Something Unexpected

[animusmods]

Characters: characters selected to go into the elevator
Setting: the admin levels
Format: any
Summary: The admin elevator has been left open, its destination preprogrammed. Where is it going to take you?
Warnings: general horror warnings for now

The elevator doesn't announce itself when its doors slide open. There's no alarm, no message to be found about it. It sits open and waits for anyone curious enough to enter. There's a barrier on it that locks out anyone without a collar, and it isn't going to stay long, but aside from that there appears to be no security. There's nothing stopping someone--or multiple someones--from climbing into the elevator and going down.

Where's it going? Who knows.

Hub Area
A lounge area with sofas and chairs. It's large enough to hold the entire group, constructed similarly to the dorm rooms, and is connected to five doors.

Door One
???

Door Two
???

Door Three
???

Door Four
???

Door Five
???

Comments

[lighthousediving]

[Being from a world without technology, Felix doesn't notice this as something possibly helpful. Instead he's trying to judge the horrific monster near the button.]

I can hold it off from attacking at least once if it comes to that. If it's fast, that may not help very much.

[He fought with a guy with no head once, he knows the legs thing may mean nothing.]

[seekinganswers]

[Ditto with Sheba - she doesn't realize what the flickering means, or even what the security box will do, really. She's keeping an eye on the monster, though.]

I could try stunning it, maybe... depending on how strong it is, it might be good to summon something, too. I'll get my Djinn ready.

[The Jupiter Djinni Ether is standing by for summoning!

...if she can just get enough for Procne or Thor, or even Atalanta, that might be more helpful...]

[warriorscribe]

*It may not have meant much to Enoch, but Enoch had seen his fair share of switches that affected things nearby when triggered in the Tower back on Earth. On top of that, it wasn't much of a stretch to connect the numbered cells with the numbers on the box, and the display that said they were locked.*

These are translated into our language, when nothing else is. Is someone helping us? *Dax had been the one with that portable translation device, wasn't he? Enoch smiles a little at the thought of having inside help, and goes to find that cell's number on the box.*

...Get ready. I believe this will lower the...gate.

*Once he sees everyone's ready, he flips the switch or presses the button or whatever on the interface seems linked to that cell.*

[uzuki]

[Shion was ready with an ether, and assuming the force field was lifted she shot it into the cell, right for the deathclaw.]

[animusnpcs]

[The Deathclaw falls over, asleep.

On the box, the cell of course reads as unlocked. There is something else, though:

Force fields unlocked in 10 seconds. Please stand by.

There are six cells. The remaining five contain a Darknut, missing armor but with unnaturally bulging muscles, a Centaur with six clawed arms instead of four human ones, an Uruk-hai, three yellow ChuChus twice the size of a normal one, and two half-mutilated Ramps that seem to be quite a bit faster than their standard counterparts.]

[warriorscribe]

*What....*

Hurry! All of them will be freed in ten seconds!

[lighthousediving]

[...He really hopes Retreat works in this place. He's not familiar with the other monsters in this room, but they look nasty.]

Gather around me as soon as you can! I'll try to get us all out of here!

[animusnpcs]

[Force fields unlocked in 05 seconds. Please stand by.]

[seekinganswers]

[Oh crap--

That's what's basically running through Sheba's mind as she breaks away from the rest of the group to run for that button. As soon as she can, she slaps her hand down on it before immediately turning back to run for Felix and the others.

Please don't let her get ditched, please don't let her get her face eaten off by monsters, please let her make it out safely-!

This actually frightens her a lot more than it should, all things considered. But these creatures just look unnatural.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch runs to where Felix is and calls to Shion as Sheba runs to the button.*

Five seconds!

*He'll hold his hand out to Sheba to pull her in when she draws near so she can join them as soon as possible, if she needs the help.*

[uzuki]

[Shion hurried to Felix, though she was ready with more sleep ethers, just in case.]

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba reaches for Enoch's hand when he holds it out - she doesn't know if the monsters are on her heels or what, but she'd rather not look back and check. If she doesn't see them, maybe she can pretend they're not there.]

Go, go, go..!

[lighthousediving]

[Felix reaches for Enoch and Shion's hands before taking a deep breath as he shuts his eyes. Less than a second later, the spot they're standing on becomes surrounded in colorful orbs of light. As long as it actually gets them out of here...]

