entranceway | 010 ☆ video/action

[ It's been a long, long while since Steve transmitted a message through the network, and that's been no accident. His last announcement was when he came back from his last trip home, over a year ago. It hadn't felt right to take the lead in the same way after that, and others had jumped in to take his place as needed. Hadn't they? He'd thought as much, but others have told him that he's still needed as a leader. Maybe not as Cap, but as Steve.

It's a work in progress.

But here he is all the same, sending out his message toward the end of the second day. He's indoors; the room he's in not well-lit but his face is still visible. It's quiet out, the calm before the storm. ]

Michonne and I took a trip past the gates today, and... there's something coming. Or, well, a lot of somethings. A whole horde of zombies headed right for us. She's already given you guys the rundown, but I wanted to get the word out. We're gonna have to fight, or barricade ourselves away from danger. [ His expression hardens then, something steely and determined. ] Whatever you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, do it.

[ A pause as he gathers his thoughts, and then he's back to it. ] I know death isn't permanent here, but this isn't a way that anyone wants to go. [ Is he speaking from experience?? Who knows, he doesn't elaborate. ] And I'll do whatever I can to help. In case you didn't know, I've got super strength, super speed, and I can take a hit. I'm not even sure if this infection will affect me because of the way my metabolism is. So if you need help getting out a scrape, let me know, all right? Or even if you just need help barricading a house. [ He's perfect for all that heavy lifting. ] I'm here to do whatever I can.

[ It's never enough, but he's still going to try. If he's learned anything this past year, it's that. ]

Oh, it's Steve, by the way. Steve Rogers. Stay safe, everyone.

[ With a firm nod, he ends the broadcast. For someone who's rusty on the speeches, it could have been worse, right? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Does a being that doesn't have any flesh even have to worry about zombies? It's not like they have anything to bite into, and Steve doubts that Sans could turn. What would a skeleton zombie even look like?

Besides the point. Sans still deserves to know what they're in for, and Steve refocuses his attention. ]

Close to a thousand, I'm thinking. I don't know if they'll all make it here, but they seem to have a hive mind mentality. They move as a group.

[Sans honestly isn't sure, and it's not a risk he can afford to take. He's been through about five of these now, and for the majority of them, the zombies have essentially just gone after anything that moves. Even if they don't end up interested in bones, it might not matter. A zombie could bite him by accident and he'd still be just as dead.]

[Plus, there's the kids to think about. Max, Mikan, the Pines family, Steve himself. He's made this terrible habit of befriending all these humans this past year and a half.]

wow.

[A thousand. It's, honestly, it's hard to process, because he doesn't think he's ever seen that many of anything in one place. There's maybe a thousand monsters in the Underground, give or take, and there's only ever been a hundred or so people in Wonderland. Objectively, he knows that there's billions of humans but--good lord. Even the idea of a thousand is unsettling.]

so, uh. i'm guessin' barricades and such, yeah? seems to be the standard for zombies.

[ Steve, meanwhile, has seen armies that function as a regimented force, marching in formation to carry out the will of whoever commanded them. If anything, the sheer chaos of all the walkers had been the most disturbing part. They'd just stumbled around, moaning, no sense of direction beyond what their hunger told them.

And that hunger was leading them here.

At the question, he nods firmly. ] They're slow... and stupid. Those are both things that we can use to our advantage. Not exactly nimble, either, but they've got the sheer numbers to force their way in if they're determined enough.

determined, heh. yeah.

[Good god, it really is like Determination, isn't it? The refusal to actually stay dead, to quit. How utterly human.]

what about, uh...like, distracting 'em? could maybe get some of 'em to head off in another direction.

They seem to move in groups, but there might be a chance of pulling that off. I'm not sure if we could do it without using live bait, though. Nothing else really seems to hold their attention for long.

[ It's something that Steve could bring up to Michonne as a possible strategy, but it's an idea that already has "dangerous" written all over it in big, bold red letters.

Then again, maybe they need to do something nuts to actually survive this. ]

[He's quiet for a moment.]

dunno if these guys will be interested in trying to eat me, considering. but if they are...i might be able to do something like that.

[Just be careful about it, get a smallish group of them, rely on his teleporting to stay safe. Lure them into the woods maybe. If he's smart about it, it won't even be all that risky. ]

[ It's a hell of an offer to make. Steve's quiet for a few seconds as he considers it. All things considered, Sans is probably one of the people least likely to end up dead or turned in this situation. ]

Well, we need to figure out if they've got any interest in you first.

[ The plan isn't going to work if the zombies couldn't care less about a being that has no soft tissue for them to sink their teeth into. ]

[He'd disagree. It's nothing particularly extraordinary. It's just...logic. Send the guy who can teleport and might not have to worry about getting bitten to lure some of them away. Not that Steve knows about the teleporting--nor does he have to. Making some noise isn't all that difficult.]

pretty sure we'll find out soon enough. they'll go for loud noises, though. 'least that's what i've heard. so might be that they'll come after the noise and ignore the fact that the snack making the noise is too crunchy for their tastes.

lotta "maybes" in there, though. so, uh. we'll see, i guess. just let me know, yeah?

[ Yeah, too many "maybes" for Steve to feel 100% comfortable with this idea. It's something to keep in the back of his mind, though. The horde isn't here yet, and Sans doesn't seem to be in any rush to throw himself out there.

He'll have it to fall back on if some of the other strategies he's hashing out with people don't go as planned. ]

Will do. Thanks for being so willing to help.

yeah, uh. no problem.

[It feels weird to be thanked when he hasn't even done anything yet, but he'll take it.]

hey, stay safe out there, yeah?

You too, Sans. I'll be in touch.

[ Steve nods and ends the call there. ]

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