RPG OtakuBoards Survivor: Game On! <PG>

[JJ]

[Color=DarkBlue]Ada just could not help herself. She began to laugh at Ling Xiayou and her question. Samus and Yuna looked at her as if something was wrong with her, but she had no clue what else to do.

?Ling Xiayou?? Ada said, going off into another fit of giggles.

Ling Xiayou turned around and watched Ada. ?You OK??

Ada wiped the tears falling out of her eyes and sighed. ?Oh yeah. I?m good. Sorry everyone. It?s just, Ling Xiayou, your question, it was so true. You really mean it.?

?Duh, why else would I ask?? Ling Xiayou said, smiling.

Ada just smiled. Samus slowly began to catch on and she smiled too. Yuna and Laura looked at each other, but did not say anything. It was then that Kyrstal interrupted.

?Yes Ling Xiayou, I am from another planet.? She replied calmly.

Afterwards, everyone had a good laugh, although, Ling Xiayou didn?t quite get why everyone was laughing, she laughed along.

Ada then stood up and straightened her dress. ?My turn, eh??

The other nodded and Ada began.

?The name?s Ada Wong. To make a long story short, I work for a man called Weskar. He saved my life, so I?m kinda in his debt. I also hate Zombies and Spain.? Ada said, nodding.

?Well, we know a little bit more about each other now. That?s a start.? Laura said.

?Oh yes, I think so.? Yuna replied, standing up.

?Is anyone else feeling hungry, or is it just me?? Ling Xiayou asked.

Everyone nodded and walked towards the low laying house on the other side of lake. They entered and gasped at the expansion of it. It spread itself out underground and looked beautiful. Glowing moss hung in all the corners and gave off light.

There was a living room type of area right in front of the door. It had couches that seemed to try to eat Ling Xiayou as she plopped herself on it. She sighed and seemed to want to stay on the couch, so the other kept walking.

Through a curtain of beads they came upon the kitchen. It wasn?t as big as the one in Liberty Tower, but it had a good sized refrigerator and oven. Here Samus and Laura decided to grab a drink and head out to the den with Ling Xiayou, so only Kyrstal, Yuna, and Ada decided to explore the rest of the new home.

They continued through another curtain and came upon a hallway with about eight or nine curtains. Ada went through one and came upon a bedroom. It looked normal enough, what with a dresser, closet, bed, and desk in place. The nicest thing was the small veins of water that danced along the walls. Ada quickly threw herself onto her bed and sighed.

Just then, Yuna walked in and smiled. ?May I??

?Sure, what?s up, Yuna?? Ada asked, patting the space next to her on the bed.

?Nothing much, just thought maybe you and I could talk.? Yuna replied sitting down.

?So, got any questions for me?? Ada asked, watching Yuna.

?No, not really, although I was wondering what you thought about this whole contest.? Yuna replied, tracing paths in the comforter on the bed.

?I think it?s a crazy ride run by a polite flying pig.? Ada said, laughing. ?You??

Yuna didn?t answer at first but Ada didn?t push, she figured she was thinking. [I]Her answer?ll be interesting.[/I] Ada though to herself.[/color]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]Kuja had to admit that he felt a little...uneasy around men. Especially men like CJ and Shadow. Who were angry often. And had guns.

Kuja whimpered.

Mario patted him on the shoulder and gave him a helpful smile, possibly thinking that Kuja was missing his old team. In actual fact, he was terrified that one of these barbarians was going to make fun of him. Then it happened.

[B]"So, you, da one wid da hair,"[/B] Kuja looked up and fluttered his eyelashes as a 'Who, me?' gesture. CJ nodded, [B]"Yah, you. So...you really a dude? I mean, no 'fence, if that's what'ya, y'know, into...jus'..." [/B] he seemed to falter and cast his eyes downwards.

[B]"I think what he means, is, why do you look like a chick?"[/B] Fox asked, seemingly politely. Kuja blushed and brought a hand up to his forehead daintily. He noticed Shadow roll his eyes and bit on his bottom lip nervously.

[B]"I just...feel comfortable this way. B-But I can do things,"[/B] he smiled hopefully, [B]"I once tried to kill my brother and his friends if that's any help?"[/B]

Mario sighed and shook his head, while Kuja tried to understand just why everyone was looking at him [I]that way[/I].

[B]?So?tea, anyone??[/B][/SIZE]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Yuna decided to follow Krystal and Ada to their underground living areas. She explored a little before checking out the rooms they would be staying in. She saw Ada enter into a room and followed slowly, seeing it as a chance to get to know her better. Yuna brushed the curtain out of her way with her staff.

[B]"May I?"[/B] she asked politely with a smile.

Ada returned the smile and invited her in, moving to allow space for Yuna to sit on her bed. She walked over slowly and sat, arranging her summoning robes around her.

Yuna asked her opinion on what she thought of the game, her answer was quite humourous and Yuna giggled slightly. Ada asked her what she thought of it in return. Yuna tapped a finger to her chin as she thought about it.

[B]"Well, I think it's a game for the bored. Because this sure makes life interesting."[/B] Yuna said finally.

Ada smiled and nodded. Yuna sighed and Ada noticed, sitting up a little.

[B]"Something wrong, Yuna?"[/B] she asked.

[B]"No, I'm just happy with a new team. From start to finish in the other team, I was the only female, it's kinda frustrating to be surrounded by all guys."[/B] the two of them laughed, they'd had their experiences with the men from their previous teams.

[B]"Anyways, I'll talk to you later. I'm gonna find myself a room and I might do some walking on water after that."[/B] Yuna said as she headed to the door. [B]"Thanks for letting me talk with you."[/B] she grinned and waved as she exited the room.

Ada waved and then had a puzzled look on her face, what had Yuna meant by walking on water, could she actually do it?

Yuna looked into the curtain to Ada's right, it was empty so she dumped what little she didn't always carry on herself and walked out again. She saw Xiaoyu, Lara and Samus resting in the den, and greeted them cheerfully before continuing up. She walked out of their house area and looked around at the expanse of the place, it was very large and secluded.

