The DMV of the Dead, Pittsburgh - 7:06 AM

We both grabbed our tickets as the tremors became more intense. They had to be in hand for the fight to work, which made things more difficult for anyone wielding a two handed weapon. Thankfully, my Vague Stick could be used in one hand, and so could Jamie’s spear.

However, that wasn’t what she was starting this fight with. The Weapon Master tapped the spear to her back, and it stuck there even though there was nothing to hold it. Reaching into her inventory she pulled out a sleek, black revolver. It was different from the pistol I had broken during the Chaos Cup, but I assumed it was also more powerful.

I joined her on the visitor’s side of the counter and spun the Vague Stick in my hand. “Remember to wait for the beep. You’re going to be up first, aim-“

“I know,” she interrupted.

“Just making sure. After all, you’re-“

“The one perforating it, I know,” she curtly responded. Her sight was laser focused on the hallway the zombie had gone down to retrieve its boss, and I dropped the subject.

A quick look at the counter had shown that it stopped on the number 50. The red, digital numbers were slowly blinking, though it didn’t change. Not yet, anyway.

Despite the enemy getting closer, the tremors were starting to become less intense, and it finally stepped around the corner. The undead had trouble fitting through the hallway it emerged from due to its great size, but attacking it this early was a trap.

This monster had clearly been a man at one point. It wasn’t particularly tall for a human, just over six feet, but it was wide. With every footstep, its gruesomely obese body shook and shuddered like gelatin, and we could clearly hear a sloshing noise coming from inside of it. Whatever it had been wearing before its transformation into this monstrosity had been shredded, and the only scrap of cloth left was a too-tight collar around its neck.

The counter let out a clear beep, indicating that the boss fight had started. Jamie immediately fired at the boss’s thick thigh. The recoil from the revolver was high even with her enhanced Strength, and the bullet pierced through with no issue. Except for the backlash.

A geyser of rancid, green-black liquid shot out of the hole directly towards the Weapon Master. It was fast, much faster than she was, but I was ready for it. Even as she tried to move out of the way, I placed a Force Field directly in the geyser’s path.

The psychic construct stopped it, but the liquid clung and started melting through. Once Jamie was no longer in danger, I dropped the ability before its hit points could be depleted.

“You just have to check yourself, don’t you?” I asked, trying to put a little bit of disappointment into my voice.

“Always,” was her calm, completely unrepentant answer. She glanced down at the floor, where the liquid was starting to eat through to the concrete underneath, and took a step back. “Acid.”

Before I could respond, the boss roared, grabbing our attention. Its wound stitched itself back up as it started running towards us at speeds much greater than seemed possible. The thin skin of its body ripped and tore as it barreled through the desk, leaving acid on everything it touched, as it headed straight for Jamie.

She ran one way, and I ran the other. It didn’t hesitate for a second, going after her as the one who shot first. I skidded to a stop to watch the number counter. Without any other combatants, I could afford to idle. It beeped again, dropping down to 49.

“Will you get this thing off of me!” Jamie yelled as she fled over the rows of seats that we had been waiting in.

The boss didn’t even bother tossing them out of the way, instead stepping on them and causing the chairs to crack and crumble under its weight. It tumbled to the ground, its skin tearing as acid seeped onto the floor around it. When it stood, its wounds had turned to scars before healing completely. It bellowed again before resuming the chase, and the number counter dinged again.

“You’re doing a great job,” I cheered. That earned me a glare before Jamie slid over the DMV’s desks and out of sight.

Just like before, the boss ran through the cover, leaving behind streaks of acid that began to eat away at everything nearby. Jamie jumped over another desk, having caught on to the fact that, while the undead was fast, it wasn’t very mobile. She rolled onto the ground before running away again. It slowly turned, and the number counter beeped.

Jamie immediately slid to a knee and spun around, both hands on her revolver as she took aim. Her motions were smooth and effortless due to both years of practice and the Weapon Mastery abilities bestowed on her by her class. She pulled the trigger five times in quick succession, emptying her gun.

Bullet holes riddled the boss, starting with its knee and making its way up the leg. The last one perforated its stomach, and Jamie rolled out of the way even as she ejected the revolver’s spent cartridges. Unlike before, however, no acid erupted out of the undead. Not towards her, anyway.

