>Come to Emilia's side. Embrace her without words.

(nonclassical Conversation Check)

EVENTS:


Rosa and Eigla back up together, narrowly avoiding being flattened yet again by the blob's quivering spasms. The creature looks up at them, its face a crushed mess of loose teeth and gore.


Meatblob: "EIGLA IS DEAD. I KILLED HER. SHE TOOK ME IN, AND I KILLED HER. You can't be Eigla. I'm not Eigla. You don't love me. I don't love me.

We can't exist together. Rosa consumes all. There is nothing else, NOTHING! You can't lie to me. I'll die alone. A hundred thousand of us will die alone. ALONE!"



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Malia releases her physical hold on Klimt, and her mental hold on Emilia, then continues to move forwards. The battle is hardly over - There must be so much more to hunt, so much more to kill and consume! She can hardly wait.

Following in the stilt-walker's footsteps, she pushes aside bits of rubble to reveal a path deeper into the mud flats. Across a field of burning vehicle carcasses, she sees a group of Sally's crew taking shelter in an overturned APC, holding their position against a horde of mudmen. In the distance, a strange-looking King lobs great globs of mud across the battlefield, bombarding the defenders' position.


Klimt walks up to Emilia, lifting her off the muddy ground, then hugs her as tightly as he can. She lets out a small yelp, blushing as their bodies press together.


Emilia: "K-Klimt? I, I thought you hated this kind of thing...?"

EVENTS:


The blob howls in agony for what seems like an eternity, then kneels in place, shivering. It looks at Rosa with its one non-crushed eye, slowly groaning through its destroyed jaw.


Blob: "...You... Ỳ̜͔̫̳̣̜͟o̎́̂̓͂ͨu̐̄̑̉̆ͪ̍ͅ ̨͚ͯ͊̇ͭ̏̑w̡̬̘̪̙͚̳̿ͫ̾͂ͅo̫͙̥ͫͪ̾ͤ͡ű̊̊̿̔͌͏͚ͅl̯̑̾̒̈́͟d̺̟̪͍̫̆̊̈́͟ͅ take us... In? Can we live... t̻̱͓̞͎̝̏͛̈́̄͟ͅo̺̲͕g͓̰͖ͮ̀ͧͭ̍ĕ̮̋̄̚t̡̫͎͕͓̼̟ͬ̓ͮ̚h̠̰̼͈́ĕ̀̑ͯ͐҉̞͈̲͚̺̩̥r͓̲̆̏̀?̫̄ͯ͊ͪͩ̐̀ Even after all of this? Can you still... F̵̙̣̺͕̯ͥ̃ͧ̈́̃̆o̱̳̔ͮͪr̨̝̼̗̩g̡̋ͥ̉͒i̗̳ͯ̀́ͫ̐̀ͅv̢͙̠͊͆ͧͩ̽ͦ̆ͅe̱̘̭̤͇̒̐͢?̯̪͚̝̘̓̊̿̑


The monster meekly extends one of its gargantuan hands in a plaintive gesture, as if inviting Rosa to touch her finger. Even the hydra heads seem to have lost their rage, instead looking fixedly at the sharkgirl.


Eigla's danger sense tingles. The monster seemed safe enough to touch before, but... What if it's a trap? What if it eats Rosa?



_________________________________________


Emilia continues to blush, and for once is completely speechless. She seems to be switching between averting her eyes from his body and avoiding eye contact altogether, and looks significantly relieved when she is set down.

Emilia: "...Y-yes, you're right. Let's go after her! Quickly!"


The two of then run after Malia, joining her behind the overturned APC. The besieged sailors look at them with surprise, but soon recognise them as Sally's guests. One of them, a red-haired Doll with an eyepatch and a scorpion-like tail ending in a pirate hook, turns to speak with the party.

Paprika: "Well, t'least you're in one piece, yeah? See the ugly thing over there? Mud Artillery - We didn't expect to see any of them without a Mud Lord around, but that's what we get for not scoutin'.

Can't really move outta here without gettin' bombarded, can't charge it with all the mudmen in the way. Rock an' a hard place, yeah? So uh, make yourselves comfy, we're stuck here until we get some more reinforcements. Maybe a tank or two? Yeah."

EVENTS:


Something changes in the Meatblob's demeanour. An undercurrent of tension marks its voices as its speaks once again, its destroyed face opening up into a huge, ugly maw.


Meatblob: "I've told before, and you know it yourself. There is only Rosa. Eileen is dead. EIGLA IS DEAD. I KILLED HER.

...This is her final wish."



With a snap akin to the report of a cannon, the monster's head shoots forwards, neck extending like a chameleon's tongue. The twenty foot mouth flies inexorably towards Rosa, its gargantuan momentum simply too large to block or parry. Time seems to slow down to a near standstill.

Eigla's mind races. Her vines and flesh are ready, but she's not sure they can hold back the all-devouring projectile. Rosa - the girl was never too good at dodging, much less so with her larger half slowing her down. She's going to be hit. She's going to be killed. Again.



___________________________________________


Meanwhile, Klimt wraps his tentacles around nearby wrecks and corpses, using his superhuman strength to pull them together in a makeshift barricade. Their cover is a bit improved, but globs of congealed mud continue to slam against the roof of the APC, leaving huge dents where they land. One of the pirate Dolls is hit, falling to the ground with a dry thud as her head and upper body are smashed together from the impact.


Malia attempts subterfuge, snaking her tendrils along the floor to try and reach the mudtillery, but it's no use. The thing is simply too far away, and it is impossible to properly maneuver her threads through the horde of stomping mudmen. The barrage continues, as their cover is pelted by a heavy projectile every few seconds.



...Huh, that last one sounded different. There was the characteristic thud of a mud ball impacting a metal surface, but the vehicle didn't rock back dangerously, and neither were they splashed by a wave of shrapnel and muck. Did the thing miss?

Looking out through a break in their barricade, the party sees the stilt-walker has moved between them and the artillery king, its armored body serving as an improvised wall. The gunners on the lower decks unleash waves of suppressing fire at the nearby mudmen, while yet another mud ball slams against the superstructure. Could this be the opening they need?