Yuna got out of her shoes and took a deep breath, she hadn't done it for a long time now. She stepped off into the water, but instead of her foot plunging through, it stood solid on the surface, a ripple emitted around her foot. Yuna confidently brought her other leg down and she started to walk across the lake easily, the cool water felt solid beneath her feet unless someone broke the surface around her. She remembered why she used to have to walk on water, it was to send the souls of those that had died. Yuna slowly did the dance of the sending, the water lifted her high as she continued but no pyreflies greeted her. When she was finished, she was lowered back onto the water and she returned to the other side, it was sad that summoners weren't needed now, instead Spira was more focussed on spheres.

Yuna slipped her shoes back on and returned to her room. She just sat on her bed, thinking silently.[/COLOR]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal's bed was very big. Shockingly big, in fact. She'd need to be about five people before the size actually seemed appropriate.

Still, she was pleased with it. After all, it's not every day you get to spend time in a mystical jungle and underground castle. Everything about the place was so [i]interesting[/i]; the flowers, the silk drapes flowing down the walls, the veins of water cascading soothingly along the brickwork, the plush carpeting placed delicately over tesserated wooden floor panels... everywhere she looked Krystal could find more elements to stare at in appreciation.The only thing that would have made them nicer were windows. Although being underground, that would prove difficult.

Ada and Yuna must have found their own bedrooms. There were quite a few along the corridor, set out in almost the same pattern as the beach huts were (i.e. in one long line).

Krystal tapped a claw thoughtfully against one of the four posts at the corner of her bed. The new team was going to be very interesting, and she could only see it being for the best. Despite Xiayou's rather unnerving overt girliness and enthusiasm, there was something heartening about her that Krystal could really identify with, and Samus seemed to have an understanding about her before she'd even explained anything about Cerinia... which, considering how many planets Samus had been to, would be an idea to pick her brains about.

She hoped Fox was doing okay... or at least that the rest of the boys hadn't discovered how to work that mirror yet.

With a flick of her tail, she began a leisurely stroll back to the den.[/COLOR]

[Sandy]

[FONT=Century Gothic]The teleporters summoned the two newly-formed teams from their new camping places to the familiar blueness of CPU.

"Heroes and Heroines of OB Survivor, it's time for your fifth challenge, kupo", Mog explained.

Some contestants made eye-contact with their former team members now placed on the opposing teams, but all of them knew they must be loyal to their new teams now.

"The name of this kuporrible game is [SIZE=3][B]Sleeping with the Dead[/B][/SIZE]. In this challenge you will travel to the kingdom of Gallowmere, more precisely to the Cemetery of the Fortesque Clan."
[CENTER][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/OB%20Survivor/place-graveyard.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

"Here comes the rules, kupo:"

[INDENT]1. This challenge tests your [B]survival skills[/B], as both teams are locked to a [B]zombie[/B]-infested graveyard for a whole kupo night.
2. You must use every bit of your [B]brains[/B] and [B]brawn[/B] to make it through the night, kupo!
3. If a character happens to suffer a horrible and kupocious [B]death[/B] in the hands of the living dead, he or she is sent to the CPU, kupo.
4. The winning team is the one who has used their kupo abilities to their advantage in the more innovative way.
5. You can slay the zombies as much as you like, kupo; they [B]won't[/B] run out!
[/INDENT]

"Are the rules clear, kupo? If they are, I'll send you to the gates of the graveyard, which will be locked for the night after you enter. Scared yet, kupopo?"

Ling Xiaoyu swallowed noisily, and even the Iron Fists looked a bit uneasy.

"Survivors ready? [I]Game On![/I]"
[/FONT]

[JJ]

[Color=DarkSlateGrey][I]?Oh, of all the bloody tasks for Mog to come up with, he just had to pick zombies, didn?t he??[/I] Ada thought to herself as the group landed in front of the graveyard.

?So Ada, you said you?ve dealt with zombies before?? Kyrstal said, speaking up.

Ada nodded. ?If these are anything like what Umbrella created, they?re stupid. They run after whatever breathes even if their run is a walk. They may be slow, but in numbers, they are almost unstoppable. I imagine that these numbers will be very huge, I hope everyone?s ready.?

Ada glanced over the group. Ling Xiayou took a fighter?s stance, Samus locked her arm cannon into place, Lara pulled out her gun and clicked off the safety and Krystal readied her staff. Yuna pulled out her little board and began moving things around. Light surrounded her and she appeared again in a white outfit. An outer jacket/throw-over with a hood replaced her dress and a staff appeared.

?This is my [URL=http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://w3.ffuniverse.nu/img/ffx2/Klasser/White%2520Mage%2520-%2520Yuna.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ffuniverse.nu//ffx2/chars.asp&h=848&w=326&sz=18&tbnid=Vwis_migXIAJ:&tbnh=144&tbnw=55&hl=en&start=9&prev=/images%3Fq%3DYuna-White%2BMage%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG]White Mage[/URL] outfit.? She replied to everyone.

?Not bad looking, if I do say so myself.? Ada told her, smiling.

It was then that a sound not very different from Mog clearing his throat that pushed all six of the Heroines into the graveyard. As soon as Ada cleared the gateway, it slammed shut and the reality of it all hit her.

She was going to be locked in for an entire night with the vary things that haunted her nightmares. The things that she saw eat her fellow human beings. She briefly saw her team members but she quickly dismissed the ideas as the moaning began. The first couple of zombies appeared on the horizon and every single member went tense.

Ada pulled out her [URL=http://umbrellanetw.temp.powweb.com/images/resident_evil/games/7/RE4%20TMP.jpg]TMP[/URL] and quickly sprayed bullets into the advancers. This snapped everyone out of the little tense trance they had entered. Everyone formed a circle back to back, as the zombies began pouring in on all sides.

Ada began spraying the zombies that came her way, but for every wave that fell, another two seemed to replace them. Ada cursed her luck as her clip emptied itself. She fumbled for the next one and dropped her gun.

As she bent over to retrieve it, a zombie rushed her and she fell over. Pandemonium broke out as Zombie flooded inwards trying to get at Yuna and Samus from behind. Luckily, Ling Xiayou kept them at bay while Yuna and Samus moved.

