Outside the Campus' North Gate, Wednesday Morning

[seeks_truth]

She had heard the first shriek when she'd left the dorms complex for her morning jog. There had been dead eels on the lawn, but she had not paid it much heed.

Then there had been the second shriek, as she approached the gate. It had given her pause. What was out there that was, apparently, throwing fish at the school

Comments

[kenselvren]

Jalian wasn't sure precisely what was going on here, but once an eel tried to attack her, she didn't much care. She started around the dorms, but when she saw the battle by the gate - well, numbers always helped.

So she was striking out at the latest batch of eels, a long knife in each hand, practically a blur as she sliced them neatly.

[seeks_truth]

And now they had a dual-wield rogue!

"Watch your left!" Cassandra yelled, as she dashed forward to catch another wing of this latest batch on her shield.

[kenselvren]

NGL, I totally thought that!

"Thanks!" Jalian sliced through the one there, then whirled to take out a few at the end that tried to sneak around Cassandra's shield. "How many are there?"

[seeks_truth]

"Too many," Cassandra said irritably.

She swung her sword in a clear arc down, impaling one before it got any ideas. "There seems to be no end."

[kenselvren]

Jalian's mind was working as she took out another. "If we eliminate the machinery, maybe they'll stop."

The EMP from a nuclear weapon would do that! Unfortunately, there were a few drawbacks there. Where was Barry when you needed him?

[seeks_truth]

Yes, considering it would short out every other bit of electronic equipment on the island. Not that Cassandra would notice.

"If you strike it, they die," she agreed, "but so does striking the head."

[kenselvren]

That, plus the whole nuclear explosion thing, yes.

"Is the machinery controlling them?" Jalian asked. She had tried to have a look at it, but it wasn't like things she'd seen before.

[seeks_truth]

"We are not sure," Cassandra admitted. "Can you tell?"

[kenselvren]

Jalian slashed another eel down. "Cover me." She knelt by the thing to get a better look at it, pulling the machinery free from the eel.

[seeks_truth]

Cassandra stepped in front of her immediately, raising her makeshift shield. She parried two, three, four incoming eels and then struck out with her sword. "Any luck?!"

[kenselvren]

Jalian made a disgusted noise. "Most of this seems to help them breathe. The rest...I can't be sure, but I don't see any communications equipment." She stood back up to help with the killing. "Or anything that would control them."

[seeks_truth]

"So they are mindless animals," Cassandra said. "I am not sure whether that is a relief or something to worry about."

[kenselvren]

"Easier to kill them, but maybe someone else to deal with after?" Jalian said.

[seeks_truth]

"And impossible to reason with," Cassandra said. "We will not be able to negotiate a cease fire."

She smashed an incoming eel to the ground with her shield and then chopped its head off with one fluid movement.

[kenselvren]

Jalian just shrugged; she was used to that when being attacked.

And another eel got sliced in two.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't have anything as exciting as a knife or other bladed weaponry, sadly. And the weapons she did have weren't the kind that would inspire fear in the hearts of onlookers. Probably for the best that eels didn't really have the brains to care one way or another.

The weighted handle of a set of reinforced gymnastics ribbons smashed into the side of one of the eels, knocking it to the ground. Kathy was by Jalian's side an instant later, giving the other girl a grin and a wave. "Morning! "