You sigh in something close to relief as you make your decision, a smile crossing your lips as you show just the barest hint of your fangs. Until now your abject rage hasn't done much to make him uncomfortable, but as you grin with a dark satisfaction, you finally see the flickers of fear cross his face. At the moment, you can hardly conceive of anything more satisfying than that.
"Clearly, we're not going to be able to settle this like civilized people or even any sort of approximation to such. And so we're going to settle it a different way. My way. The fun way."
He scoffs. "Is that all? For a second there I was scared that you-"
You slam the heel of your hand into his nose and feel it crunch instantly, the entire structure of his skull bristling with cracks. He's weak. So deliciously weak that your mind immediately jumps to ways to extend this "fight."
The impact of your punch sends him sliding backward, before rolling heels-over-head down the street and into a group of zombies he knocks over like bowling pins. He climbs groggily to his feet, before shaking his head. You note his obvious pain when he does so and close in on it, diving in and slamming a fist into his temple before kicking his gut and sending him flying through the air away from you. You grin, watching him fall. Moments before he hits the ground, though, you feel something.
Call it a sixth sense, or perhaps it's merely your usual senses picking up on a change of air pressure behind you, but you feel something there and turn, just in time for a rotten fist, its skin already peeling, to collide with your chest and drop you immediately to the ground. A few of your ribs are fractured, but ultimately the punch accomplished little but to get your attention.
Another zombie, from the looks of him. From the feel of that punch, a super zombie. However, it's immediately obvious to you that it's not as strong as the first one you fought. It simply didn't hit as hard. It steps closer and reaches out with its open jaws to bite you, but you backhand it away and leap back to your feet, your chest already mending. You turn back to where you punted Lan and see him getting to his feet. Red blood is drooling from his mouth, but it shares its place with a grin. Did he know this thing was going to attack? Was he somehow commanding it?
You don't let him hold your attention for long, turning back to the super-zombie. It's righted itself and is once again approaching you. You pounce on it, using the same strategy as before. You strike at its head to knock it off-balance, before slamming your heel into its knee. You feel tendons stretch to the breaking point, but you haven't actually shattered any bones yet. At this point, you're uncomfortably close to the creature and you push it away. Still, excepting its sucker-punch, you're as-of-yet untouched in this encounter. You're doing rather well for yourself, wouldn't you say?
The undead creature is healing before your eyes, and you decide to press the offensive- your peripheral vision barely picks up on a fast-moving object in time for you to duck under it. In a moment you catch sight of the object's identity- the spinning heel of a certain smirking "funnyman." The moment he lands after his failed kick, he leaps- no, backflips over to the side of the super-zombie, before exaggeratedly bowing in your direction.
"I assume from the fact that Rick never checked back in that you're already acquainted with my Double-Ds. These babies are my personal strike force, generously provided by the Master himself. If ya'd come quietly and sign up, you could get two or three yourself!"
You step back, getting yourself into a proper solid stance. You grin at him. "And if none are still alive for me to take?"
"Oh no. You wouldn't darrrreeeee, would you?"
He winks. You pounce. He's weak and injured, a practically newborn redblood. Probably low-blooded as well. Even as he leaps back and his "Double-D" takes the hit for him, he refuses to shut up.
"Technically, I believe BITE calls them "Risen," but I honestly thought that was pretty lame. Thus, my own little personal moniker, the double-dead! Or, if you're not a spoilsport, the Double-Ds!"
As he speaks, you're currently in the process of spoiling his sport, tearing the right arm from the creature. "Risen" works fine for you, though you hate to, even indirectly, agree with this "Master" character. You kick it away and dive toward him, low to the ground. You even go as far as to grip the ground and pull yourself to him, closer and faster. He tries to leap away, but isn't fast enough. You slam him back down into the ground, shattering concrete around him as you do so. The rapidly-regenerating Risen charges you from behind, but you vault yourself off of Lan's body.
You are now, very definitely, "in the zone." So much so that when you sense another pair of eyes on you and glance up to see another rotten-looking fellow hanging from a street lamp, it not only doesn't sour your mood- it improves it. You twist your neck back to Lan. "Another of yours?"
"Third and final, C-C-C-COUNT!"
With that and a flourish, he presses one hand into the ground and throws himself into the air by it, kicking his legs in the air like an urban dancer, before landing. "Wanna get acquainted?"
This new "Risen," this one clearly female, leaps at you from its perch. It's quick, but you have little trouble slamming a fist into it as it drops, cracking its collar bone. It never even falls, righting itself in midair and landing on its feet. By the time its managed this, the first Risen has gotten to its feet and is attacking you, its severed arm perhaps a quarter of the way to regenerating. You catch its southpaw punch on your forearm and step back barely in time to avoid a savage-looking bite.
Your eyes flash to Lan for a split-second. He's far from recovered but is back on the offensive. You feel exhilerated. It's been very literally centuries since you've been able to enjoy a fight like this. Against the Janissary recently, your pleasure was soured by the holy silver wounds burning your very soul. Against the previous "Risen," that same pleasure was held back by your confusion- and indeed by the ease with which you defeated the creature.
Now? It's a three-on-one fight against regenerating, supernatural monsters, one of whom you want almost more than anything to punch until he's just sort of twitching. You are having more fun than you imagined possible, and you've just gotten started.
The female leaps at you once again, and you roll underneath it, leaving it, the male, and Lan all on one side of you, with nothing but darkness at your back. You lick your lips.
It's gametime.
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