Lara, who noticed Ada go down, fired off a couple of rounds and hit the three zombies trying to bite Ada. She threw her hand out and Ada grabbed it, resulting in her standing up.

It was then that the two realized that the other were on the other side of the zombies. As best as Ada could tell, it was Lara and herself, Yuna and Samus, and Ling Xiayou and Krystal.

Ada replaced her clip and mowed down a row of zombies. As she continued to mow down rows, she remembered her flash grenades.

?Everyone! Shut your eyes!? Ada screamed out as she pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it into the crowd.

The flash it gave off caused the zombies to moan and bend over. Ada and Lara used this opportunity to head towards the crypt on the hill above them. Ada motioned at the crypt to the others, but she was not sure if they saw.

At this point, it did not matter, because her and Lara?s survival was the key point here. The crypt would provide them with cover on one side and allow them to have a meeting point for the others.

The zombies did not let the light stop them for long and they quickly came for Ada and Lara who had their backs turned to them. Ada flipped around and threw a regular grenade into the group, causing them to fly up into the air.

This gave them another quick pause in which they scrambled up the hill to the crypt. There, Lara and Ada stood with their backs on the door and guns in their hand. Lara?s handgun made a steady, loud booming sound, while Ada?s TMP made the quick rat-tat-tat sound and in a strange way, Ada felt comforted by the sound. It was the sound of hitting back.

Ada tossed another grenade and smiled at Lara. ?Not the best way to bond, but it?s better than nothing, no??

Lara smiled and continued shooting. ?Hopefully, none of the others are having big problems.?

Ada almost faltered when she thought about Ling Xiayou out there fighting the zombies with only her body as a weapon. [I]?No time to dwell, keep yourself and Lara alive!?[/I] Ada said, scolding herself.

Another grenade flew through the air, but this time, liquid fire exploded outwards, causing a group of approaching zombies to burst into flame. Although most zombies would drop to the ground after this, Ada was surprised to see these still standing. She was even more surprised when they rushed her and her cartridge emptied.[/color]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Shadow looked around the graveyard, and back at the rest of his team. Strangely, he wasn't as comfortable in this team as he was in the Blue Team, but he was sure he'd get used to it.

[b]"Well," [/b]he said, [b]"It looks like we're spending the night here." [/b]He trudged into the graveyard, looking for a place to try and catch some sleep. He may as well take it while he could.

As he walked through the cold, silent graveyard, something brushed against his foot. Something cold and slimy brushed past his ankle and he turned around. The rest of his team-mates had gone, and he was all alone in the middle of a patch of graves. He closed his eyes, and then turned his head to look down. The "thing" that had brushed his foot was now clenching around his ankle.

A cold, slimy hand was wriggling its way up his leg, and he jumped around a metre in the air, yelling.

[b]"Holy crap, they're everywhere!" [/b]he shouted, seeing hands popping up through the ground from all directions. They grabbed the earth and pulled decaying bodies up after them.

[b]"Oh, dear God!" [/b]cried Shadow, drawing his gun and firing at the zombies. He blasted limbs off, and ran as fast as he could (which was, of course, pretty fast) away from the zombies. They were slow and lumbering, so they obviously couldn't catch up with him, but he knew he couldn't run all night...
[/size]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal felt a strong grip clasp around her arm and she was suddenly being pulled along at break-neck speed; her legs could barely move fast enough to keep up. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw her motivator was Xiayou. Over her shoulder, Krystal could see hordes of zombies pouring from holes in the ground, each as horrific-looking as the last. She couldn't see the others anywhere.

"Wh-what... wait!" she stammered, digging her heels into the ground.

Ling looked incredibly anxious. "Wait?! Why?"

"What happened to the others?"

"They ran off, like we [i]should be[/i]!"

The two started sprinting across the seemingly endless graveyard again, dodging past gravestones and crypt entrances with incredible agility.

"I thought we were supposed to get rid of them?"

"No, we're supposed to survive," Ling yelled, vaulting over a decapitated stone crucifix.

"But we can't run all night!" Krystal protested.

They were quickly heading towards an old, partially-demolished church; its windows looked to have been smashed centuries ago, its doors were rotten and its walls slowly crumbling away. It didn't look safe at all. They ground to a halt at the decrepid building's entrance.

"Head for cover?" Ling suggested.

Krystal shook her head. "I wouldn't head in there. With all the walls falling down it wouldn't take those things long to break through them, and they could enter form any side. We'd be trapped."

Ling shuddered. "Wai~! Those things were awful!" she cried. It dawned on Krystal that Ling may not have realised what the zombies were until that point.

"Yeah, they aren't exactly-"

[i]Thwack.[/i]

A zombie head went whirling into the darkness, its body feebly flailing around the church walls. Ling had let loose her kick with lightning reflexes- she'd hit the undead creature before Krystal was even aware of its presence.

"I think we'd be better out in the open." Krystal tightened her grip on her Staff. "Somewhere we can see on all sides would be best, I think."

"Yeah, but somewhere on hard ground- if there were a stone floor we could stand on so they couldn't come up underneath us we'd be okay..."

The two of them looked to the church. A grin spread across Krystal's face.

"Hold on."

She gestured for Ling to move away from the walls, then sauntered inside. Ling listened intently as she heard a low humming noise, almost like an electric generator starting up. Suddenly, a massive 'Boom' shook the ground and a red shockwave thundered along the level of the grass. The martial artists was able to jump over it with little problem; unfortunately for the zombies that had been lumbering their way, their legs disappeared.

The four walls of the church crumbled to the ground, and the blue-furred fox was left standing on a large rectangle of worn cobblestones.

"Let's get these pews somewhere in the way of those zombies," she called. She didn't suppose they'd be doing gymnastics anytime soon...[/COLOR]

[Desbreko]

Samus' visor darkened as Ada's flash grenade went off. With the flood of zombies surging around them, Yuna was the only one nearby; Samus grabbed her by the hand and they ran towards the edge of the mob. It didn't take long for the zombies to recover, however.

