossing it deep into the heart of the tree.

[a1enzo]

As soon as Olivia is out of his line of fire, Enzo resumes firing his stun-rod at Mike.

[dont_turn_around]

The tree sweeps down, deflecting the shots.

It even seems to quiver in indignation.

[mnt_mike]

With Olivia out of the way Mike is in a better position to bob and weave his way through the various shots in his direction. But when the canister lands in the tree, smothering it in purple foam, he roars.

And then disappears into a sudden burst of smoke.

[dont_turn_around]

Purple-tinged flashes of lightning crackle over the Tree's trunk and branches, outlining it in eerie violet light as the foaming goo slowly spreads, almost as though it had a life of its own.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO---

A high-pitched rising shriek tears through the forest around them, assaulting their ears to the point of physical pain as branches lash the air with wild abandon.

when the bough breaks

A deep thrum rocks the ground under their feet, and the Tree's branches freeze in place as the crackling purple electricity winks out.





Silence descends.

[ami_imperfect]

Dani manages to get a couple more ecto-blasts off before hitting the ground, hands clamped firmly over her ears at the horrendous shrieking. She doesn't even have time to pull the Fenton-Phones out.

Once it passes, she uncovers her ears and lifts her head up.


"What...the hell was that?"

[mnt_mike]

Ninja smoke bombs are amazing things.
When used correctly they provide one with a nigh-on fool-proof on-demand and easy to conceal exit strategy for almost any situation.

Sadly, no matter how awesomely dramatic a smoke bomb is, it loses it's effectiveness if you leave blood trailing behind you as you flee for the high ground.

If anyone needs Mike he'll just be up in the purple goo covered tree wondering why he's in as much pain as he is.

[flip_the_lights]

Olivia lets out one last choking cough, her hands slipping away from her own ears. Carefully, she presses her palms flat against the dirt and levers herself up.

Nothing broken, nothing sprained, no contusions she can find. She's going to have a hell of a couple of bruises come tomorrow, but the worst seems to have passed.

All of the worst.

"I think it worked," she rasps. Dirt sticks to her hands as she rubs one of them across her face. Lifting her gaze to the tree, and lifting her voice in kind: "Mike?"

[will_scarlett]

The blast and noise knock Will from where he was standing near the tree against the fallen branches.

The throwing star in his arm gets pushed in a little farther and he tries to cover his ears from the sound. When it stops, he carefully gets up, sheathing his sword before looking to see the damage.

[a1enzo]

Enzo levers himself up from where he hit the deck. He gazes up into the now-quiescent tree.

"Mike?" he calls cautiously. "Are you sane?"

[dont_turn_around]

The connection to thelostone Michelangelo nevertobefound is severed.

[mnt_mike]

From somewhere among the branches of the tree comes a rasping breath, not unlike the sound of someone just rescued from drowning.

Much coughing follows.