Jinx scrapped her boot carefully on untarnished stone, snapping her fingers to magically clean whatever viscera remained. "The whole point of the 'void' being called void is that it's supposed to be void of stuff. It's the antimatter to matter, darkness to light, hamburger to pizza. Even if it naturally hosted something similar to life, it should be the opposite of most mortals: unaging, mostly unconscious beings who don't need to eat." The Majin frowned, thoughtful. "I don't have any reason to doubt it NOT being void; it's chock full of enough negative energy to make a Shinjin keel over at the first whiff, but the thought that it's a gateway to some pre-existing ecosystem is whack, yo."
She trailed along after Striker, peeking down the side tunnel, unfortunately much darker than the main route they came from. Jinx sighed, forming a high-powered sports flashlight to hand off to Striker while she summoned a flare in her spare hand. Striking the fuse, the hissing red light went tumbling down the corridor, eerie glow revealing a LOT more trails of blood, both dried and fresh. "Ah. Think we're on the right track!" It was kind of refreshing. Stomping around on the ground like a regular mortal, as if she wasn't some sort of hyper-powered battle beast that could level cities with a sneeze.
Well, can't say Striker isn't creative with her ideas. Even if void creatures come from a void space rather than just being made for the soul purpose of being FROM the void rift was starting to just overload her head with too much VOID talk. Striker just shrugged and agreed to the summation Jinx gave, waiting for her to catch up to her side and eye the tunnel with her. She lets her lead this time, catching the flashlight in a single hand and flicking it back on. She knew her way around manual torches.
"Yeah, I think so! Lead the way, pink menace." She giggled a bit and would just about as carefully step around the tunnel with her. Unlike some magic majins, she didn't have the ease of cleaning off her boots or gloves. Her flashlight and eyes scanned around for any more strange things outside blood and meaty chunks left behind. The small drone buzzed behind them and flashed its own little light. The three amigos were filling this darker offshoot with enough light to compensate now, surely.
"I know it was a far-fetched concept, but if it were some gate to a void-dimension or something rad sounding like that, would that mean they could hide anyone on the other side or are we sure it'd be on this side of it?" Concern was there if they were just going to run in some offshoot rift they'd have to burst through to solve any problem, or if they even could.
"From what I heard, an uber-powerful Demon decided to use this city as a staging ground and opened that rift on purpose. I don't know why, but my best guess is they wanted to use the negative energy of the void to empower themselves. That sort of thing is dangerous! Even nasty, evil Demons aren't naturally acclimated to RAW negative energy. Some can harness and use it, but that comes with undesirable side effects." Why over a city? If the troublemaker was already strong enough to tear open a gateway, why not do it in the wilderness where'd it take much longer for anyone to come by and stop them?
"...Huh. Maybe you're right? I can't see why else the big bad decided to do it here. If they could harness void energies, they could potentially even CONTROL the spawn! An extremely powerful, infinitely respawning army of monsters... sheesh. The only problem with that theory is, well, there's no big bad around to wrangle them. I can't imagine doing this to destroy the place was more effective than just bombing it with nerve gas." Granted, this was a lot harder to clean up without the express help of a negatively charged being OR a positively charged one with enough raw power to overcome it.
"Secondary rifts...? Gosh, I hope the faucet doesn't have additional leaks. We'd have to plug ALL of them before trying to turn off the tap, and that'd be a monumental amount of work!"
"Huh. See, I only caught a lot of this from what was on the immediate news and what my employer told me. Guess I didn't have the exact full picture why he'd do this in the first place other than to be evil 'n stuff. But just like every other lameo out there, it was a power grab. Even when they won it seemed they lost though, he didn't stick around. So these critters are off their leash and fending for themselves." Striker stepped over nearly half a leg and grimaced, shaking her head down at it as she gulped and pulled her thoughts towards something less painfully nauseous.
"Secondary rifts, a source on the other side of the rift. I'm working here with way more ignorance than you and even you are stumped, so I have got to ask we be extra careful. If we find out something like this can't be solved from our end we may have to wait. Put a mark down to remember where it is and come back. Maybe grab those friends from that group you talked about wanting me in. Cause, as tough as I am, I don't think I could take a whole planet's worth of them if that's even a possibility."
"I guess so!" Still, no attempt to come back for them? Leaving the spawn to mill about aimlessly like some cancer-ridden body where they'd endlessly attract the ire of the locals seemed like a bad plan. If the Demon had been defeated or killed, they shouldn't have had the time or energy to open the rift. Jinx didn't want to dismiss the idea it was a last ditch 'fuck you' effort with the last of their power, but that didn't seem likely. This sort of permanent scar took serious effort and concentration to upkeep. Jinx stopped in her tracks, holding a hand for Striker to do the same.
