Midas Rush: Golden Parkour

He only manages to run for a few more metres before this new route of his also results to be a dead-end. Or, well, not really... The corridor ends abruptly. So abruptly, in fact, that if it weren't for Oz's quick reflexes, he would have probably fallen to his death.

Needless to say, after his second near death experience of the day, he takes a short moment to catch his breath. That's when he sees it: ahead are what looks like the top of a row of decorative columns. Is he at a higher floor, then? Apparently, since from below he can hear an incredibly loud and incredibly familiar voice:

"This place is hell!"

Of course. Oz sighs, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he looks down.

"YO!" He calls to ibis from up above. "YOU'RE BEING LOUD AS FUCK, DUDE."

Ironic?

Obviously, that's the whole point.

He still snickers while taking a few steps back and then breaking into a sprint, intending to gather enough momentum to jump onto the closest column. Surprisingly, it goes just as planned, but the second he lands sneakers-first on the column, a loud roar can be heard.

Whoops, all their yelling had apparently caught the attention of something. Better keep on running.

The yelling and commotion of the convention gave way to the yelling and commotion of underground ruins.

This was a chaos Tarou was much more familiar with. He slipped his way through the maze, takin careful mental notes as he went, pausing only at the stretch of lava and fire before him.

Something he was... marginally less used to.

Not that he had a great amount of time to ruminate- there was a yell behind and Tarou turned to see a kid (ozone) running over, dogged by a rather sharp looking creature. Angry at the intruders, no doubt.

Were the hanging ropes enough to hold? Tarou had no idea, but it was better than getting eaten to death.

Yh|WIdmG1d10 1d10

Kallisto yelled. Everyone yelled. He yelled because he felt one of the giant monkey's hands almost yank his top, and if that were to happen, well, the round would be over and he'd only have one life left. The monkeys screeched in comparison, hammering and pounding the floor with their scampering. Suddenly though, he could feel heat behind him, which he swore wasn't there before and it wasn't because he was virtually sweating bullets (which he couldn't feel, for some reason, or he was too panicked to notice). When he managed to glance back, there were fiery monkeys joining in the fray, likely being lured in by the shouts of the other players nearby (ozone and ibis). Great! ❝Fucking hell!❞

He could see the players above, jumping from pillar to pillar. Behind them were the monkeys that were also crossing those pillars with little effort. He, on the other hand, was on the ground, and it was a straight straight hall to who knew where, constantly feeling teeth and powerful grip strength behind him. Eventually, he noticed that the last few pillars had conveniently collapsed like a domino, forming a path that would lead the other players downward to the same exit as he was running to. There was only one door-shaped hole in the wall, but that wasn't going to stop the monkeys - they too were of similar or slightly smaller size than they were.

❝Any ideas on an exit? Or a distraction?❞

It seemed that two other players were running parallel to them while he was distracted. There were five now running towards the exit, hoping for light and away from the damn monkeys. Will they make it?

❝That's how it is in Temple Run, isn't it? Though I usually die due to an unintended jump.❞ Kallisto was somehow able to breathe a reply despite being exhausted from all this running and with no end in sight. ozone tried to bribe the monkeys with what looked like a chocolate bar, but it just so happened to smack one in the face, making it screech even louder. Jeez! He wasn't cursing the dude, but more of their rotten luck and how it seemed like they didn't tire at all. This is outrageous, it's unfair.

At least one person was having fun, he supposed? At one point the hallway they found themselves in narrowed slightly, and it forced whoever was running with them to lag back a little. Kallisto was not really a runner, and so he ended up relegating to the back row, which sucked because once again he could feel like the monkeys were at his heels. But then -- the RNG god answered their prayers -- they could see a light at the end of the figurative tunnel. The way out of the temple! As if that was going to be the last of it, but it was better than being in this claustrophobic triangle!

