[For clarity-- it doesn't quite look like someone left before writing on anything! It's all arranged as if they had already been writing, it's just that there isn't anything there when they look at the papers. Touching the edge of a marking fortunately doesn't do anything besides get a little blood on Wei Wuxian's finger; it seems older, dried.
Pool squad, meanwhile, will be able to get a better look as they draw closer. The water in this pool is red, and as they peer in, there's... something down there? There are several somethings down there.
They may be able to identify the shapes of bodies, within the murky red water. The haze in the air is thicker here.]
Yep. Rum tax. [ beau agrees with majima, following after him. she says like she's not currently misbehaving.
when she peers into the pool, she just immediately makes a face. ] Oh, gross. Those - uh, guys, I'm pretty sure those are bodies down there.
[ she holds onto majima's arm. ] ... Which means we need to be extra careful, because if Wei Wuxain is reminded of his world with this shit, it means those bodies probably can fucking move, dead or not.
[She's far enough away that she doesn't hear about the rum tax, but she'll fight them both? Anyways.
As Beau mentions the bodies, Natalie looks between her and Wei Wuxian, like she's trying to decide who to focus her attention on, while weighing the chances that either of them will do something reckless. But since Majima is already with Beau and Beau just acknowledged she knows she needs to be careful, Natalie will stick where she is.
As he tries to go towards the larger rune, she doesn't protest, but she looks ready to try and pull him back. She trusts nothing in this cave!! As they go:]
[ oh! neat! awesome! once beau calls out about the bodies, majima unhooks the bat from his belt and throws out his arm, both to allow beau to better cling and also to stop her from going any further. he's frowning! a lot! very intense fucky energy about this entire place! ]
Hang back if ya see anything start to move, all right?
[ why does he say that, you might ask? well, it's because he's very slowly bending down, keeping his eye trained on the surface of the water as he pats the ground with his free hand... then, once he's found a small pebble, he straightens back up before tossing it into the pool. #yolo ]
[WELL HE DID SAY DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING, NOT "DON'T THROW A TINY PEBBLE INTO THE BLOOD POOL". He will carefully call over his shoulder:] They probably can! I kept the fierce corpses I raised in a pool like that. [It was a pool of water once to be fair, it just became a pool of blood over time.......
ANYWAY, his shenanigans as a necromancer aside, to Natalie:] I wasn't very popular. [SIMPLY. GOD. He's so stupid. He doesn't want to go into the woeful tale of his village of misfits and their sad little life in the Burial Mounds though, so that more or less suffices, surely!
Time to go inspect this giant circle on the ground, though. He's pretty cautious as he approaches it - perhaps surprisingly so.]
--Stay back a bit, if you would. It could be a summoning circle, but it could also be a binding one.
[It sure could be either of those. As Natalie and Wei Wuxian approach the larger circle, they'll find scattered talismans nearby, both in and out of the circle itself. These have strange symbols written on them, and most are torn or partially burnt; some scattered bits of ash lay between some of them.
Meanwhile, at the blool (the blood pool!)
The surface ripples as the rock plinks into it, but nothing seems to happen, for several moments. Then the water stirs, as the rock is thrown right back out. Once that happens-- the surface ripples once more, some of the bodies that they can see shifting into motion, and a hand reaches up to grip the edge of the pool. It's coated in red, as if slick with blood, and a shape they cannot identify yet begins to pull itself from the pool. A short distance away, another hand clasps the edge and a second figure begins to clamber out of the pool.]
—I leave you alone for literally one minute and we suddenly have zombies? What the fuck?
[AAAAA. She looks at WWX and the circle he's referring to before sighing.]
Don't touch anything that looks weird or dangerous!
[And then she's zooming off to help handle this zombie situation, setting his sleeves free. She's pulling out how dagger as she goes! Does mace even work on zombies? Probably not. Anyways. What's up, zombie army.]