"Check THAT out!" A bulbous, white-glowing growth was nestled in the wall, veins of black ichor anchoring it in places. Stray pieces of flesh and blood stripes were stuck to the surface, pulsating as if the plant-like thing was digesting it. "I'll check it out. I'm immune to corruption, infection, or whatever other nasty it could try pulling on me." Jinx wandered over, poking the center growth experimentally. The bulb shriveled slightly in itself, vibrating intensely. "Gross! Imma kill it." Rearing an arm back, the Majin drove her fist straight into the growth, popping it like a pimple.
Almost immediately, the dark veins retracted, dying off like roots in the summer sun. "Sooo, I agree with you on the portal stuff. Probably not a good idea to go in within backup, but these things LOOK pretty important and are in our dimension. We should smash 'em!"
Striker spun around a few times, making sure nothing went into a secret tunnel or anything all while the drone kept head and only really turned when one of them spotted anything. So by the time Jinx threw her hand up to stop her approach, Striker was turned back around and smacked into it pretty much face first. A yelp followed by a groan of annoyance popped out of her from instinct as she hopped up and batted the hand away.
"Hey, what was that for!?- Oh." Striker was a bit disgusted, but also intrigued by the almost tumerous looking growth on the side of the wall. This bulb of flesh sprawled out like a flower, digesting whatever was in its maw. It was so bizarre to see against the concrete walls. The drone almost immediately spun on itself to face it, training its big light on it as Jinx pummeled it with a single fist. With a fluid motion it seems she killed the thing, making it pop out with a nasty fleshy burst.
Striker had to sidestep behind Jinx to dodge some sprayed meat juice.
"Oh, come on, couldn't it have been just a pile of dead Konatsians??? Rotting dead konatsians???" She complained, but eventually straightened up and pulled herself away from Jinx's behind. Clearing her throat and looking the thing over again. It hits her then that she should probably jar some of the remains. Taking one of the last empty ones and picking some of the gross filament left behind by the pop and squeezing it on in. Thank kami she wore gloves.
"You know what, you're probably right. If not destruction, we can at least stifle their growth in the meantime. You... lead the way, if you will. You seem to have a knack for dealing with them."
Impossibly clean, Jinx shook her hand free of remaining meaty goop. "That would be too easy! These spawn love making everything as difficult as possible for us." Black tendrils were left behind, dark enough that they seemed to absorb the light that graced their surface. "Yeesh. That bulby thing was being fed on by something ELSE void-like too. I don't really get how any of this feeds back into tethering the main rift, but I ain't a scientist." Whatever scientist Striker was reporting back to would be ecstatic, given the fresh sample she jarred. "That's morbid!" She noted cheerily, turning back to the side tunnel.
Lead the way, huh? "Gotcha! I'm better suited for it. Bet you're glad I tagged along!" Jinx paused, eyes squinting. "Do you feel that?" The ground rumbled. Almost imperceptibly at first, but as the two spoke, it had grown stronger. "You don't think those-" A chattering roar echoed down the tunnel from where they had come, Jinx blinking. "I don't think they're happy with us. Annnd if we keep popping zits, them not liking me isn't gonna keep anything at bay!" The Majin spun, starting to rush in the opposite direction. "I'll go as fast as I can! Think you can try and keep those things off us?"
Yeah, neither of them were scientists. That's why she wasn't wasting time looking over the dang things herself and just bottling them for later. Striker just put it in the pack as she sealed it and waved the majin off.
"You just put your fist through it, don't even start with me girlie!" Jinx was a LITTLE too into the whole act of leading, even if she only wanted her to do it because these stinky plants were no good for someone who can't easily clean themselves. Striker was a bit cautious about that step, seeing it as a transgression of some sort. She's used to being her own lady or top dog, not someone to follow the lead on something. Unless it was an employer. Even then, it was almost certainly on her own terms.
"Huh, feel wha-" She heard it before her feet could feel it. Striker turned a bit to see the roar of dissociated void beasts start to flood the tunnels. Echoing and rumbling the sides of the tunnels on their way in. They found them, and knew exactly where they were from the busted flesh pod things. She clenches her fists and raising her flashlight with one hand and snapping her fingers with another. A spark of green lightning flies off her hand as she nods and starts backing away with the majin's forwards movement. She managed to keep up despite keeping an eye behind them.
"They're quick, but they aren't me. I should be able to keep them away while we run. Just don't take too long any individual flower thing you find, yeah?" The alien prepared herself as the flood first breached the offshoot tunnel they started down. The clock bore down on them now.