"Yuna, get back!" Samus shouted, motioning for Yuna to keep running. Releasing her hand, Samus turned around and gritted her teeth. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Steeling herself against the thought of what she was about to do, Samus rolled into morph ball form and charged her boost ball. She waited till the zombies had shambled close ... then released the charge, rocketing forward to plow through the zombies. A quick glance at her radar told her all her teammates were safely out of range, and as near as she could tell, she was in the middle of the zombie horde. A power bomb dropped beside Samus, and within seconds, a shockwave sweapt out to disintegrate all it touched.

Coming out of morph ball form, Samus surveyed the damage. It had worked, but none of her teammates were in sight. She could only hope they were safe before dashing back in the direction Yuna had gone.

"You're all right!" Yuna said, relieved as Samus caught up to her. "What happened to the others?"

Samus shook her head, sighing. "I don't know. I used a power bomb to clear out the zombies, but no one was there afterwards.

Yuna gasped, trying not to think about the worst case scenario. "We have to look for them!"

"No," Samus shook her head again. "For now, our first priority has to be our own safety. We have to find shelter; and if the others are smart, they'll be doing the same."

"You're right," Yuna conceded. She looked around, not having taken the time to see where she was going before. They were standing amid a few groves of trees, graves interspersed between them. And a mile or so away, a hill rose up against the horizon, the last light of dusk fading out behind it. She could just make out a stone building on top; it was most likely a tomb of some sort. "Look, up there!"

Following Yuna's gaze, Samus examined the hill. "It's a ways away, but it looks like it would be defensible. And staying mobile is better than standing about in the open."

Yuna cheered up a bit, hoping some of the others might be headed the same way. "All right, let's go!"

[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]The sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the graveyard, spitting flashes of fire ignited the leering, gaunt faces of the undead surrounding them. The stench of death permiated the air, choking the very breath of the two women who now stood back to back, spraying bullets into the stumbling crowd. Sweat beaded on Lara's forehead, trailing in thin rivulets down her face and chest and soaking her shirt. Clammy hands gripped her pistols firmly, the comforting weight the only reassurance in the living knightmare she appeared to be stuck in.

Whipping around Lara split the skull of an advancing zombie with a well placed bullet, spraying dead flesh across her companion. Breathing heavily Lara glanced over her shoulder, letting out a short laugh.

[B]"I could do this all day!" [/B] As if to emphasise her point Lara let off a couple of well placed shots taking two zombies out at the knees. Her laugh was cut short however when the fallen zombies lurched forward, pulling themselves along the ground with their hands and gnashing teeth.

Ada growled, fitting another clip into her weapon. "[B]Aim for the head and only the head!"[/B] Lara grimaced and dispatched the two disabled dead, swinging her pistols in a horizontal arch, mowing down a line of the mob only to find them replaced by several more. Lara shot her an appologetic look.

[B]"Okay, we need another plan!" [/B] Lara gasped and pistol whipped a zombie who had managed to get close enough to grab at her arm. [B]"There's just too many to hold off." [/B]
[B]"You're f***ing telling me!"[/B]

Lara could feel her heart thundering in her chest as she searched frantically for an escape. As the mist thinned slightly she caught a glimps of a building perched high atop of a hill, central to the cemetary. Lara pointed with one of her pistols, yelling towards her companion.

[B]"There! On the hill!" [/B] She watched as Ada glanced briefly where indicated. [B]"If we get there, we can hold them off until Mog gets us the hell out of here!"[/B]

[B]"That rat has a sick sense of humour."[/B] Ada spat, but nodded in agreement with the plan.

Taking out the latest row of zombies, Lara reached behind her into her back pack and grasped one if the cylindrical objects she found there. Wrenching it out she struck it harshly on a nearby tombstone and the end instantly flared to life with coloured fire. Grinning Lara hefted the flare in front of her, praying that the zombies were not too dumb to ignore it. It seemed a high power smiled upon the pair as a large group of the undead corpses stopped suddenly, gawping slack jawed at the burning flare.

Lara laughed triumphantly and grasped Ada by the hand, pulling her backwards even as the other woman let off another spurt of bullets in their wake. The crowd of zombies stumbled away from the burning light, allowing a small gap to appear in their ranks. The two women took full advantage sprinting towards the cover of a smaller crypt. Ada murmered in amusement at the zombies antics.

[B]"Fire bad, gotta love that undead mentality."[/B] Lara just winked at her and grinned.[/SIZE]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Trapped in a graveyard for a night infested with zombies, not her favourite idea for a challenge. She wasn't afraid, she fought undead things constantly, since all fiends were in reality, unsent souls.

The team was split up by the zombies, and they had paired up together, trying to get to safety. Yuna ran as Samus told her to, trusting that she knew what she was doing. She cast Life and Cure on the zombies as they closed in around her. Samus came up beside her and they headed toward the tombstone on the hill.

Yuna swiftly shuffled through her sphere grids and got back into her Summoner outfit as she ran. They reached a plateau and the zombies were still chasing after them. Yuna did a swift summoning dance and waited for her Aeon to appear. She summoned the Dragon King, the mighty [URL=http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/bahamut.jpg]Bahamut[/URL], like the one she had faced in the previous challenge.

[B]"Go Samus! Head for the hill."[/B] she shouted.

Yuna touched Bahamut lightly and uttered her command. [B]"Mega Flare!"[/B]

Bahamut reared his head back and released a strong, destructive beam, cutting down the first 3 lines of zombies that had been advancing on her. Yuna ran, Bahamut needed to charge before he could use his Overdrive again. Bahamut took to the air and flew over her, guarding in case of attacks from the zombies. Yuna fired off a few Lifes, Cures and Holys to get rid of more of them.

She caught up with Samus, who was looking at Bahamut who hovered above them.

[B]"Bahamut. Aeon. Strong. Hill."[/B] she pointed at the hill that was still a distance away. She wasn't good at running in her Summoner costume since the robes hindered her movement greatly.

Bahamut roared that he was ready again. [B]"Mega Flare!"[/B]

Bahamut stopped in mid air and turned to face the approaching zombies, he fired his deadly beam again, cutting away another three rows. Mog wasn't kidding when he said they wouldn't run out, since there was a carpet of them following Yuna and Samus.[/COLOR]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]Mario looked around at his teammates who were now fending off zombies. Someone was missing.