Acid leaked from the holes into large puddles onto the ground, sizzling and destroying everything it touched. By the time the Weapon Master finished her roll, she had pulled a speedloader from her inventory to reload her weapon.

The boss bellowed and took a step forward. It lurched, limping on its injured leg even though its kneecap was definitely shattered. As an undead, it was only slowed down a little bit. Jamie pulled her revolver up again, but the number counter’s beep came early and she raised her gun without firing it.

I had been waiting for this moment, and I activated my Warmind abilities on two different targets. Behind Jamie, two rows of connected seats Lifted over her head and flung themselves towards the charging boss. I Spun the first one midair so that it couldn’t just barrel through one or two, and sent the other one Orbiting around.

Seats collided with the undead’s fat stomach, and I winced as its Strength outclassed my ability. It started pushing the chairs back, acid burning them as it tried to continue its single-minded assault on Jamie. Knowing I didn’t have much time, I didn’t bother Spinning the second set as I slammed it into the boss’ back.

Acid was jettisoned out of the holes faster than the undead could replenish it as I pressed it from both sides. I didn’t damage it as much as Jamie did, so my timer didn’t speed up like hers, and I was sure to let what was left of my chairs drop to the ground just as the buzzer went off.

Jamie gritted her teeth and continued to run. With the number counter at 45, neither of us had the corresponding ticket. The boss limped after her. Despite the injury, it was just as fast as it was before now that it wasn’t lugging all that extra weight around. Still, the undead couldn’t keep up, and bellowed.

“Take cover!” I yelled as I started running, throwing my Vague Stick into my inventory. I wouldn’t need its stat buffs for this.

With a quick nod, Jamie dove out of sight behind one of the pillars the DMV desks were pushed against. The boss raised its hands, flexing its fingers before stabbing them into its chest. Screaming again, though not from pain, we heard its ribcage crack as it was pulled apart. Its torso burst, and a flood of acid shot out like water from a collapsing dam.

The pillar Jamie took cover behind sizzled and corroded quickly, though its core was concrete. I heard her gasp in pain, and saw her shift when I got into position. The acid was pooling around her feet, and she was up on her toes to avoid it. Putrid liquid flanked her on both sides, and there was only one way to escape, but every time she moved she risked herself.

A beep rang out through the DMV, signaling that it was my turn. Retrieving Talspra’s iron spears from my inventory, I threw the first one towards the boss’ hand and Pushed. The weapon skewered my target, causing it to spin. The deluge went out of control, spraying things the undead had no intention to, and it spun towards me.

I was just outside of its range.

Tossing the second one, I Pushed this spear towards the shattered kneecap just as it took a step towards me, and I gave it a little extra with Spin. The boss fell to the ground as the weapon tore through its leg. It sprayed acid directly onto the ceiling, and flailed with its one free hand.

Normally, it would have been able to close the wound it caused by letting go, its necromantic anatomy handling the rest. My spear stopped this. It wouldn’t forever, as the iron was certainly being dissolved by the acid, but for now it stuck. Impossible gallons of the liquid geysered upwards, destroying the ceiling, which started falling.

While close, it was too early to call this a victory yet. As the number counter beeped, Jamie had dove out of the lake of acid. I could see that her plastic armor had been completely destroyed around her feet, and I could almost see the bones of her toes. She winced as she landed and rolled, but didn't scream. Her tolerance for pain was admirable.

The Weapon Master pulled a red vial from her inventory and quickly quaffed it. Her bare feet started to regenerate, though her armor would have to be cleaned back on the Angel Express in order to become whole again.

Another beep went by without any damage being dealt, but I wasn’t bothered by it. As it attempted to push itself up, I broke its other leg with a third spear and pinned its arm with yet another.

Even though the boss rolled and flailed, shooting acid out everywhere, we were both a safe enough distance away that we couldn’t get splashed. A veritable lake of rancid, green-black liquid was all around it, and the foul smell that permeated the room before became exponentially worse.

The boss was now almost completely deflated. Its skin clung to its bones as if there were no muscles to speak of, though it still jerked this way and that despite the obvious deficiencies. It was time.

Jamie tested her feet as she stood up, and gave the number counter a quick glance as it beeped again. 41. She looked at me, and I tapped my head with two fingers. The Weapon Master gave me a quick nod before aiming her revolver at the thrashing undead, and put two bullets in its head.

The results were instantaneous.