"I'm just gonna hit 'em really hard again!" Jinx replied happily, already spotting her next fleshy victim, opting to shoot it with a generous burst of magic instead. The ranged shot did the trick still, breaking the bulb and splattering weird void calorie soup content all over the floor. "The cleanup on this city is gonna suck big time." She noted casually, keeping up her frantic pace. If Jinx was alone, she'd collapse the tunnel on the spawns' heads and simply squeeze her way out, but the Majin didn't wish to bury Striker in rubble along with them. The Fauxbian would probably SURVIVE, but it wouldn't be pleasant.
Luckily it only took about half a minute of top-speed flower-busting beast-smacking action before the side access tunnel opened out onto a larger reservoir area, bigger than the inside of most houses. Jinx was SLIGHTLY ahead of Striker, kicking the grates off with a lazy boot before jumping out of the pipe. "BOMB!" She'd holler back, tossing a bright pink THING at Striker with a helpful few-second timer on it. Hopefully, she'd get the message and chuck it toward the encroaching beasts now that they had some room to work with.
Not that it was desirable room. The reservoir was choked and clogged by cancerous crimson growths, corrupted by void as blood-red sewage poured in from other pipes in the area. At the center rested a humongous bulbed flower, Jinx eyeing it suspiciously. It wouldn't be long before more spawns showed up to try and kick their asses, so decisions needed to be snappy! "Do we just, uh, smash that one too? I don't want to trigger some sort of boss fight without your getting a say."
If Jinx wanted a distraction, Striker was more than willing to cooperate. it beat sticking near her all the time and risking getting flesh juice all over her. When Jinx had the chance to collapse the place behind them, Striker intentionally sped up to meet the closest void beasts. Appearing as a blur of motion as she span through them like a whirl. Toppling some of them over and providing the Majin that bit of a safety net to make sure she could get all of them behind that imminent rubble. And before she can even think Striker could be in danger of getting trapped back there, the rodent was back by her side flashing a salute at her.
She might have been twice her power, but that would have been hard to follow even if she weren't maxed out right now. The drone was quick to hug close to the pair as they seemed to ready that plan.
"Toss away, Jinx!" She'd cover her ears as shte imminent blast echoed and amplified throughout the tunnel system, crashing debris overhead and subsequently behind them. Roars of desperation start to become muffled as the creatures at the direct flank are smothered by their quick thinking. Striker offered a high five to the green majin just before they hit a sewage reservoir full of these growths and pouring with putrid crimson. Most of it coagulated.
"Sheesh..." Striker took one look down and whistled at the mass they were looking at before staring back up at Jinx. There was a serious look on her face for a moment as she considered the harm that could come from this... but this was what she was here for. She flashed that grin again and pointed at herself with a thumb.
"Pfft, let's tear this whole place up. We can handle plenty of them, surely there won't be some big void creature menace that comes crashing through the ceiling for revenge, right?"
Jinx did not believe in jinxing things. That was why she had picked that name; it was a silly little reference to mortal superstition of bad things inevitably coming to pass if you mentioned it. Even so, Striker saying THAT aloud? "Surely not. That would be far too cliche." The Majin nodded sagely, turning back to the massive bulb. Unlike the wall ones, this would take a bit more heavy lifting to actually destroy. Jinx thought for a moment, a devious smile forming on her face. "Clap of Thunder!" Adopting the same picture-perfect pose Salvo had struck when using the technique, Jinx launched the stolen explosive wave!
Anticipating the blowback, an oversized umbrella placed itself between the duo and the bulb, keeping them safe from the disgusting shower that coated the room in sludge as the growth was killed. It was silent for a moment; Jinx's head craned upward to await the imaginary ceiling monster Striker had predicted. A moment passed. Then two. "Huh, maybe-" Without warning, the room burst to life, a deep rumbling gurgle emanating from the liquid-choked floor as giant black tendrils erupted. One wrapped around Jinx tightly, squeezing her like a dog toy and hoisting the Majin high up into the air as she flailed. "Hey! Lemme go!" Stray tentacles dove for Striker, intent on grabbing her!
Oh thank god for magic umbrellas. Once Striker gave Jinx the go-ahead to blast the place, the green goblin braced herself for the worst mess possible to rain down on them. No amount of hiding back in their tunnel would save her. Jinx was kind enough to both attacc AND defend though. Throwing out a 'clap of thunder' and a magic, comically oversized umbrella out over and above them. Striker still instinctively flinched and threw an arm up to keep anything out of her face.