"Woah-a! Where's-a the hedgehog?!" he yelped. And right on que they heard a yell from the distance.

"Holy crap, they're everywhere!" Mario let out a low-pitched chuckle and starting running towards the sound. He assured his team he would be back momentarily and bolted.

A full-grown zombie walked right infront of Mario. Mario yelped in surprise and just nimbly dodged a bite from the creature. He remembered in the old days when the only way to kill a Dry Bones (zombie-like Koopa) was to jump on it's head. So, with a leap and a 'Wahoo!' Mario stomped on the zombie's head. It's head just rolled off and Mario let out a sigh of relief.

[SIZE=3][B][I]*Swish! Swoosh!*[/I][/B][/SIZE]

The zombie's arms were still swinging mindlessly at Mario.

"Mamma mia!" he said to himself. He put his hand to his mouth and in one motion, stretched out his arm at the zombie. A red-orange fireball jumped from Mario's hand onto the zombie instantly combusting it.

"Now that's-a what I'm talking about."

Mario advanced, dodging as many zombies as possible by simply jumping over them like herdles. He finally made his way to Shadow who was being surrounded by a circle of man-eating monsters.

"Mario!" exclaimed Shadow as he let off another round of bullets at a zombie's head. "Go for the head!"

"That-a didn't work for me!" said Mario. He jumped over two zombies and landed in the middle of the ring. He grabbed Shadow and jumped out again.

"Thanks." he said.

"No-a problem."[/COLOR]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Mario wasn't bad at jumping, Shadow would give him that. But Shadow had managed to come up with a plan while he was surrounded by those zombies. As soon as he rejoined the rest of the group, he urged them on.

[b]"Get into a small circle," [/b]he commanded, waiting until they all had done, the ones who owned weapons pointing theirs outside the circle. Shadow nodded, and then kicked his heels together, letting his sneakers flash, and then he started to run round the group in circles only slightly larger than the one they had formed.

He soon stripped away the grass that was on the ground, and managed to get through to the dusty earth beneath. This dust began to rise up into the air, and soon enough it became a massive dust-cyclone, encasing the team in a shield that the zombies couldn't penetrate. Some of them still tried, though, reaching towards the cyclone, only to have whatever limb they were using ripped off.

[b]"Suckers!" [/b]shouted Shadow, laughing at the mindless hordes. He continued to run in a circle until something caught his foot and he tripped. The cyclone vanished almost immediately.

[b]"CJ!" [/b]shouted Crash, [b]"Why the hell did you just trip him up?"

"He was takin' all the damn credit, foo'," [/b]replied the gangsta, [b]"I ain't havin' no foo' take the credit from CJ."

"You're such an idiot!" [/b]shouted Shadow, leaping onto CJ's shoulders and beating him about the head with a sneaker. CJ was unable to get the hedgehog off him, but then Shadow realised that the zombies were closing in again.

[b]"Maybe this one will work better," [/b]he said to himself, running towards the zombies. He began to run in circles around them, lifting them all off the ground with the momentum he ran with. They were sent high into the air, spinning around, and as more and more came towards the whirlwind of zombies, they were sucked off their feet as well.

[b]"Haha!" [/b]he shouted, [b]"Take that, you undead freaks!"[/b]
[/size]

[Raiyuu]

[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]They managed to pile the pews two high in a circle around themselves by the time the first legless undead torsos crawled to their position.

[b]"Back to back, 'kay?" [/b]suggested Xiaoyu. Krystal nodded, seeing the sense. Only having to watch in front would ease both their nerves.

As the first greyish, decaying hand grasped stupidly for a handhold over her side of the defensive wall, Xiaoyu heard that generator-whine starting up again behind her. That meant they were coming over Krystal's side as well; she was powering up her staff to deal with them.

[b]"I'm still watching your back, 'kay?" [/b]she reassured her new pal, [b]"I just have to get a teeny bit closer to deal with them!"

"Right!" [/b]acknowledged Krystal, as Xiaoyu broke formation to drive her fist hard into the slimy, rotten face that had followed the hand over the pew. An explosion of bright yellow sparks signalled a critical hit, as the zombie's head detached itself with a wet crunch and cartwheeled back into the advancing horde. The creatures in the surrounding area howled and backed off slightly at the sudden bright light.

[b]"Eeeewww!" [/b]squealed Xiaoyu, shaking her hand to get rid of the sticky brain-goo. [b]"But hey - Krystal, they don't like bright light!"

[/b]She didn't wait to see if her companion would take advantage of the information. More gaping dead eye-sockets were appearing over the stack of benches. Xiaoyu had work to do.
[/font][/color]

[Outlaw]

"Oh @#$% dats one fast ass lil rodent." CJ commented as he watched Shadow suck up dozens of the undead zombies with his speed.

"Yeah, I didn't think that sort of thing was physically possible." Added Fox.

"Man, what da hell you talkin bout, we're video game characters, fightin zombies, fo some sorta all powerful fuzzy lil bat-rat thing, and you talkin bout possible." CJ replied with a cocked eye. "Now, I tink we need some surious fia powa."

"Whatcha have in mind?" ask Crash, inbetween spinning spinning flurries of punches and kicks. With a grin, CJ began to do what seemed to his new teammates to be a very pour excuse for danceing. He moved back and forth, and even shot wildly a few times. "What in the hell are you doing?" Crash asked, "Your not Michael Jackson, and you can't win this thing by da...." Crash was quickly quieted as a massive tank apeared from the sky and crushed a half dozen zombies. Most of the team's jaws quickly made new homes comfortably on the floor, shocked by what had just happened.

"Oh yeah dats right," CJ shouted as he hoped aboard the Rhino. "Time to take some o' des sucka down HARD!"

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal was about to let rip with another Super Ground Quake when she realised that it would blow all of the pews out of place, losing all of their defensive barriers. She powered down her Staff and instead whirled it over her head, both ends shimmering with a blue glow and leaving bright streaks in the air behind their circling path.

She brought one end crashing down onto a zombie's skull, splitting it in two while the rest of the body slumped behind the rows of wooden chairs.