[ beau is yanking him, but majima is fighting against the pull, because, well. it's his fault this is even happening at all! he very firmly shakes his arm to wrench himself out of her grasp as he readies his bat, extending it once again to block her from advancing forward as the zombies begin to rise out of the pool. ]
I said, back off! —And don't think I don't see ya over there, that goes for you, too! [ that warning is yelled in natalie's direction. ]
[WELL. HE IS JUST OVER HERE BY THIS CIRCLE THEN, blinking as Natalie runs off toward the other three. Two vs three is like, a fair-ish match, zombie-wise... maybe??
Hm. Well. If they're even zombies, anyway. He glances between the circle and the pool and back again.]
Aiyo-- Say something, if you need help!
[He's the only professional zombie slayer here, after all... probably. He's. Keeping a wary eye on the group but his curiosity is definitely coming for his wholeass life here, so. FOR NOW AT LEAST, he'll bend down to get a closer look at the scattered talismans and the circle itself. Is it also blood... He looks at the ash, too - reaching to touch some and rub it between his fingers. IS THIS PEOPLE ASH or is it just boring paper ash.]
[I need you to know I'm picturing Majima as the raptor handler in front of these zombies.
Anyway, yes, Wei Wuxian will find it's also blood! The ash is boring paper ash; it looks like maybe some of those talismans were fully burnt up. The circle is, again, something he feels like he just can't read correctly.
Back at the zombie pool, Majima will find himself facing down the first zombie to climb out of the pool, hoisting the rest of its body out and setting its feet on solid rock, drawing itself up to its regular height. It's the body of a man, coated in red, visibly damaged in places-- but still identifiable. It's Saejima that's the first out, staring him down with a single accusing eye as he reaches out a clawed hand.
The second zombie is halfway out by that point, but this figure is familiar to Beau. Again, he's completely red, his body thinner than it should be after an indeterminate amount of time decaying-- but her father's face is still recognizable, pulling himself further out of the pool. Looks like his attention's on her, just as Saejima's is on Majima.
And as Natalie runs over-- more or less as soon as she's set her sights on that pool, a pair of smaller hands grasp the edge. She might identify the top of the head beginning to pop up over the edge as Xion's, but it'll take her a little longer to clamber out.]
okay. well. she should've been expecting this. she really should've. it's funny, because the man crawling out of the pool doesn't look very imposing. he's older, grey at the temples, dark hair with a widow's peak - a rounded face. but she knows him immediately, and the others will too, because despite the blood and gauntness, he looks like her.
she takes a step back, unsteadily. and then another. it's not real. it's not him. but. ]
[It's not them, no. She knows that, she gets that, but it doesn't stop her heart from skipping a beat when she sees the small figure beginning to make her way out of the pool. She stares, and after a long moment, shrill and directed at Beau and Majima—]
Don't touch them!
[They're climbing out, but she doesn't know what they're planning to do yet. If they aren't violent, if they don't want to hurt anyone... She doesn't want either of them to react recklessly.]
[ touching the bodies climbing out of the blool was never on his mind, but he, too, is frozen in place as "his" zombie emerges. the figure is a large, hulking man with long hair, even bigger than majima himself despite somehow being the younger of the pair.
his grip on the bat doesn't slacken, though; if anything, he clutches it so hard his knuckles turn bone white. even though he'd spoken with such authority mere moments ago when he'd told the girls to stay back, there's a quiver in his voice now that's at odds with his usual demeanor, his remaining eye wide with disbelief as he rasps, ]
. . . Bro?
[ the other three may as well not be here; right now, it's just him and his sworn brother, just like old times. ]
[He hate these fuckin weirdass runes godDAMN!!! Does the circle look broken in any parts, or is it just these fucky talismans that have been left around and totally trashed? He's peeling a ruined one up off the floor to get a closer look, since it's half-burnt anyway. Is it the same can't-quite-read going on here, too?
That said, hm. Things over near the blood pool don't sound like they're going good... He pushes himself back up from the ground and wipes the ash and any dried blood that flaked off on his fingers onto his nasty, nasty gremlin robes. He stays where he is for now, though - three for three. Not hard to tell that if he joined them, it'd be four for four. Also, he has none weapons, at least they have some over there. But he's tense, watching, and takes a step toward them. He's coiling like a spring, ready to dash his way over in case they need backup.]