Then something happened: the monkeys screamed. No, not their usually screaming, but one that sounded fearful. Holy shit, was there something outside that actually scared the monkeys? What was--

A deafening roar, amplified by the walls surrounding them, maybe Kallisto almost fall over from dizziness, but he covered his ears in a pitiful attempt to steady himself. ❝What in the--❞

A head appeared at the end of the exit. A noticeably dinosaur-shaped head. Not just any dinosaur, but distinctly a T-Rex. He had no idea what Pokemon that was, but it had sharp teeth that was chomping air, trying to reach them but couldn't because of the hole. He could already hear the surrounding stone crack, though. If they didn't move, it was very possible that 1) the door could cave and maybe everything else around them, 2) the door would break off and the T-Rex would be able to come in and chomp on them, 3) something equally horrible that the game would decide to throw at them.

He was just cursing his rotten luck, but all he could muster out was, ❝That's a Pokemon...right?❞

There is so much noise. People yelling, monkeys screaming, pillars crumbling like civilizations — Angelo is fairly certain he even heard a dinosaur’s roar. For every rope he climbs, every corridor he unearths, every slope he squeezes past, the guardians remain in pursuit.

And then the landscape shifts. The maze transitions from a crumbling temple to something straight out of a circus attraction: Angelo narrowly managing to hit the brakes before he gets a face full of—well, himself.

“A mirror?” he blinks, reaching out to touch the cool surface. It pulled his features, making him look less like an anxious Filipino ball and more like uncooked mafaldine.

He continues down the hall of mirrors, entranced as his reflection is distorted every which way, only to stop as he spots M'Foxy leaning at the end of the hall, consorting with a Cofagrigus.

The Cofagrigus seems to pause, only for its many hands to extend at the same time, like a beast opening its jaws.

Angelo turns and goes running the other way.

A ghostly cackle behind him. He curses, speeding up, but unable to outrun the rapidly approaching Cofagrigus. How do you beat these encounters? Bribery didn’t work, seduction didn’t work, and the only reason he even got away from the Archeops was—

That’s it!

Pulling out the golden Mankey paw from his pockets, Angelo threw it at the mirrors, smashing them and sending shards to rain down the hall. He shielded his face, chanting under his breath—This isn’t real, this isn’t property damage, this isn’t real, this isn’t property damage—and hurrying as his ghostly pursuer is distracted.

He’s about to emerge from the hall of mirrors when something hits him atop the head, bouncing in the air and landing back in his hands.

Golden Mankey paw.

Pace is forced to hop along the columns, but they feel unsteady and, frankly, his jumping skills aren’t the greatest. You need him to run, he can do that, you need him to hit a slugger, oh boy, let’s go! But jumping on half-crumbled columns all the way up in the air? Nah. He’s good. No need.

Except there actually was a pretty big need right now. So he hops and he jumps, just about landing right each time. He half-slips, lowers his body weight by crouching to centre himself, and that’s when he feels it slip - the golden necklace he’d grabbed in the treasure room - he’d forgotten about it for juuuust long enough to loosen his grip, and now it’s golden links were slipping right out of his hand. “No-!” He shouts, totally unaware or even really caring if actually retrieving the treasure was the important part of the game. Even if it wasn’t, it was a shiny thing, and his magpie brain liked those. So he launches his arm out to catch it, and slips.

As he falls, mind you, he does manage to ball his fist around the thing again, but that’s not particularly useful when he hits the ground all splat-style.

YOU DIED
2 Lives Remaining. Continue?
NO | YES

He respawns with a groan, in a corridor he recognises as being part of the temple but not one he remembers doing anything in. That may have just been the blunt force trauma to the head, though. Importantly, though, he had his treasure back in his hand. Phew.

And so, Pace continues on. He sees a figure (@nephilim ) dart a corner in front of him, and he calls out “'Scuse me! Is this the way ou-” but before he can finish (and be drowned out by monkey howls), the dark-haired stranger pulls down a clump of stones into his path. “Hey! I’m still in here-!” He groans. If he didn’t wanna be Infernape food, he’d better start climbing, and quickly.