[Blade Unlimited]

It was the dead of night in the Sunshine Circle, at the center of the Life Sphere, and casually perched at the brim of a large green pipe was the mercenary Nobody decked out in his so-called "work clothes." Though his entire lower face was completely obscured under the form-hugging black mask he wore, the merc's eyes betrayed his cheerful expression as he welcomed the mission participants.

With a backwards shove from his arms, his lithe body slid off of the protruding emerald structure. "Glad to see you two could make it. Ready to bust some rust?" Nobody in particular asked, thumbing back to the auspicious pipe that would take them down into the Life Sphere's sewer system. Talk about convenient! Potentially gross, but nevertheless convenient!

MISSION START!

((Coolshaymin TartoonHand94))

[Coolshaymin]

Chell walked into Sunshine Circle with her hands in her hoodie pockets, the orange and blue hoodie over her head as she glanced between the man and the pipe... She recalled meeting this guy briefly. Sketchy individual but she dealt with those on the regular. "... Ready as I'll ever be," she answered simply before glancing to the pipe. "... So we just go down that thing, right?" she remembered seeing these pipes, mainly around the Mushroom Kingdom area but there was a few in the Life Sphere... weird way to travel but guess there's not much that can be done.

Well, she wasn't bothered by the idea of a little grime so she stepped up and hoisted herself onto the pipe. Her Portal Gun was attached to a strap on her back and she had a gun like device on her hip although it had a weird look to it and she held a pouch assumingly with other forms of weapons. "Well, best not to waste time." she added as she was ready for descending into the murky depths.

[TartoonHand94]

♪“Everybody wants to be a cat! Because the cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at~!”♪
In the dark of the night, squeaky creaks echoed from a nearby pipe, this one more clearly installed for transportation purposes. ♪“Everybody’s picking up on that feline beat because everything else is obsolete!”♪ and out of this pipe popped a green cap, followed by a pair of eyes, a big bulbous nose and a black bushy moustache.
“Ello?” The fellow asked as he jumped out of the pipe. “Is it-a you, Mr. Dude?” He asked Nobody, checking his briefing for the name. “I’m-a no know why you used the S.O.S., you could’ve just-a called us. We’re not-a shutting down till at least at the end of the month.” He shrugged, putting the briefing away and reaching out to shake his hand. “I’m-a Luigi Mario, Plumber Extraordinary at-a your service!” He introduced himself, taking off his cap in a twirling flourish before handing out a business card from under it to both Nobody and Chell.
“So, what’s-a the hub-bub, bub?” He asked, taking a peek over the edge of the pipe to the sewer system.


Luigi
150/150 HP
50/50 Shield
Status: Normal

[Blade Unlimited]

So the quiet girl was the first to arrive. Yeah, she seemed like the punctual type. Nobody seemed somewhat dazed, his good eye glazed over as he spaced out a good second or two before responding to Chell's question. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, this line should take us right into the danger zone." Nobody slapped the side of the pipe to accentuate the point, green paint flaking off of it a bit from the impact. Gross.

And then the "plumber" arrived, using another pipe no less! How on brand! "Oh please, 'Mr. Dude' was my father. Call me Nobody." He joked, though it thinly veiled some hostility. The mercenary narrowed his gaze as the chipper Luigi made his way over, though the glare was quickly replaced by wide eyes when the green guy presented his business card. In a practiced motion, Nobody accepted the card with both hands and a slight bow. "Ah--thank you." Instinctively, the mercenary reached around to as if to pull a card from his own pocket befo--"WAIT A SECOND! Stop making this professional!" He snapped, spiking the plumber's stationary into the ground with a huff.

"Taking all the fun out of it and we're not even fighting a sewer monster yet."

Well, now that the pleasantries were out of the way, it was time to get down to business. As Luigi peered down into the pipe, Nobody would approach the pipe as well... from behind Luigi. Huh, you know that does look like a pretty deep fall down in the absence of a ladder or anything to help get down.

"In ya go!" Nobody announced with a laugh before pushing against Luigi's back to shove him down into the hole. The mushroom kingdom sucker wouldn't be alone long though, as the dark clothed deviant would flash Chell a peace sign before front-flipping into the pipe as well.