--Don't forget that it isn't real! What you see in here - it's not real!
[As Beau steps back, the corpse of her father follows her, pursuing. Like Saejima, he has an arm outstretched with clawed fingers reaching out toward her-- but he doesn't appear to be taking a swipe. It's more that he's attempting to grab hold.
It's the same with Saejima. If Majima doesn't back away, he just continues to approach, and will take hold of his arm if not stopped; if he isn't, Majima will find that grip is inhumanly strong.
Xion finally pulls herself all the way out, and just like the others, makes her way toward Natalie. There's an almost pleading look on her face along with that outstretched, claw-tipped hand, and she limps along with one broken leg.
Anyway Wei Wuxian is having a fine time with his papers, meanwhile. The circle sure does look broken, in four different places! He can't quite read the talismans, either.]
she's not sure she can bring herself to kill him, though, to hurt him at all. for as much as she can't forgive him, she still... she can't stop herself from reaching out. he's not trying to hurt her, she thinks. it'd be easier if he was trying to hurt her. ]
[Her dagger is still tucked away inside the bag. She can't bring herself to take it out. She can't bring herself to do - much of anything, honestly, whether that's to return Xion's reach or to take a step back. Like Beau, she stays there, more conflicted than anything else. She won't stop her from trying to grab her arm, even if she looks - a little bit terrified, honestly.]
[ majima doesn't actually let the zombie touch him; he jerks his arm away before it can close its gnarled fingers around it, moving back just enough to ready his bat in his other hand. ]
Hah... I was stayin' alive for you this whole time, bro. Ya can't do this kinda shit to me when I'm still kickin'. Not you, not the friends ya brought with ya... c'mon.
[ they're still in the peripheral of his one good eye, but—at least he's acknowledging that beau and natalie there again, before the red miasma can blind him once more. he twirls the bat in his hand, now starting to edge himself over toward the other two and their counterparts while still keeping saejima in his focus. ]
To be honest, I'd rather stay here and try to finish this circle!
[It's the curious demonic scientist in him hopping out... He wants to know what the fuck is happening here?? If it's meant to be a sealing spell, it'd probably be a good idea to finish if, since it's fuckin BROKEN. But if it's something else, hm. Hm.
Well, anyway, just because he'd rather stay here doesn't mean he will. He just tosses the talisman over his shoulder for now and takes a few steps closer, though he's still only like halfway between the pool and circle.]
Don't underestimate them! If they're anything like the fierce corpses I know of, they're stronger and much, much sturdier than any sort of human.
[IF IT LOOKS LIKE BEAU AND NATALIE ARE GONNA GET FUCKIN GRABBED AND THROTTLED THOUGH he'll zip over, but he doesn't want to add +1 extra zombie to this pile of 3 zombies okay.]
[Well! Good job not getting touched, Majima. His zombie is still approaching, still focused, but he is spared the grab; as he moves closer, it doesn't disrupt the others' focus on their own targets.
Even though Wei Wuxian is keeping his distance, though... is that another pair of hands reaching out of the water? Hm. That could get bad.
And as for Beau & Natalie... once the corpses grab hold of them, they do not let go. Their grip is strong, tight, and they tug insistently at both girls as they take a step back toward the pool, clearly intent on dragging them both in.]
[ oh, yeah, okay, no. she's not going in the blool.
she tries to wrench away - but it's stronger than it looks, and she doesn't have a whole lot of upper body strength at the moment, which is why she gets dragged a good couple of feet. her shoulder screams, and out of self preservation, she uses her brass knuckles to try and punch the arm grabbing her. get off, get off, get off.
a bit frantic: ]
Wuxian, fucking grab Natalie! [ SHE'S FINE save the teen ]
Maybe grab the person who got the shit beat out of her a few weeks ago! I'm fine!
