Mystery of the Ocean Hardcore Royale Thread

A ripple in the action, a viper uncoiling into the fray. Lockhart seems to appear out of nowhere, both fists pumping lefts and rights into the dome of anyone fool enough to get in his way. He turns and catches a flare gun to the face as Addy fires it off.

It causes him to sneeze.

Behind Addy and the glowing eyes, a silver death mask emerges.

“Our greatest adversary, how wonderful to see you.”

The demon ZMAC turns into me to catch a spear to the chest. Bull lifts him up and slams the projectile into the wall with the demon on it.

“This reminds us of good times.”

Bull turns and as Addy turns from Lockhart, Bull punts her in the lower regions, lifting her a good three feet off the ground before she crumpled into a heap.

“We understand you need a real force to fill that gap. It looks like we accomplished the job.”

Bull looks to Lockhart.

“Reap these souls.”

Lockhart grins and wades into the fray once again.

Bulls not done with the demon- this drowned gawd

As Lockhart and Addy battle it out of the room, Corey bull looks at his old foe with intrigue and confusion.

He studies him for signs of life

There ain't ever been. There ain't ever will be.

Whoever- whatever this was, it's not who the bull thought it to be.

He goes to leave but stops in the doorway. He looks back and zmac is standing there.. both harpoon in hand.

Bull rushes and hits a big boot. Zmac crashes to the deck below.

Zmac is gone

In the ballroom, there’s another wack that echoes out through the pitch black. Light moves across the room in a flicker and Will goes for a death blow. This time, however, Hachiman is able to catch the end of the wooden bat with his left hand out of pure reflex. The two wrestle over control of the weapon. Will pushes it down towards Hachiman’s throat and Hachi summons all the strength in his upper body to maintain survival. With a push back in the other direction, Hachiman sends the handle of the bat shooting up into Will’s face and colliding with his nose. The hit sends a wave of blood shooting across Will, Hachiman, and the area around them. Hachiman hits another and Will goes limp.

Hachiman’s face has seen better days as well as he retrieves the bat himself and uses it like a cane to prop himself up to his feet. He makes his way gingerly through the kitchen doors he’d just launched Alice through. They swing behind him as the sound of clanging metal is enough to get a subtle flinch. A feminine chuckle bounces from surface to surface and her voice calls to him.

Alice: Oh no, Hachi! What happened to you?! Are you okay?! You don’t look so good. Here..let’s take a closer look.

Lights on and he finds himself staring down the matriarch. Hachiman opts for offense over defense this time though. He places one hand on each end of the bat and jams the side forward into Alice’s throat. With Alice out of the way, Hachi looks for the next set of doors. Freedom, perhaps? He continues his march, but doesn’t get more than a few feet out before a row of burners come to life and Mr. Walker is on top of Hachiman a hand across the back of his neck driving his face towards burning flame. Hachi again wields the bat to his advantage and drives the end into Robert’s midsection. He grabs hold of his foe’s hand and jams it into the fire. Robert screams out in pain and begins thrashing around the kitchen in search of relief. Hachiman looks over his shoulder at the scene and continues once more. He pushes through the next set of doors out into the night and lets the outside air fill his lungs, making his way towards the railing to his right and collapsing down against it.

Hachiman looks up towards one of the speakers as the slow, worn voice plays out once more.

?: Hachi, you just stay right there. Take the rest. You earned it after all. We’ll be back for you later. Besides, looks like we’ve got more pressing matters to tend to.

The scene shifts from a bloody Hachiman panting like a dog along the rail to Salvatore patrolling a lower deck bathroom. With a flashlight in hand, he shines his beam on each stall. He centers the beam and lifts a boot up, slamming it towards each stall door. They fly open and smack against their own inside walls. One after another, he gets the same exact result: empty. He goes to the mirrors and takes a good look into his own eyes. While steering clear and scouting a majority of the action from a distance to this point, putting himself amongst the storm of blurred reality has left him looking sleepless. He shakes his head in an attempt to dismiss the situation. With a clockwise twist of a knob, water pours down into his hands and is subsequently thrown up into his own face. He turns the knob back and shakes droplets from his hands.

When he pushes back up, he sees a second face in the mirror. Salvatore turns to a smiling Will and lands a spinning backfist. He sends the Walker boy back into one of the empty stalls from the impact, but doesn’t look to let up. He dashes in and grabs a wrist, throwing Will towards the sink. Salvatore climbs on top of the marbled surface and pulls Will up with him.

