Masks 2

Sam shifted his attention to sniping pistol shrimp.

"WHY ARE THE CORAL TREES SHAPED LIKE FINGERS, THAT'S NOT EVEN VAGUELY FISHY"

He took a short moment to consider it as he reloaded the gauss musket, sliding in a musket ball and some iron dust.

"Actually, ya know, I guess some folks call 'em fish fingers," shoved the gel-tipped future ramrod down the barrel, "BUT ANTLERS? ANTLERS AIN'T FISHY!"

Sam turned back and shot an artillery shrimp as he run and gunned!

"I don't think they care what's fishy, Sam!" replied Jim as he breakdance chopped his way with EXTREME speed through the seaweed.

Finn watches in horror as this horrible redneck breakdances through seaweed while the rest of them commit dozens of warcrimes.

"I-- I think I hate Jim! Like... I mean, Demon, I've NE'ER really HATED anyone before in my life, but -- But I think I have tae kill Jim?!"

It can wait, though. For now, she examines her surroundings.

"...Creepy, ain't it?"

"Definitely one of the creepier things I've seen," the Demon agreed, running along as she slashed and chopped. She threw out a burst of lightning into a group of fish, cutting through them with Finn as she went. "And that is the most idiotic way to cut anything I've ever seen in my life."

Hm.

Theraea tried and failed to comprehend what Jim was doing. Some things are unknowable, even to a Weaver.

Or maybe Jim was just an idiot.

"This would be kind of pretty if the whole situation wasn't just... horrible," Theraea said, looking around at the garden. She'd then turn her attention back to the artillery-shrimp - if Sam didn't shoot it dead before the next valley, she'd try to deflect its shells back into it. Or failing that, at least out of the way.

Theraea turned towards another artillery shrimp, launching its shells back to it. They didn't explode, but they sure seemed to annoy the damn thing.

Ken tells his drone to buzz towards the garden and snip a coral sample for him to look at.

Ken, while trying to make the crabs less murderous with his gun, asks if people have any technology. Like anything with electronics.

Ken's drone zoomed off, cutting off a sample and bringing it back to Ken! Unfortunately, the coral immediately began trying to spread onto Polybius, threatening to consume them! Polybius managed to get it off before returning to Ken.

Ken, meanwhile, fired on the crab cars with little effect. At least his technomancy was still disabling a lot of them.

Maria did not have anything other than the pager thing Emily Volts gave everyone. The next techiest thing she had was like, maybe a 20 year old gun.

Also? At least it was something they NEEDED right now, but god, fuck Jim.

Right, Maria was lookin... Well, not like much at all because of the whole helmet thing, but she was getting kinda tired. Water's heavy, and it takes a lot of attention to keep a space this big clear, centered, and repelling stuff. She didn't exactly have the mental capacity to snipe right now, which sucked, but what do you do?

If it looked like Jim wasn't gonna..... sigh.... cut it, she'd join him up front and start slashing sea weed so they could get where they were going a little faster. Otherwise, she was going to keep pushing forward with everyone else, keeping Jim clear so he could do his thing. And try not to get sick when a certain superhero got attacked.

Jim had it covered, fortunately! So Maria kept her focus on maintaining the oxygen bubble, and doing her best to repel the lampreys and harpoons. She was doing good work there, and only a few of each were still getting in.

Esen's breathing is fast and ragged after that fight. She stares at the coral garden and for a moment sways with the singing, then shakes her head clear.

"Yeah, it would be. Pretty. "

She looks back at the artillery shrimp and squeezes her eyes shut. Were they formerly human too? "I don't think I'm cut out for this," she mutters under her breath. Opening her eyes, she resolves to try and deflect shots out of the air with her tendril rather than attacking the shrimp. She's saving her will to fight horrible-beasts-that-might-be-made-of-people for the Siren.

Which seems to be coming up, she thinks.

And so the group rushed onward towards the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, heading through a vast expanse of seaweed and coral as they went. Jim was hacking through the seaweed as they went, keeping the path clear. On the path ahead towards the steps at the garden's entrance, they could see massive clamshells strewn about. They were singing along with the psionic singing coming from within the gardens, displaying large black pearls for all to see.

On the ground, the group could see a number of boneless, seemingly dead fishmen lying on the path ahead. The group was still being chased and harassed by the fishmen and lampreys, though the car crabs and artillery shrimp seem to have remained far behind them.

Beyond the clams and boneless fishmen, the group could see the garden entrance, and a giant set of steps beneath it. Beyond that? A huge temple-like structure, though the murky water made it unclear and hard to see.