((LUIGI! Roll a 12+ Dex to regain your bearings and stick the landing, otherwise you'll suffer 15% DMG and a nasty bump on the head.))
((Chell and Nobody! ....One of you has a portal gun and boots that negate fall damage, and it's a pretty straight shot down. Roll a 5+ DEX to not somehow mess up getting down, otherwise take 15% DMG as well.))

Jc2fvTmvp_1d20+3

Nobody managed to stick the landing, hopefully not on Luigi himself but he wouldn't be too perturbed if it ended up that way. The scene that'd meet the group would be met with was an interesting one, to say the least. It was a fairly dim lit cavern, the air moist and kinda gross... but that was it in terms of wetness. In fact, the entire central canal of the sewer (as far as they could see) was bone dry! That can't be good!

From his pocket, Nobody unfolded what looked to be a map printed on blue paper, a green X marking their position while a red X several segments along seemed to mark their destination. "Alrighty, gang, no chickening out now." He'd lightly tease before walking off down the path without a moment's notice. No time to lose, after all!1d20+3

[Chell]

Chell looked up from the pipe at the emergence of someone out of another... Well, he was certainly experienced with this... Looked familiar too... It was that last name that told her where she saw him, or well, saw his brother. They definitely had a family resemblance on top of a similar fashion sense. Not that she is one to talk through her orange pants and assymetrical orange and blue hoodie.

She just looked down at the business card in silence... yeah, not really sure she was in dying need of the card to a plumber agency. And well, Nobody dismissed that rather quick. She stepped back from her position at seeing Luigi and Nobody, having an idea where this might go as the plumber was sent plummeting down. Well, that was one way to put him in gear.

vrGZrnpgp_1d20+2

"..." Chell just returned the gesutre to Nobody as he went down the pipe before she followed suit, jumping with a few flips before landing on her feet without breaking a sweat. "..." Chell simply nodded before following after Nobody, noting the surroundings... Something was off about this system alright. At least he had a map to make their search easy. She used a hand to make sure her Portal Gun was still firmly in place as she prepared herself for whatever gross animals or monsters might live down here.
1d20+2

[TartoonHand94]

“Okidoki, so is-a that ‘No-Bodi’ or ‘Noh-Budee?’” Luigi tested, trying to pronounce the inflection right, not helped by his accent being as thick as his moustache. “Ack!” He squawked, diving to the floor before his card could land on it. “Ay! Whassamatta for you!? Didn’t-a you pappy Mr. Dude teach you no manners?” He glared up at Nobody and shook the dirt off his precious business card before safely storing it back in his overalls. These things were expensive, doncha know? So much for first impressions.

“Ma-me-mi-mo-Monstro?” Luigi stuttered, staggering back up to trembling feet. “Don’t-a tell me this is-an other one of Those missions!” Luigi groaned, pulling his cap down over his eyes. How many times was he going to fall for this? Fool a Mario once, shame on you, fool a Mario thrice, you must be king Boo! “Look paesano, there must-a been some mistake. I’m-a just a plumber and-Luigi! What are you doing? Don’t you see that’s the difference between you and Mario? This guy won’t show you any respect as a plumber until you he sees you spin a Big Bully around by the tail or something!-and fighting sewer monsters is what Mario Brothers do better than any other plumbers!” He asserted himself over to the pipe, looking down into what he was just expecting to be full of turtles, crabs, flies and the like. Maybe you don’t want to lean so far over the rim like that, Luigi. You could all too easily…

“Hah? Euw-heu-heu-heu-heu!” Luigi cried, flailing down through the dark chute.

(yRVMK_knp_1d20+3 Luigi's Super Mario Landing; Failure. Takes 15% Damage.)

“Heu-heu-heu-Euf!” He landed headfirst like he had missed a Super Jump Punch. Sitting upright, he was practically wearing his hat on his shoulder. After pulling his head free by his nose, he fixed his cap and looked around once his vision settled.