She couldn't do anything offensive that would project light, but if things became too close she could create a [URL=http://www.starfox-online.com/adventures/images/screens/09.jpg]shield of light[/URL] that would protect them from physical harm, and also hopefully keep the zombies at a safe distance.

Krystal could make out the vague shadows of more zombies emerging from the ground; behind her she could hear Xiayou's cries (and subsequent shudders of disgust) of undead elimination, and it looked like soon enough the entire cemetary would be overrun. She fired off some Fire Blaster shots towards the dark figures, hitting a zombie square in the chest and sending it reeling with smoke billowing from its decaying torso.

On her right, the creak of wood signalled a zombie's blood-fuelled intent to cross the wooden border. Krystal swung her Staff at it with a hefty blow and tore the head clean off. It landed on the church floor, its mouth still gaping and its sightless eyes staring horrifically at her. More were coming. She could hear their hideous groans sweeping through her like a chill wind.

Rasing her hafted weapon again, she readied herself for another wave.[/COLOR]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]Crash was still wiping up the drool brought forth at the sight of CJ's tank, when what felt like an iron vice grabbed onto his ankle. With a jolt he looked down at the withered hand anchoring his leg to the spot, and the other hand searching purposefully for his free leg. With a quick spin Crash pulled the hand and arm right out of the ground, and a critical stomp on a nearby head which was just pushing out of the ground gave rise to a long low moan. Crash grinned. Whilst they weren't the nicest challenge they'd had to deal with, they were somewhat amusing. Especially when they tried to attack CJ's tank, still clawing and biting it frantically as they were ground under the immense tracks.

Crash turned around and punched a zombie in the face, feeling what he anticipated to be hard bone dissolving upon impact to a disgusting jelly-like texture.

Taking a quick glance around he wondered where Mario and Shadow had got to. The others [aside from CJ] were fighting back-to-back in a closeknit group, but those two were nowhere to be seen. As if in a response to his attention, up on a dark hill he got a glimpse of a glowing red flash, and what, even from this distance, appeared to be the silhouette of a small italian man bouncing high through the air. Crash grinned.

His attention was returned to the fight however when Fox's long foot flashed in front of his face and sent a nearby zombie flying backwards.

"Crash, pay more attention, that thing nearly had your face!" Fox called over his shoulder.

"It wants yours more!" Crash jeered at the cheeky fox, before jumping into a knot of zombies and decapitating them with a spin.

"You guys, this is a fairly pointless position, we gotta get to somewhere sheltered and defensible!" the one called Kuja yelled. He was putting up a good fight, but seemed to spend a lot of effort making sure he avoided the flying goo of zombie brains and other things too disgusting to name.

"That abandoned sanitarium behind the creepy looking fence looks ideal, we should try and get over there," Kuja yelled, as he smacked a zombie in the face with a branch "just let me clear a path".

His eyes flashed, and with fists clenched at his sides a burst of flame appeared out of nowehere, decimating a countless number of zombies, in a straight path all the way to the door of the building.

Crash blinked blankly at him.

"Why didn't you do that before?"

-----

[Sorry if I messed up Kuja's power use. I have no idea.][/size]

[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]Ada and Lara sprinted towards the crypt, their only perceived refuge. Both turned at regular intervals to dispatch any number of zombies who were lumbering after them. Reaching into her dress Ada once again withdrew a grenade,

[B]"Watch out!" [/B] She yelled before lobbing the explosive towards the crowd, dragging them both out of harms way before a giant explosion ripped across the cemetary, undead limbs and viscera spraying the tombs with grey matter. Lara dared not look back as she put on an extra burst of speed in an attempt to crest the hill upon which the great stone tomb rested.

[B]"Come on!" [/B] Lara panted[B] "We're almost there!" [/B]

Reaching the stone entrance Lara cried out when they suddenly discovered they doors had been blocked up with great wooden pews. Battering at the obstructions with desperate fists Lara swore fiercely. Thudding at the pew with the butt of her weapon Lara almost missed the cautious face that popped up betten the wooden splinters. Lara yelped in surprise, stumbling back a few paces, causing Ada to give her a strange look.

[B]"Whats the matter with you?" [/B] Ada peered around Lara's shoulder only to step back in surprise herself when a pair of wary eyes blinked back at her.

[B]"Are you guys dead?" [/B] Ling Xiayou's pretty voice drifted out from behind the barricades. Lara smirked and leaned forward.

[B]"No Ling, we aren't dead."[/B]

[B]"How do I know that?"[/B]

A loud gunshot pierced the air outside the crypt and a dead zombie corpse fell against the pews, the left side of its face hanging from its neck by a small piece of gristle. Lara smirked and blew on her pistol.

[B]"Thats how."[/B] Ling just gawped and began pulling at the pews blocking the entrance. [/SIZE]

[Desbreko]

"Impressive," Samus observed as she watched Bahamut's mega flare sear a wide swath of zombie-covered ground. "Come on, before more arrive."

Yuna nodded, running with Samus towards the hill as fast as her summoner's dress would allow. "Wait, hold on." Swapping spheres, her outfit changed to that of a thief, and Bahamut roared a farewell as he faded away. The new clothing being much better suited to fast movement, she continued her sprint, now matching Samus' pace.

Samus had to admit, Yuna seemed to be quite versatile with her collection of spheres. But she still couldn't activate her speed booster without leaving her companion in the dust. It wasn't that she had anything against her teammates, but she really did prefer working alone. Things were so much simpler that way.

Morphology: Human (Deceased)
This specimen appears to have been subject to decay. Skeletal integrity is at critical levels. Cause of death is unknown.

Slowing to a halt, Samus pointed in front of them. "Are they getting smarter, or is this just coincidence?" Another wave of zombies was heading straight towards them, and other moans could be heard all around. Spotting one that was clawing its way out of the ground a few feet away, Samus flipped over to her scan visor. ... [i]As if I didn't know that,[/i] she thought before blowing its head off.

"They're behind us too," Yuna said.

"Then we'll have to blast our way through," Samus replied. "Can you use offensive magic as well?"