[She's digging her heels in and pulling back as much as she can as soon as she realizes what's happening, which means she probably doesn't get dragged quite as far as Beau. With her free arm, she's finally pulling the dagger out of her bag, but she - hesitates. She takes a breath, and though she knows it isn't really her friend:]
I'm sorry.
[That's said before she digs the blade into Xion's arm, trying to get her to let go.]
Will finishin' that circle grant us a can of Zom-B-Gone?!
[ even though the adrenaline is definitely starting to pump as he yells at wei wuxian, it's the girls panicking that gets majima to spring into action, and it's with a sudden spinning kick that he launches off saejima's body toward his companions. even though there's no doubt about his physical strength, he's never been focused on pure bulk, and maybe his agility will give him an edge on these "fierce corpses," whatever the hell those are.
his first instinct is to go for natalie, simply because she's younger and not as physically adept as beau—but he quickly changes his mind once he sees the flash of natalie's dagger as beau's voice is wracked with pain. ]
Ya know, the kid's got a point, Wonder Woman—!
[ it's not that he doesn't believe in her, but like natalie said, she is injured, so—sorry not sorry beaupapa, you're getting a double whammy of knuckle and bat. ]
[SINCE MAJIMA'S GOT BEAU HANDLED, Wei Wuxian will zoom over toward Natalie! He keeps an eye on those extra pair of hands, but more so he can see what size of zombie he's going to have to fight with here. BRING ON SHIJIE, BRING ON LAN WANGJI, HE'S CONSTANTLY ON THE EDGE OF HYSTERICS ANYWAY IT'S FINE HE DOESN'T EVEN CARE JUST FCKIN STAB HIM.
First though!! He darts between Natalie and her zombie, shoving harshly at her center as Natalie digs into her arm. With his free hand, he reaches to pull Natalie herself back.]
Knocking the head off may not be enough! Try aiming for the abdomen, too! Get them back into the pool if you can—!
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Pool squad, meanwhile, will be able to get a better look as they draw closer. The water in this pool is red, and as they peer in, there's... something down there? There are several somethings down there.
They may be able to identify the shapes of bodies, within the murky red water. The haze in the air is thicker here.]
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when she peers into the pool, she just immediately makes a face. ] Oh, gross. Those - uh, guys, I'm pretty sure those are bodies down there.
[ she holds onto majima's arm. ] ... Which means we need to be extra careful, because if Wei Wuxain is reminded of his world with this shit, it means those bodies probably can fucking move, dead or not.
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I've got it handled!
[She's far enough away that she doesn't hear about the rum tax, but she'll fight them both? Anyways.
As Beau mentions the bodies, Natalie looks between her and Wei Wuxian, like she's trying to decide who to focus her attention on, while weighing the chances that either of them will do something reckless. But since Majima is already with Beau and Beau just acknowledged she knows she needs to be careful, Natalie will stick where she is.
As he tries to go towards the larger rune, she doesn't protest, but she looks ready to try and pull him back. She trusts nothing in this cave!! As they go:]
Dude. Why did you live in a cave?
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Hang back if ya see anything start to move, all right?
[ why does he say that, you might ask? well, it's because he's very slowly bending down, keeping his eye trained on the surface of the water as he pats the ground with his free hand... then, once he's found a small pebble, he straightens back up before tossing it into the pool. #yolo ]
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ANYWAY, his shenanigans as a necromancer aside, to Natalie:] I wasn't very popular. [SIMPLY. GOD. He's so stupid. He doesn't want to go into the woeful tale of his village of misfits and their sad little life in the Burial Mounds though, so that more or less suffices, surely!
Time to go inspect this giant circle on the ground, though. He's pretty cautious as he approaches it - perhaps surprisingly so.]
--Stay back a bit, if you would. It could be a summoning circle, but it could also be a binding one.
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Meanwhile, at the blool (the blood pool!)
The surface ripples as the rock plinks into it, but nothing seems to happen, for several moments. Then the water stirs, as the rock is thrown right back out. Once that happens-- the surface ripples once more, some of the bodies that they can see shifting into motion, and a hand reaches up to grip the edge of the pool. It's coated in red, as if slick with blood, and a shape they cannot identify yet begins to pull itself from the pool. A short distance away, another hand clasps the edge and a second figure begins to clamber out of the pool.]