From the dim lighting to gross moist air, he was in familiar territory.
“Ah, home, sweet sump.” Luigi sighed nostalgically before scrambling out of the way of his two oncoming party mates. “Phew. Say, you got yourself a map?” He asked, noticing the paper Nobody unfolded. “S-super. In-a that case, You lead the way.” He volunteered Nobody as he slipped behind Chell. Y’know, to protect her from the rear and stuff…

Luigi
135/150 HP
50/50 Shield
Status: Normal

1d20+3

[Blade Unlimited]

And nobody indeed would lead the way! Well somebody was, but whether that somebody was Nobody or nobody in particular was anybody's guess. And so the group of pipe patrollers would begin their trek through Li's dingy and dank waterways. Every so often whenever they reached an intersection in the sewer system, the merc would come to a stop and pull out the map to double-check their location before brazenly continuing onward in another direction.

"Make sure to keep an eye peeled for anything out of the ordinary." Nobody would chirp from behind the visual cover of the blueprints while they walked. His voice sounded quite cheerful despite their dingy location... almost too cheerful. "And don't forget the buddy system! We're getting close to the spot."

((Chell and Luigi! Looks like you're starting to approach the disturbance area within Li's underground sewers. Make a WIS check to see if you can perceive anything that might stick out!))

[TartoonHand94]

The least eager to march ahead blindly into the dark, despite being the one with the most experience patrolling pipes, Luigi followed behind Nobody, or rather, nobody was following behind Luigi because he was following Chell, who was following Nobody since Nobody knew where they were going because Nobody had the map.

Having had just about enough of the darkness, however, Luigi fished a flower out of his pocket, rolled it and lit up. Snapping his fingers like a pair of flint rocks, Luigi lit a torch of flame burning green in the palm of his hand.

(8luaHo3Rp_1d20+2Luigi's spark of wisdom rolll.)

“Out-a the ordinary? If-a you knew what’s in-a the ordinary down here, I’m-a no think you want to keep-a your eyes peeled on it…” Luigi rolled his eyes with a shudder.
“…Are-a we there yet?” He felt compelled to ask, not looking forward to many more dank miles. He could’ve sworn this would’ve been easier had they chosen an entry point closer to the objective. The pipes he took to get here weren’t the Komsomolskaya, but they were nowhere near this bad.
“B-Buddy system?” Luigi did a take up at Chell. But there were three of them.
“…Everybody need’s-a somebody eh?” He sheepishly shrugged, rather having her company than nobody’s at all.

Luigi
135/150/150 HP
50/50 Shield
Status: Normal

1d20+2

[Chell]

tmScT7CTp_1d20+1(Chell's perception)

Chell could not hear, see or smell much past the... place that would probably rather not be doing at least two of those things. She tried to keep an eye open but her attention was on nobody... I mean Nobody... No, someone named Nobody. They've traveled a long way and although this guy was... almost too honest with his line of work, compared to herself who kept her questionable side-jobs secret so no one would question them... Did that make him confident, formidable or just dumb? Honestly hard to tell, and really it could be a mix of any of those.

In a way you could say part of her reason for being here was to make sure Nobody wasn't up to something. She didn't hate him but wasn't sure yet whether she could trust him either... Either way, odd that he instructs a two system job with three people.

"..." She glanced back at Luigi... well, she could tell from his nervousness that she did not have much to worry about from him. "... Watch my back and I will return the favor," she replies simply. A straightforward response, even if she could of just said yes.1d20+1

[Blade Unlimited]

60CRGxaPp_1d20-2 (Nobody "Perception" Check)

Wow, these two sure were bad at keeping aware of their surroundings. Thankfully, their brave and knowledgeable leader Nobody was there to give the wayward plumber and fellow merc a leg up in these sorts of situations! As they drew closer and closer towards their destination, a faint hissing noise could be made out above the rhythmic creaking and moist squelching of their footsteps; its source seemingly further ahead into the darkness. Luigi's flashlight would eventually prove helpful though, shedding light on their situation to reveal...

A LEAK!

