After the group descended the staircase, they came to the beginnings of the holding cells. At first it seemed like an office building; there were chairs that sat in front of the visiting rooms. Within this room, the Hunters encountered ghosts. These ghosts were different, however, resembling men that were hanged. These new ghosts were also much more stubborn to die. But, they were still no match for the Hunters. The group slashed away at these new spirits and, as with their smaller graveyard-counterparts, the ghosts were destroyed with just three attacks.
After a short battle, the Hunters went through a doorway, on the other side of the desks. They came to a huge cellblock; unfortunately the path forward was blocked off by huge boulders and a long drop to the next floor. But, Matt found another solution. A celldoor was unlocked, allowing the Hunters to get inside. All the walls of subsequent cells were destroyed, creating a long tunnel for the Hunters to pass through. Passage through the tunnel, of course, wasn't easy. Reason being, it was filled to the rim with prisoner rot and ghosts.
Always up for a good fight, the Hunters charged into the fray, hacking at anything that looked even remotely dead. Mini Necro Blade Dragons took care of large groups of ghosts, while the Hunters relied on hand-to-hand combat to kill the zombies in their path. Eventually, after receiving a couple of scratches, the Hunters emerged from the tunnel victoriously. When they reached the exit, they saw a few pistol cops waiting for them. The Hunters unloaded their bullets into the poor creatures and continued forward towards an exit.
That's when things got really weird; several Skitters appeared and one of the gigantic Fleshcraft monsters that the Hunters faced in the schoolyard, leaped from a higher perch and landed with a thud. Defender:"I knew this was going too smoothly!" The Hunters took care of the Skitters and Matt faced off against the Fleshcraft monster. Matt extended his Blades and pierced through the creature's tough hide. After inflicting three pierce wounds to the creature's torso, Matt uppercutted the creature over a balcony, sending it plummeting down several floors. Matt:"He won't be bothering us again, not for a while at least. Come on, we've got to keep moving. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but the venom is starting to get to me." With a quick nod, the other Hunters followed Matt down a long staircase, deeper into the bowels of the Holding Cells.
At the bottom of the stairwell, they were greeted by three flamethrower cops. Matt charged without fear, due to his Safety Ring. The others fired bullets at the cops, staying as far back as possible from the flames. The three cops died almost as quickly as they appeared. The group veered left and went through a gate. They came to a huge room with several holding cells. These cells had innocents in them!
Avenger activated a switch, unlocking all the celldoors. From there, the group went from one cell to the next, saving any innocents within them. Unfortunately, the innocents weren't the only things in the room. Hanged ghosts inhabited the cells, regular and burly prisoner rot were marching towards the Hunters by the dozens! Matt:"You guys get the prisoners, I'll hold off the zombie brigade." Matt charged into the mashpit of rot, hacking and slashing the zombies. He also extended his Dragon Chains and used them as whips. These alone took out several dozen zombies at once. The others were quickly destroying the hanged ghosts and pressing onto the next cell as quickly as they'd entered the last one. Eventually, after Matt killed about 300 zombies and the Hunters had inspected all 10 cells, the group continued forward towards a stairwell. That's when Matt sensed the Life Force of a human. Matt:"Hold on, guys. I sense Life Force beyond this doorway. We've got to save whomever is in there before we continue onward."
So, the group entered the room, which happened to be one of the prison's shower rooms. They saw an innocent young man cowering below a broken spicate of water. Just after the Hunters had freed him, a small group of rot cops and hanged ghosts appeared. The ghosts unleashed an ultra-sonic scream of agony that crippled the Hunters temporarily. As soon as his scenes returned, Matt unleashed a Mini Necro Blade Dragon that killed the hanged ghosts. The others decapitated the cops, and they died just as quickly as they had appeared. There were no more enemies appearing, so the group followed Matt out of the shower and down the staircase.
Beyond the staircase was the prison infirmary. This was, however, anything but a pleasant environment. Hundreds of Fleshcraft monsters were lurking everywhere they turned and to make matters worse, psycho rot were appearing as well. Most of the Fleshcraft were ravers, mutated by a mad and evil vampiric doctor, named Hadrian. Others were grotesque, hideous creatures that had razors for eyebrows, which they would use to attack. Even worse yet, the Skitters returned!
Matt:"Sheesh! I know we're dealing with pissed off convicts from 134 years ago, but come on! How many people could've gotten life sentences in one prison!" Defender:"I don't think half of these poor people were supposed to have life in prison. The Warden probably pulled a few strings to keep them here, to be used as `cattle' as Carpenter put it." Avenger cast Smite to get the ghouls off of their backs for a little bit, but the break didn't last long. Psycho rot were coming from all corners of the room. The Hunters went through a gate and closed it behind them, temporarily keeping them from harm.