When silence fell around the sewers with nothing else but the light pattering of the remaining falling blood and flesh, the green rodent let out a small sigh of relief and relaxed. Jinxing themselves was bound to happen, especially with one of them counting out the moments mentally. Stiker was already on edge when the low rumble emerged from the depths of the reservoir and lashed out as a mass of tentacles. Those blue eyes widen as one gets her by the waist and hoists Jinx away.
"Whoa, hey, maybe not! Hold on!" As the other tentacles launch their own icky limbs at her, Striker was already on the verge of rolling forwards into her ball form. Ducking over the one aimed higher. That one grasps for nothing and hits the rubble at the back of their collapsed tunnel. The lower tentacle that went for Striker would meet a razor-sharp force of her spinning rapidly against void material. Splitting this one in half at the vertical of the tentacle and forcing it to drop back into the reservoir.
"This is going to take more than one blast. Keep away from them!" She yelled while rolling, picking up speed, and launching herself out of the tunnel with the intent to smash at Jinx's tentacle. Aiming just below her so it'd severe at the point it was wrapped around her for minimal effort to break free on her part. She'd, of course, have to figure out on the fly how to use this small area to stay above the threat zone. At the current trajectory, she was going to smash into the wall and pinball off, right into a horde of the things. Maybe she'd be fine closer, maybe she'd fall into the blood and be in for a bad treat.
Jinx would absolutely love to not be close to the slimy, cold, void-slicked beasts at all. The only reason she hadn't simply wriggled or slipped free was the MASS amount of negative energy disturbing her magic juju, keeping the Majin slightly disoriented until Striker came crashing into the base, severing the oily thing and setting her free. Instead of falling to the dirty tendril-protected ground, Jinx would stay in the air, cape fluttering as she gained her bearings. "NOT cool! Especially given the enemy type!" Pulses of magic shot from her hands, crashing into a few of the lashing limbs but failing to cut all the way through.
Distraction enemies started to emerge from the other tunnels leading into the reservoir, crawling out through the bloodstream-choked pipes and gurgling intensely. "Heck. I'm gonna close off the reinforcement paths; try not to get slapped!" Jinx narrowly ducked under a wide-sweeping tendril, blowing a raspberry and targeting one of the tunnels with a well-placed Clap of Thunder. Even Striker would get overwhelmed trying to face off against the boss AND minions, so she needed to close off their entry points as quick as possible! A few winged spawns took flight, screeching as they dove aggressively toward Jinx.
A solid strategy. With the ruckus they just made, Jinx would have her hands full sealing the remaining tunnels leading into this reservoir. So Striker would just have to deal with managing her flow and distracting and or destroying much of this beast. her round form will smash into the first wall on her way out and send her spinning downwards, subsequently crushing another tentacle before it even got a chance to go at her. Her aim this time had her landing ever lower on another wall, very close to the blood line of the reservoir itself where the beast lay.
Maybe... Striker would unfurl mid-air and intentionally try latching on to one of the roaming tentacles trying their luck with Jinx, gripping and swinging along its horizontal like a sideways monkeybar before throwing herself away and more in a straight line. At this point she'd work on keeping herself around and active with her fists and legs out. Another stray tentacle coming to bat at her which was quickly kicked on her way forwards. A sudden tag team of tentacles rise to grab a foot by the time she at the opposite wall though and snags any momentum she has.
"HEY!" A quick kick sends one of them folding away, but the other is pretty fast and tugs her away from her perch on the wall. Pulling her closer and closer to the depths of the reservoir.
A bright and shiny metallic baseball bat formed, Jinx immediately sending one of her aviated pursuers crashing into the far wall with a right proper bonk. The bat didn't even have a dent, a wicked grin on the Majin's face. "Enough spam; it's annoying!" A few more blasts and more reinforcement zones down. "Shoot!" Her best might not be best enough, Jinx scrambling to blast more tunnels. MOST had been taken care of, along with a few stray spawns, but by that point, Striker needed help. Cocking back, Jinx sent her bat flying in a sideways spin toward the limb that had captured the Fauxbian.
It may not have been sharp, but the impact was enough to SPLATTER the tendril on impact, sending a shuddering ripple that saw the rest of the limb explode into pitch-black gore that probably would've been disgusting had it been from a living being. Her weapon returned dutifully, just in time for another swing toward a spawn trying to clamp its jaw down around Jinx's head. "I know you're busy, but do we have any plan on how to take down the sewer dweller? I doubt just chopping off the tentacles will kill the thing!"
Besides, if left alone, it'd probably regrow. The giant fuckoff monster was likely what was feeding on the bulby growths, Jinx's eyes widening. They weren't even dealing with the root cause of the corruption still!