The smaller pipes that had been lining the walls of the sewer-way seemed to all converge at this specific intersection, wherein a network formed. A network that, from the looks of it, was loudly and fastly leaking and causing the water levels to rise. In fact, the leaking seemed to have filled this entire section of the tunnels up to their ankles in water. To Luigi and Chell, it would indeed appear as urgent and terrible an issue as the mission request had made things out to be!

"Aha! That looks like the problem aaaand..." Nobody finally lowered his blueprint, because while their objective indeed lay in front of them, so did something completely different, if not more pressing of an issue.

"OH NOOOOOO! A SEWER MONSTER!" He dramatically announced, wagging a finger frantically towards the Piranha plant abruptly descending from the ceiling with a lifeless, teeth-chomping look about itself.

((Everyone! Roll an 8+ DEX to escape the chomping jaws of the Piranha plant, or else suffer 8% DMG))

p_1d20+3 (Nobody's Dodge)

The quick and nimble merc was of course able to easily roll to the side out of the descending jaws' path... but almost immediately Nobody's face began to twist in confusion as he got a better look at their assailant. Because even if a member of their party had been unlucky enough to escape the attack, they'd find not that much force behind it despite its terrifying source.... and no wonder too! Because a proper look at the plant would show that it was completely lifeless, torn at the stem and covered in some sort of acidic purple goo that hissed from its frayed ends.

"Huh? Wait that's not supposed to-" Nobody seemed... legitimately at a loss for words. He'd taken pretty much everything so far for this mission in stride, but it was almost like this was the first time he'd actually been caught off guard somehow. How peculiar!

((Everyone! Make a 14+ WIS roll to properly stay aware of your surroundings, or else something bad might happen!))

p_1d20-2 (Nobody's WIS save.... oof)1d20-2·1d20+3·1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

Chell could not notice much outside... the usual sewer mess due to her suspicious nature. Did not help that it was inherently harsh on all the senses so she had issues surveying her surroundings. Been a while since she's been anywhere as gross as the abandoned parts of Aperature. In fact the gross water was to their ankles... which is fine for her because that still fell under her protective area. However before they could investigate further a "sewer monster" made his presence known.

dA_ektPGp_1d20+2

The girl jumped back, ready to turn her defensive on the offensive... before she noticed something... The plant had no life to it and was dripping a strange substance. In fact now the cool leader of their group was taken aback. Something was up here and now she was substantially more aware of her surroundings as well as this strange liquid.


p_1d20+1(Chell becoming more cautious of her surroundings)

Chell HP: 165 Shield HP: 55 Status: More alert

1d20+2·1d20+1

[Blade Unlimited]

(( TartoonHand94 Due to missing the posting deadline, you have been skipped and all rolls in the last turn will be considered failed. Failure to post by the deadline again will result in Luigi being removed from the mission entirely, so be careful. Extensions to can be provided, to a reasonable degree, if notice is provided in advance when unable to post in time, if necessary.))

Chell was right to be on her toes, since it looked like the rest of her group wasn't. Luigi was understandably distracted by the severed Piranha plant falling onto his head, but her especially perceptive perception could distinguish Nobody's as a somewhat separate kind of disorientation. He was just as detached as the plumber right now, but the Mercenary was at a loss for words, thrown off of his groove like a stage actor whose partner started adlibbing off-script.

Her perceptiveness would afford Chell another advantage too: Namely avoiding the threat that came next. A closer and careful look at the grimy ceiling the plant had seemingly come from would reveal other dissolved remnants of bones and plant appendages, amidst a gurgling and bubbling purple sludge coating the tunnel for meters ahead. It was already fairly disturbing... before sets of eyes began to pop out from them.

"MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK."

"So this is the result of decades of flushing goldfish and bleach down the toilet." Nobody quipped though, he was still notably disturbed at the sight. Seems his mouth recovered quicker than his head did, at any rate. Unfortunately for him, all addressing the toxic elephant in the room seemed to do was aggravate the pack of Muk, as with a roar of gurgles and bubbling they began to drop in slimy, eye-stinging globs down onto them.

((Luigi and Nobody! Roll a 14+ DEX and make a break towards the leak! Fail and you'll be ensnared in a putrid mass of sentient grime that'll grapple you and inflict 15% DMG for every turn you're trapped!))