Alas, even this freedom didn't last more than a few moments; as Matt walked forward, a Skitter leaped from the ceiling and self-destructed on him! Matt's Adamantium bones were revealed for a few moments before the huge wound sealed. Matt:"I always did hate those things." Matt winced in pain for a moment; although the huge wound from the explosion healed, his bite wound did not. As the group pressed on, dozens of Skitters started to drop from the ceiling! Judge and the other Hunters almost couldn't reload fast enough for the great barrages. Fortunately, Matt's Fortress beams came in unlimited quantities, so he fired relentlessly until the Hunters reloaded and the Skitters stopped appearing. They rounded a corner and discovered some more Skitters. The Hunters fired and got a few of them to kill each other with the tiny explosions left behind.
Eventually, the Hunters were able to reach a large room at the end of the hall, within which was an innocent girl. They freed the girl and headed back in the opposite direction, only to discover rot and Skitters in their path. Martyr:"These things just don't quit, do they?" A Word of Power took care of the problem. With the path clear, the Hunters headed back to the main hall. They discovered that Skitters were blocking the doorway from the other side. Matt sneaked a Dragon Chain through the bars on the door and struck one of the Skitters, causing a chain reaction that made all the Skitters explode. The explosions took out a few rot as well. This, of course, made it "safe" for the Hunters to exit.
Once back out in the main hall, the Hunters fought their way towards another doorway. Once inside, they discovered a bare hallway. That was until a giant Fleshcraft dropped from the ceiling. This one, however, had three wounds in it already. Matt:"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" The Hunters opened fire on the beast while Matt took care of tiny fiends the Fleshcraft summoned. After creating enough extra wounds in the horrible creature, Judge cast the Word of Power Edge, sending beams of pure, blue light into the creature's dark heart.
This was enough to finish the job, and the giant monster fell dead. After the carcass disappeared into dust, the Hunters saw a silver key. Up to a certain point in this new hallway, it was completely clear of monsters. Once they reached a "T" in the hallway, however, the raver and razor-eyed Fleshcraft started to appear in great numbers!
Matt, however, extended his Dragon Chains and surged them forward, piercing every foul creature they came across. If he didn't kill them, Matt was definitely successful in horribly wounding them. After this, it was simple for the Hunters to charge forward and kill the Fleshcraft. Both of the hallways went toward the same area and met behind a yonder wall. After passing through the hallway, killing any creature that dared to get in their way, the Hunters went around the corner on the other side of the wall. There they discovered a frightened teenage girl and set her free.
Getting back to the entrance of the room was the same as getting through it the first time. A few Fleshcraft monsters and a couple of rot cops got in the way, but they were easily defeated. Matt:"I can sense the Life Force of one other human in a separate room. Once we free 'em we'll head downstairs." Once the Hunters reached the mainhall, they charged their way through the army of rot and Fleshcraft to another gate.
The Hunters passed through the gate and locked it behind them. The corridor ahead seemed bare. A couple of rot appeared between rows of patient beds, but except for those, the hallway was clear of enemies. That was until the Hunters reached the halfway point in their current straight-a-way. Suddenly multitudes of Skitters leaped from the ceiling! The Hunters had hardly anytime to react, but Matt extended his cape and wrapped the group up inside of it. The Skitters exploded on contact with the cape, ripping it up even more than it already was. The cape, however, was far enough away from the group that the explosions didn't so much as give them a scratch!
Matt:"Well, that worked out. Come on, the innocent is just up ahead." As they walked forward, Matt's cape repaired itself and went back to its normal length. They went around a corner and found a large bunch of Skitters. The Hunters fired at a few in front, causing a chain reaction which killed off the others. The group of Hunters then turned right, heading towards a large room. Inside the large room, they noticed several Fleshcraft and rot cops. They also spotted an innocent girl in the corner. While the other Hunters fired away at the fiendish monsters, Matt flew over the crowd and landed next to the girl. He freed her and she was teleported to the Train Station.
The Hunters had fought off the monsters long enough for Matt to do this. Judge:"Ok, the girl is safe, let's get out of here!" Judge and the others started to run, as a gigantic Fleshcraft monster fell from the ceiling. Matt flew after them, but not before cold-clocking the Fleshcraft and sending it flying away from the Hunters. The Hunters escaped with an army of rot, Fleshcraft, and Skitters breathing down their backs! Not much later, they reached the exit and plowed their way towards the staircase. After unlocking the gate with the key they discovered earlier, the Hunters went down the stairs, deeper into the bowels of the accursed penitentiary.