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beau just yelps and grabs majima to yank him backwards. ]
What the fuck! [ she's... okay, well, she has her pink brass knuckles so guess she's using those, but. ] Guys, we've got zombies!
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[AAAAA. She looks at WWX and the circle he's referring to before sighing.]
Don't touch anything that looks weird or dangerous!
[And then she's zooming off to help handle this zombie situation, setting his sleeves free. She's pulling out how dagger as she goes! Does mace even work on zombies? Probably not. Anyways. What's up, zombie army.]
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I said, back off! —And don't think I don't see ya over there, that goes for you, too! [ that warning is yelled in natalie's direction. ]
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Hm. Well. If they're even zombies, anyway. He glances between the circle and the pool and back again.]
Aiyo-- Say something, if you need help!
[He's the only professional zombie slayer here, after all... probably. He's. Keeping a wary eye on the group but his curiosity is definitely coming for his wholeass life here, so. FOR NOW AT LEAST, he'll bend down to get a closer look at the scattered talismans and the circle itself. Is it also blood... He looks at the ash, too - reaching to touch some and rub it between his fingers. IS THIS PEOPLE ASH or is it just boring paper ash.]
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Anyway, yes, Wei Wuxian will find it's also blood! The ash is boring paper ash; it looks like maybe some of those talismans were fully burnt up. The circle is, again, something he feels like he just can't read correctly.
Back at the zombie pool, Majima will find himself facing down the first zombie to climb out of the pool, hoisting the rest of its body out and setting its feet on solid rock, drawing itself up to its regular height. It's the body of a man, coated in red, visibly damaged in places-- but still identifiable. It's Saejima that's the first out, staring him down with a single accusing eye as he reaches out a clawed hand.
The second zombie is halfway out by that point, but this figure is familiar to Beau. Again, he's completely red, his body thinner than it should be after an indeterminate amount of time decaying-- but her father's face is still recognizable, pulling himself further out of the pool. Looks like his attention's on her, just as Saejima's is on Majima.
And as Natalie runs over-- more or less as soon as she's set her sights on that pool, a pair of smaller hands grasp the edge. She might identify the top of the head beginning to pop up over the edge as Xion's, but it'll take her a little longer to clamber out.]
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okay. well. she should've been expecting this. she really should've. it's funny, because the man crawling out of the pool doesn't look very imposing. he's older, grey at the temples, dark hair with a widow's peak - a rounded face. but she knows him immediately, and the others will too, because despite the blood and gauntness, he looks like her.
she takes a step back, unsteadily. and then another. it's not real. it's not him. but. ]
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Don't touch them!
[They're climbing out, but she doesn't know what they're planning to do yet. If they aren't violent, if they don't want to hurt anyone... She doesn't want either of them to react recklessly.]
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his grip on the bat doesn't slacken, though; if anything, he clutches it so hard his knuckles turn bone white. even though he'd spoken with such authority mere moments ago when he'd told the girls to stay back, there's a quiver in his voice now that's at odds with his usual demeanor, his remaining eye wide with disbelief as he rasps, ]
. . . Bro?
[ the other three may as well not be here; right now, it's just him and his sworn brother, just like old times. ]
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That said, hm. Things over near the blood pool don't sound like they're going good... He pushes himself back up from the ground and wipes the ash and any dried blood that flaked off on his fingers onto his nasty, nasty gremlin robes. He stays where he is for now, though - three for three. Not hard to tell that if he joined them, it'd be four for four. Also, he has none weapons, at least they have some over there. But he's tense, watching, and takes a step toward them. He's coiling like a spring, ready to dash his way over in case they need backup.]
--Don't forget that it isn't real! What you see in here - it's not real!
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It's the same with Saejima. If Majima doesn't back away, he just continues to approach, and will take hold of his arm if not stopped; if he isn't, Majima will find that grip is inhumanly strong.