482gbax_p_1d20+3 (Nobody's Muk Dodge - SUCCESS!)

"SCATTER!" Nobody shouted before breaking into a full-on sprint, narrowly managing to escape the slimy tomb collapsing behind them on the way to their objective. "I've got no idea what those things are, but if you don't wanna end up looking like the victim of an 80's B-roll horror flick, I suggest we book it!" Nobody advised 'calmly.' He began looking over the network of piping surrounding the leak, double-checking it with a new paper containing a drawing of lines in a similar layout except bearing red "X" marks at specific points.

"Okay, one of you guys needs help me patch this up; we can't replace the pipes, but if we dent them hard enough in these specific places, it'll redirect and disperse the flow into a completely harmless area outside of the Life Sphere. The rest need to keep grimace over there occupied while we patch this up... Any volunteers?"


((Luigi and Chell! One of you needs to fight the Muk Horde and stall it while the other helps Nobody in fixing the leak! However, one person cannot do both in the same turn!

• Ignoring the Muk Horde unopposed for more than 2 turns total will result in the group being completely overrun!
  
  
• While helping Nobody, Roll 12+ WIS to follow his directions with repairing the flow. Due to his plumbing background, Luigi can roll twice and take the higher of the two for this check! If you manage to roll higher than a 20, your keen senses might pick up on something important.
  
  

There are 3 areas in total that need to adjusted to repair the flow, so be careful and be fast!))

Muk Horde
HP: ? ? ?

1d20+3

[TartoonHand94]

“There’s-a nothing here I’m-a like to watch more than-a you back!” Luigi assured Chell with a dutiful salute that would’ve set hit hat on fire had it been even a little more flammable.

“Ay. Anybody else hear a-that?” Luigi’s experienced ears picked up the trickling interstice long before even saw it. Being in the back between the two taller folks didn’t help either. Chell’s back was all he Could see. Stepping in deeper water, however cemented it for him. “Feels-a like it sounds-a like-a we’re getting warmer.”

Hearing nobody in the front say he found the source of the problem made Luigi sigh in relief. The sooner he fixed it, the sooner he was out of here. “A Sewer what?” Luigi freaked out, practically jumping on Chell’s back for piggy-back protection. Looking over her shoulder however, Luigi saw an unexpectedly familiar sight.

“Pfff Pahahaha!” Luigi abruptly broke out into laughter. What a rooky this Nobody turned out to be. Even as green as Luigi was, he could tell a first-timer when he saw one.
“That’s-a no ‘Sewer Monster’ that’s just-a Piranha Plant.” He leapfrogged over Chell to shine his light onto it to give Nobody a better look.
“They might-a been an invader speech, but they call the pipes home now, just-a like-” He began to explain like an excited botanist when “EEYOWOWOW!” He howled as the Piranha Plant’s head fell on his head. he flailed and frantically yanked his hand out of the Piranha Plant’s jaws.

(Luigi's dodge auto-failed, so he takes 8% damage.)

This loss of focus put the fire out, leaving him to splash ineffectively as he ran around in circles trying get the plant head off of his. It was only when he successfully threw it off of himself did he realize something was off: normally a Piranha Plant would be resisting and trying to rip his head off his shoulders, but this one was… The return of the green-glowing hand-torch confirmed it: Pakkun Furawā wa sudeni shinde imasu.
“Nani?” Luigi panted, looking up where the plant came down from and seeing the mass of Muks dripping from the ceiling.

(59xqzUpip_1d20+3 Luigi's Dexterous Dodge of Muk ensnarement; Success!)

“Hard Reads!” Luigi hooted, doing a long-jump toward the leak, grabbing a foot hold on one of the pipes on the walls, Luigi was already in position. “I’m-a on it! Just-a tell me where, Mappy!” He urgently encouraged, ready to put his plumbing skills to immediate use.
What? You thought He was going to fight the Muk horde?

(p_1d20+2 Luigi's Plumber Wisdom.)
(p_1d20+2 Luigi's Player 2 Wisdom.)