Yuna's outfit flashed over to a black mage's and she smiled. "Of course."

Taking note of how many zombies were around them, Samus quickly formulated a plan. "Here's what we're going to do then. Circle around to the right and clear a path through to that grove." She pointed to a group of pine trees situated at the base of the hill. "There there are less of them in that direction, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. My armor will give me some protection against their bite, so I'll head in the center to draw most of their attention. Meet up in front of the grove and we can finish off the stragglers without getting caught from behind."

"All right, I'm ready," Yuna said. "Good luck."

Samus smiled behind her visor and gave Yuna a thumbs up. "Go!"

Circling around to the right as Samus had directed, sure enough, Yuna found a less densely packed group of zombies. "Firaga!" She shouted, sending out a plume of flames to engulf the pack. "Blizzaga! Waterga! Thundaga!" The elements at her fingertips, Yuna crashed through the zombies in a swirl of magical destruction. Finally, she was in front of the grove, and the rest of the zombies appeared to have their eyes set on Samus. Just then, she saw something bright streak up into the sky. . . .

Sprinting ahead at the approaching zombie horde, Samus activated her speed booster. She jumped, somersaulting through the air. Just before touching back down, her space jump boots kicked in, and she jumped again, and again, hurtling along just above the ground. The space around her began to twist and a low whine eminated from her suit.

Samus crashed into the first wave of zombies at full speed, the force of her screw attack shredding everything it came into contact with. Adjusting her course a little, she sped into the very center of the zombies -- and stopped jumping. Landing in a crouch, white light flashed down over her power suit. She looked up, then pushed off from the ground.

Speeding straight up into the air, Samus counted, roughly calculating her altitude before deactivating her speed booster. The shining light faded, and she activated her missile launcher as her upwards momentum slowed, then reversed. Super missile after super missile rained down upon the zombie ranks as Samus fell, leaving craters scattered across the landscape in their place. Finally landing, Samus deactivated the missile launcher and made a break towards the grove of pines, blasting a few zombies left in her path.

"Samus!" Yuna was relieved to see her teammate had made it through. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Samus said, stopping a moment to catch her breath. "Did you have any trouble?"

Yuna shook her head. "No, I got through okay. They especially didn't like my fire spells."

Samus smiled, knowing how combustable the dried out zombies could be. "Good, let's keep going. After we get through these pines we can start up the hill."

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Yuna stumbled again, the robe of the Black Mage didn't allow her to run well, so she did another sphere change, she shifted to Berserker, she was pumped with adrenaline and ran ahead releasing a warcry as she entered another large pack of zombies in front of them. She plowed through them, creating a path for Samus.

Yuna weaved through the pine trees easily, running on all fours. She jumped into the air, curling into a ball before she landed on a tree branch, looking back for a sign of Samus. Yuna shuffled restlessly and saw Samus arrive, having kicked her speed boosters into gear. Just before Samus reached her she sprung off the branch and continued, the two of them continued through, destroying any zombies that got in their way as they saw the end of the pine grove.

[B]"Go ahead!"[/B] Samus called to her.

Yuna nodded and continued clearing the way in front. Samus pushed off the ground and spun, facing the zombies that followed them as she charged up a large energy sphere, releasing it at the group before she went after Yuna.

Yuna and Samus had to fight through another hoard of zombies that had been waiting for them on the other side of the grove. Yuna made another change, there was a bright flash of light and she reappeared in her Lady Luck costume. She brandished a deck of cards entirely made of aces of spades. With a simple flick of her wrist she released the cards, each finding a target in a zombie's chest. Yuna snapped her fingers and the cards exploded.

Samus was already taking care of the rest, firing missiles at them.Yuna ran daintily, pulling her dress up a little. They had arrived at the hill, now all they had to do was climb it. Samus started upwards, and Yuna followed but was stopped suddenly by a yank at the hem of her dress. She tried to kick the zombie off, but he grinned scarily and pulled hard, bringing her down. Yuna did a swift change, she was back in her regular Gunner. She quickly brought out her guns and pressed them against it's chest. With a wink she squeezed both triggers, firing two bullets into him.

Yuna ran up the hill again, meeting Samus who had stopped and was firing from above to help. They nodded and headed for the large stone crypt that awaited them at the top. They finally made it after turning several times to shoot at their zombified pursuers.

Yuna had a strange look on her face when she saw that the door was barricaded by pews. They decided that they'd shoot the wood apart, which they'd have to do fast since the zombies were coming.

[B]"You destroy the pews, I'll take care of the zombies."[/B] Samus said, facing their 'friends'.

Yuna took a couple of steps back and fired two shots at the wood before she saw two eyes.

[B]"Hey, hey, what's the big deal with tryin' to destroy our barricade?"[/B] a familiar and annoyed voice called.

[B]"Xiaoyu?"[/B] Yuna asked, getting closer.

Three "I'm here"'s came from within too. Yuna grinned and Samus had looked over to see Xiaoyu's eyes too. Somehow they had all managed to get together again as a group.

[B]"Well let us in!"[/B] Samus said, continuing to fire at the raid of zombies. Yuna turned to help, firing rounds from her guns.

There was shuffling from within and scraping. The entrance was clear finally so the two of them hurried in, helping to push the barricades back in place. Yuna, Samus, Ada and Lara stuck their guns in the gaps, firing at any zombies that got too close to them, hoping Mog would end the challenge soon.[/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]Kuja laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, Crash staring at him with a slightly awed, albeit annoyed, expression. [B]"The thought never really crossed my mind--er...shall we go?"[/B]

Kuja headed down the path carefully, watching for any rising piles of dirt as he went. The Zombie's seemed to like surprise attacks, and any that came into unfortunate contact with Kuja and his still-clean clothes met a fiery and foul-smelling doom.

Crash followed closely behind Kuja, fending off zombies with well-aimed kicks and skilful dodges. They were later joined by Fox, who jogged behind the pair, firing at any zombies that came too close.

Kuja looked a little worried as the small group reached the doorway of the small outbuilding, casting his gaze around for Mario, Shadow or CJ. None of them were in immediate sight, but the excited yells and cuss words from various places in the graveyard were enough to say that they were all right.