Xion finally pulls herself all the way out, and just like the others, makes her way toward Natalie. There's an almost pleading look on her face along with that outstretched, claw-tipped hand, and she limps along with one broken leg.
Anyway Wei Wuxian is having a fine time with his papers, meanwhile. The circle sure does look broken, in four different places! He can't quite read the talismans, either.]
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she's not sure she can bring herself to kill him, though, to hurt him at all. for as much as she can't forgive him, she still... she can't stop herself from reaching out. he's not trying to hurt her, she thinks. it'd be easier if he was trying to hurt her. ]
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Hah... I was stayin' alive for you this whole time, bro. Ya can't do this kinda shit to me when I'm still kickin'. Not you, not the friends ya brought with ya... c'mon.
[ they're still in the peripheral of his one good eye, but—at least he's acknowledging that beau and natalie there again, before the red miasma can blind him once more. he twirls the bat in his hand, now starting to edge himself over toward the other two and their counterparts while still keeping saejima in his focus. ]
Oi! Wanna join the reunion party, Wei-han?
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[It's the curious demonic scientist in him hopping out... He wants to know what the fuck is happening here?? If it's meant to be a sealing spell, it'd probably be a good idea to finish if, since it's fuckin BROKEN. But if it's something else, hm. Hm.
Well, anyway, just because he'd rather stay here doesn't mean he will. He just tosses the talisman over his shoulder for now and takes a few steps closer, though he's still only like halfway between the pool and circle.]
Don't underestimate them! If they're anything like the fierce corpses I know of, they're stronger and much, much sturdier than any sort of human.
[IF IT LOOKS LIKE BEAU AND NATALIE ARE GONNA GET FUCKIN GRABBED AND THROTTLED THOUGH he'll zip over, but he doesn't want to add +1 extra zombie to this pile of 3 zombies okay.]
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Even though Wei Wuxian is keeping his distance, though... is that another pair of hands reaching out of the water? Hm. That could get bad.
And as for Beau & Natalie... once the corpses grab hold of them, they do not let go. Their grip is strong, tight, and they tug insistently at both girls as they take a step back toward the pool, clearly intent on dragging them both in.]
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she tries to wrench away - but it's stronger than it looks, and she doesn't have a whole lot of upper body strength at the moment, which is why she gets dragged a good couple of feet. her shoulder screams, and out of self preservation, she uses her brass knuckles to try and punch the arm grabbing her. get off, get off, get off.
a bit frantic: ]
Wuxian, fucking grab Natalie! [ SHE'S FINE save the teen ]
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[She's digging her heels in and pulling back as much as she can as soon as she realizes what's happening, which means she probably doesn't get dragged quite as far as Beau. With her free arm, she's finally pulling the dagger out of her bag, but she - hesitates. She takes a breath, and though she knows it isn't really her friend:]
I'm sorry.
[That's said before she digs the blade into Xion's arm, trying to get her to let go.]
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[ even though the adrenaline is definitely starting to pump as he yells at wei wuxian, it's the girls panicking that gets majima to spring into action, and it's with a sudden spinning kick that he launches off saejima's body toward his companions. even though there's no doubt about his physical strength, he's never been focused on pure bulk, and maybe his agility will give him an edge on these "fierce corpses," whatever the hell those are.
his first instinct is to go for natalie, simply because she's younger and not as physically adept as beau—but he quickly changes his mind once he sees the flash of natalie's dagger as beau's voice is wracked with pain. ]
Ya know, the kid's got a point, Wonder Woman—!
[ it's not that he doesn't believe in her, but like natalie said, she is injured, so—sorry not sorry beaupapa, you're getting a double whammy of knuckle and bat. ]
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First though!! He darts between Natalie and her zombie, shoving harshly at her center as Natalie digs into her arm. With his free hand, he reaches to pull Natalie herself back.]
Knocking the head off may not be enough! Try aiming for the abdomen, too! Get them back into the pool if you can—!
[Literally Luffy.gif it.]
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