[[Victory!]]

You have defeated x4 DMV Zombies; +20 points.

You have contributed to the defeat of the Scenario Boss [Acidic Allen]; +400 (700) points.

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

Well done, Ant!

You have taken out Acidic Allen, and the Chamber of Commerce Building will be liberated shortly. It will take some time for everyone to get ready to build their own guilds, which means you should have at least today in order to liberate any additional buildings and firmly cement your lead in the second scenario.

Also, the photo is… embarrassing. Don’t you dare show it to anyone, or I’ll never send another.

Reward: +1,000 points, Angelic Photo, +500 points (Optional Objective (1)), +500 points (Optional Objective (2)).

[[Second Scenario Quest Complete!]]

The Guildhall of the Pitt will soon be open for business. While you get no Guild Points for this, you will still be rewarded for your efforts as the first to sign up and complete the second quest in the chain.

Reward: +1,000 points, the Chamber of Commerce Building will be liberated, Second Scenario Quest: Guildmaker (1) [All] begins shortly.

Jamie swiped away the notifications before I did, and looked at me with an arched eyebrow. “That seemed… really easy,” she remarked.

“No, we’re just really good,” I replied absently. What I really wanted to do was look at that Angelic Photo, but I shook my head to clear it of that thought. “Anyone going all in on attacking it was going to die almost immediately. You saw the way it shot acid at you when it wasn’t your turn to attack; if I hadn’t stopped it, that would have burned right through your armor and made you unable to fight.”

Pursing her lips, Jamie gave me a curt nod. “I suppose that’s true. Thank you, but I wanted to see for myself.”

“It’s no problem,” I replied, waving my hand.

“Though, how are people supposed to know that?” she asked, looking over everything again. “Were there clues I missed?”

“That’s just the way to fight it here,” I answered. “In this room it’s a special boss battle, but it’s still less dangerous than fighting it upstairs where acid shoots everywhere and starts eating through floors and ceilings. But here, the tickets are immune to acid, and the countdown beeps to tell you it’s important.”

Jamie scrunched up her nose. “So anyone looking to overcome this challenge, what? Has to dig the tickets out of the pools of acid?”

“That’s one way of doing it, or they could have just grabbed this,” I said, holding out my hand. I Pulled the ticket dispenser towards me before tossing it into the acid. It didn’t so much as sizzle, proving immune to the damage. “Inside there is a whole roll of tickets, which of course goes from 1 to 99 several times. Anyone grabs that and they can attack the boss without worrying about damage reflection.”

The look of fury on Jamie’s face was fierce as she glared at me. “And we went with the loose ones when there was a safer option because, why, Franklin?”

“This way was more challenging,” I answered easily, shrugging. “More experience, getting a hang of these undead fights, it was better than a multi-floor fight with an acid blaster. A lot of good reasons, I think.”

“I could see the bones of my toes thanks to that acid,” Jamie growled, pointing towards her feet. I looked down to see her wiggling her newly grown toes. “And that’s just because you wanted a challenge?”

“Oh, shit. Now I feel bad,” I said apologetically. “Tell you what. You can have the skill book and collar item that the boss dropped. While they may come in handy, it might be better to sell them at the auction house once that’s all set up.”

“You’re letting me have both of them?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, because I feel bad. And because I don’t need or want to vomit acid, which is the skill book, and I don’t need anything for my neck because I’m already wearing stuff there,” I answered. “So, feel free.”

Jamie paused, but then nodded. When she looked back at the huge mess, she frowned. “I don’t suppose you’ll at least retrieve them for me?”

I inwardly sighed; it had been a hope of mine that she would try to get them herself and I would have had enough time to sneak a look at the Angelic Photo. The picture was sitting in my inventory, seemingly taunting me, but I didn’t dare take it out while Jamie was watching lest I incur Sara’s wrath.

Sighing, I gestured towards the puddle. “It’s already starting to go away,” I said, and it was. The puddle was evaporating into thin air. “Which means the building is about to rise up to the surface. Watch your balance, and don’t worry as everything shifts around us.”

“What does that-“ Jamie started to say before she was interrupted.

The Chamber of Commerce Building started to shake violently, nearly throwing the Weapon Master to the ground though she caught herself before she fell. I rode it out, watching the windows for the first sign of light. It was nearly time for Pittsburgh to claw its way forward once more.