“Eh?”While waiting for Nobody’s instruction, however, Luigi’s eyes picked something up the green torch light. “Ay! Lookie this!”

Luigi
127/150 HP
50/50 Shield
Status: Normal

1d20+3·1d20+2·1d20+2

[Coolshaymin]

"..." That goop dissolved part of the plant... And something else because she was fairly confident that plants did not have skeletons... No one tell her Bone Pirahna Plants exist. Either way that meant the source was not far and this is not her first time seeing horrific goop. The last time killed her... kind of. Trophifying is weird. She won't make the same mistake again... Especially when it was sprouting eyes. "... Head's up, those things probably absorbed it," Chell warned from a... good distance away almost instantly.

"Yeah, I've had enough of those for one life time... Looks like we found a real sewer monster in any case," Chell looked back to the horde before to Nobody and Luigi as the plan was laid out... Well, Luigi was the plumber so probably best she leaves that part to him. "Buddy system... Okay, I'll keep them busy," Chell declared before tightening her fist. She didn't have a chance to test this new equipment yet but now seemed like as good a time as any. She punched down upon the path, sending an electric current through her glove that would travel down the line towards the Muks, aiming to shock and lower their speed.


gtbLdJOjp_1d20+3(Electric Field, 20% damage, 50% chance to disable DEX)

She then held out a hand and put her palm out, a bomb dropping out of her glove to which she threw and tried to detonate an explosion to force them to keep their distance. Fortunately it was precise enough that it shouldn't cause bad structural damage.

p_1d20+2(Aperature Science Bomb, 30% damage)

p_1d20+2(Crit confirm)

Chell would use the time bought to try and create two portals parrallel each other, to send any Muks that fell into the trap into an endless fall loop they might have trouble getting out of.

p_1d20+2(Portal Gun tactics)

Chell HP: 165 Shield HP: 55 Status: Distracting, for science Cooldowns: Bomb (2), Electricity Field (2)

1d20+3·1d20+2·1d20+2·1d20+2

[Blade Unlimited]

The structural soundness of the Muk Horde fluctuated and flattened for several seconds as Chell's electrifying current jolted through them. Her subsequent explosive proved even more effective, the bomb situating itself right into the sweet-spot of the rushing mob and actually sinking into its depths before detonating in a ground-shaking BOOM! The congealing forms of the sewer creatures abruptly expanded and bubbled out while the Muks cried out in pain; the walls splattering with purple sludge with each that burst into plumes of dark smoke. It definitely seemed to stun a good few of the amorphous pokemon, but only angered others who surged back into charging blobs of gunk immediately after.

"MUUUUK!" 

Some managed to fall into her portal and get caught into the endlessly looping floor and ceiling, but as more streamed in and gunked it up, the Muk's sludge-like bodies merely interlocked together to quickly bridge it as well. Nevertheless, Chell's attempts were sufficiently keeping the creatures as bay for now, but that didn't mean she was completely safe! Taking a more distanced approach, some Muks began to scoop bits of matter off of their bodies before lobbing it at the portal producer as projectiles!

((Chell! Roll a 15+DEX to avoid the Sludge Bomb, otherwise you'll take 25% DMG and be poisoned for 3 turns!))

Muk Horde
HP: ? ? ? - 50

---

As Luigi eagerly, and literally, hopped-to helping Nobody out, the Merc urgently referenced his directions again before pointing to the pipe directly under the plumber's shoe. "Hit that one! Then the one two rows up to your right." Nobody urged. And of course, with Luigi's superior plumbing experience, he'd finished the task before even been told; the pipe sufficiently denting under the well-placed weight of the green bomber. Truly, a master of his craft at work... though, because he was such a master, Luigi would begin to notice a peculiar tidbit about their plan.

The professional plumber clearly knew his way around a pipe or two, and with how Li's infrastructure was set up, something wasn't adding up. Sure, the flow of the leak would be sufficiently redirected if they continued this way; but there wasn't any so-called easy emptying juncture that cleanly lead outside of the Life Sphere. Maybe Nobody had something else in mind or just explained it poorly in the rush, though?

((Good roll Luigi! But you've still got 2 more left before the leak can be properly diverted!))