Crash looked a little impatient and tapped his foot irritably, [B]"Look, we're not going to do very well if three of our team mates are missing."[/B]

[B]"Indeed."[/B] Fox agreed, giving Kuja a meaningful stare.

[B]"Quite so, um...right."[/B] Kuja fired up a blast of fire into to sky, followed by a bolt of thunder. The thought that it might attract zombies as well as teammates never really seemed to cross his mind...

[B]"There-a over there! Lets-a go!"[/B] Mario's shout was heard, followed closely by Shadow's fast paced sprint to the rest of the team. CJ didn't seem to want to co-operate and instead stuck it out with the zombies, somewhere in the depths of the graveyard.

[B]"We aren?t jus' gonna sit here, are we?"[/B] Shadow asked. His shoes and gloves were slimed with zombie blood and he looked eager to get back into the action. Mario, however, looked more than ready for a nice cup of tea.

[B]"I think it would be best if we rest, remember, we've got a whole night of this. We don't want to wear ourselves out, do we?"[/B]

Shadow mumbled his agreement and Fox chuckled, patting the aggressive hedgehog on a non-prickly part of his head.

[B]"All in good time, mate."[/B][/SIZE]

[Sandy]

[FONT=Century Gothic]Both the Heroes and the Heroines were exhausted from fending off the endless hordes of zombies, when finally a ray of hope reached them.

"Look!" Crash hollered at Fox and Kuja. "The day is breaking!"

The women also saw the rising sun appearing to the eastern sky. Yuna almost bursted into tears from relief. "It's... over."

As the sphere of the sun came into sight, all the zombies burrowed back to the soil of the graveyard in panic.

Both teams started walking to the open gate in complete silence.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Back at the CPU, the weary contestants practically fell to the hovering chairs.

"Tough challenge, kupo?" Mog asked with an annoying smirk on his face. "Good! I must say that each of you fought courageously and admirably, kupo. But... There can only be one kupo winner. And based on their performance, use of their individual skills and tireless fighting, the winners are..."

"[color=gold]The Heroines of the Golden Lotus[/color]!"

The team of women cheered, and most of the men buried their heads to their hands (or paws).

"Congrats on your victory, girls. Kupo, this means that you, [COLOR=Gray]Heroes of the Iron Fists[/COLOR] are going to face your first Team Council."

The Heroines quietly made their way to the teleporter, while the Heroes prepared to vote.

"Without further kuponess, it's time to vote."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After the votes had been counted, the result was crystal clear.

"Kupo, the first person to leave the Heroes of the Iron Fists is..."

[CENTER][B]Fox McCloud[/B]
[IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/OB%20Survivor/delete-Fox.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

The other male contestants watched as the foxy captain dissolved into cyberspace, with his thumb up and an encouraging smile on his face.

"Kupo, as the amount of people decrease, the amount of stress increases. There are eleven kupolly strong contestants left in this game, so you each must keep the [I]Game On[/I] in order to survive, kupopo! You are dismissed."[/FONT]

[Desbreko]

"What a relief!" Plopping down onto the soft couch cushions with the rest of the Heroines, Yuna let out yawn.

"That's something I never want to go through again." Everyone's thoughts echoed Krystal's comment, the group silently concurring. Then she yawned. ... Then Ada yawned. Soon it had spread to the entire group, causing Xiaoyu to giggle.

"Hmm?" Lara glanced over to see what was the matter. "What's so funny?"

"Yuna gave us the yawns!" Xiaoyu said in between giggles.

"What? Me?" Yuna looked slightly embarrassed and everyone broke out into a chuckle.

A few moments of silence passed, then Samus yawned again. "We have been up all night -- fighting zombies no less." She stood up and stretched, lacing her fingers together and bringing her arms up over her head. "And I think it's past my bed time. Goodnight everyone." Waving to her teammates as she disappeared into the hallway, Samus retired to her room for some well deserved rest.

[Blayze]

[b][size=1]"Stupid zombies..." [/size][/b][size=1]muttered Shadow, [b]"Stupid heroines...stupid Fox...I hate this. We have to win the next one, guys!"

"The li'l rodent's righ', foo's. We gotta pick up da slack, we gotta do the best we can from now on, or we ain't gettin' nuthin' outta dis!"[/b] replied CJ, speaking to the group as a whole.

[b]"So-a, its-a decided," [/b]said Mario bouncily, [b]"We go full-a out-a on the next-a challenge!"

"Yeah!" [/b]shouted Crash. They all looked at Kuja expectantly. He was leaning on a doorframe, and when he noticed they were looking at him, he raised his hand without any real conviction, and said:

[b]"Go team," [/b]rather unenthusiastically. The rest of the team then decided it was too late, and they all needed some sleep. They would need their energy for the next challenge, and who knew what that little furry thing could come up with next?
[/size]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Yuna was relieved when they were able to leave the graveyard as dawn broke out. The two teams got out of their safety areas and walked out the gate, all of them were tired.

When they arrived back at the CPU, Yuna hopped onto one of the floating pillows sluggishly, she was almost afraid of the result because of her losing streak so far. When Mog announced their win, she was instantly rejuvinated and she was jumping up and down happily, cheering loudly at her first win in the game.

Yuna then thought about Kuja and Mario, the two men that she had previously shared a team with. She looked at them sadly, they were drooped with sadness because they had once again lost and had to vote them out. The two of them looked up, Yuna expressed her sympathy in her eyes as she went through the teleporter, back to the Lotus Garden.

The group all fell onto the comfortable sofas, and it seems that Yuna, in Xiaoyu's words 'gave them the yawns'. They talked about what they had just been through, Yuna was glad it was over, glad they had won, and glad that she was in a good team of skilled females.

Samus left the room, and the others agreed after having a sleepless night because they had to defend themselves from zombies. They all said goodnight and parted ways, several went to their rooms.

Yuna flopped onto the bed with a large grin. They'd won. She'd had her first victory, and it was great. For once since the game began, she didn't have to go to Team Council and vote off one of her new teammates. She let out a squeal with joy and fell asleep, reliving the moment of victory in her dreams.[/COLOR]