?: Come on now. Surely we can work something out, right?

He ignores the voice and smashes Will’s face into the mirror, sending glass everywhere. Will rolls off onto the bathroom floor and begins crawling away in search of something to pull himself up with. Before Salvatore can hop down and proceed with the assault, ZMAC appears out of thin air just like everyone has for this entire match and drives a knee into Salvatore’s back. He hooks an arm around the back of his head and yanks him down for a neckbreaker that drives both men through sink itself.

Leonora: I want a wide angle from skycam. Get everything in the ring. Camera 4, you go anywhere the bastard goes.

Over the coms, the out of breath camera man wants to know which bastard. In this world and on this boat, it is a valid question.

Leo: The bastard warlord.

She is seated in front of a wall of monitors. Black Pyramid's usual broadcast director is curled up in a corner on the floor, a little terrified and more than a little turned on.

Leo glances to her right. She's editing bits of the madness before her together for the next SPL commercial. Miss Ainsworth is on a loop on the top left screen, furiously kicking Corey Bull in the balls, chasing him around the deck for more as he tries to squirm away. She smiles, making a note to get Adelaide on the show ASAP. She splices in a shot of The golden idol brandishing a leather paddle. She shakes her head disapprovingly. She'd like to show him the right way to swing one of those.

There are shouts and crashes reverberating through the deck plates over their heads. Carter Shaw has been doing tai chi in the back of the room and doesn't let the sound disrupt his harmony. The two women dancing on poles at the start of the show are having a playful tug of war over Marx's briefcase.

Mr. Shaw: Good thing you posted all these bodyguards, BT.

Marx: These Jabberwock guys? They're not bodyguards. They are here to make people think I actually need bodyguards. There's a lesson here, Mr. Shaw. What you see is rarely what's actually happening.

Shaw nods. This isn't the sort of training he thought he'd be getting from the retired boxer/TV personality, but he's learning. Marx turns his attention to the wall of monitors.

Marx: This is great, Leo.

Leo: it's Leo when you're on camera for all these idiots. It's best for my career. Anywhere else, Miss Albright. Got it?

Marx looks quickly over the monitors twice, a sinking realization hits him like his legendary left hook.

Marx: uh, Miss Albright? Where is Boris? I don't like the idea of him off without supervision.

Leo: The simp with the sax? We're live. He's your problem. Camera two, tight on Lockhart….. Somebody find me that weird demon porpoise guy! …..How should I know? He's nuts and he's controlling the weather? We need ratings, people!

Marx: Shaw take the briefcase and find Boris.

Mr. Shaw: What should I do when I find him?

Marx: What you always do. Hold my briefcase. Keep your head down out there kid.

Mr. Shaw: yes boss!

Leo: Eyes and Ears open. We've got a lot of people right where I want them tonight.

Her hand moves to the golden web pendant around her neck. The odd stone in the center catches the light bewitchingly.

Mr. Shaw: Will do, Miss Albright.

She whips her wheelchair around to face him.

Leo: Oh…YOU can call me L.J., my dear.

She bites her lower lip, fixing Shaw with a look Harvey has heard of but not seen before this moment.

That look cost Sheldon Osbourne seven hundred million dollars.

We fade out as Marx observes the chaos spilling across the monitors.

Marx: I love my job.

Hachiman shimmies up the red and black piping, steam blasting as their meters shows the overtaxed systems at play. He reaches a foothold to get the prize he spotted on the way down. He then King Kong's his way back towards the ground level. A random burst, however, spits in his face and sends him landing hard to the metal grates making up its diamond print floor. Hachiman goes fetal for a moment, clutching onto an enormous pipe wrench.

That's when Lockhart reaches down and snatches it like candy from a large and very strange baby. He goes for a strike, but the gigantic vise on top gives him a more sinister idea. He applies the wrench to Hachiman's dome with enough force to hold him in place. His victim groans, begging the pain to stop when the cavalry arrives to wear down the tree trunk legs of Lockhart.

This swarm causes him to abandon the pressure on Hachiman's head and begins swinging wildly and wide at the Walkers. Stupidity takes all forms; for Hachiman, it gives him wings - soaring from his vulnerable place to put a rear naked choke on the monstrous general.

Bull rushes to his aid by wrapping this ghastly flea in about eight feet of emergency firehose until Hachiman has been restrained. He and Lockhart stand their ground while the Walkers move into an attack formation - all of them now holding random heavy duty tools. Hachiman, meanwhile, rolls about just thrashing like a baby seal.