1/2

[animusnpcs]

[Once the button is pressed, the floor glows white beneath them. As they vanish, the monsters are released from their cells, but they're no longer there to be attacked.

They reappear in the first area of their adventure. The room is dark; no light shines on its floor. They are just in front of the door that would take them out into the the hub area.

That door is locked.]

2/2

[animusnpcs]

[The light, were they able to see, goes as far as Jason's central office area before being cut off. It seems like Jason has a bit of extra security, and without the second half disabled it has been cut off partway.

They are at the very beginning once again. They are much farther from their second goal than they were just moments before, and there are now monsters loose.

There is movement in the hallway up ahead.

The retrieval units are now active.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch's breathing picks up as he tries the door.*

...All right...we must stay calm... Do we have a way around the retrieval units?

[uzuki]

[Shion activated the energy blade on her MWS. The blade cast a somewhat dim blue light, but it was better than total darkness.]

Aside from trying to fight our way through... I'm not sure I could cast enough ethers to put them all to sleep.

[seekinganswers]

You've GOT to be kidding me.

[Sheba's hatred for Jason has intensified; that is an absolute fact. She takes a few steps away from the others, casting a displeased glance at the door, and turns her attention down the hallway.]

I'm going to try and get to that other hallway. If I take too long getting back, don't come after me, just try and find another way out!

[With that, she takes off down the hallway.]

Haze!

[Felix will know what that means - she certainly used that particular Djinni enough during their travels. When Sheba fades from view, it's not just because of the darkness, but also because of the haze of vapors that appears, seeming to take it with her as it vanishes.

The Jupiter Djinni Haze has been unleashed and is standing by for summoning!]

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval units focus on Sheba when she begins charging at them. Normally, that would have been all it would take for them to finish her, but these units look oddly wobbly. It seems like they hadn't yet gotten enough rest in those tubes.

Therefore, when haze fills the hallway, they hesitate. They cannot simply eliminate Sheba's abilities as they might normally do. Still, they seem to be able to vaguely tell her location.

They run after her.]

[lighthousediving]

Sheba!

[Felix tries to make a grab for her at first, but misses. He can tell they've reacted to her, though, and instinctively runs forward toward the units with his blade drawn.

He screeches to a halt a few yards away and holds out an arm.]

Quake Sphere!

[The floor under a few of the units begins to shake violently for a few seconds.]

[animusnpcs]

[A few of the retrieval units stumble and turn to face Felix. The rest continue after Sheba--and there are only more and more ahead of her. As she passes they strike out, attempting to strike her collar and disable her abilities. Still, if she's quick enough at dodging, she should be able to avoid it for now as long as she keeps running down the hallway.

There's the matter of the door at the end of it, though...]

[warriorscribe]

Wait!

*Enoch calls after Sheba at the same time Felix calls for her. He begins to run forward, but the rumble of the floor shaking draws him up short beside the other man. He gets his Arch out in the meantime, having stowed it to free up a hand for Sheba earlier, and opens it. It makes him a target with its blue beam of light that doesn't cast enough to see by, but it's his trusty weapon and he may well need it.

After all, if they can see an invisible woman in the dark, what good will extinguishing light sources do?

When some of the units turn to face Felix, Enoch gets into a ready stance, waiting for them to make the first move. He may be reckless when a battle actually starts but he knows better than to rush into a group of enemies standing together.*

[uzuki]

[Shion on the other hand, not so much! She rushed forward to catch up with Enoch and Felix, casting a massive ice ether as she did. The closest group of retrieval units, the ones that had noticed Felix, would suddenly have their abdomens frozen over by a large chunk of ice, which would explode after a few seconds.]

We can't let her go alone!

[seekinganswers]

[In all honesty, dodging and weaving is what Sheba does best. She doesn't even realize that it's her collar they're going for - she just ducks around them on instinct when they get too close.

She keeps running, because while she would love to just blast these things, she knows they'll just end up overwhelmed if they all stay in one place.

When she reaches the door, though, she curses under her breath. She'll look briefly to see if there's any way she can force it open, and if she can, she'll dart right on through - if she can't, she'll turn and meet the retrieval units closest to her with a round of Sleep Psynergy.]

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval units stumble back--one falls over, while the other manages to dismiss the ice with a swipe of its hand. It charges at Shion--it's very fast, though not as fast as a fully powered one is. The other one stands back up.

Meanwhile, some of the units struck by Sheba's sleep psynergy fall over--though they don't fall asleep entirely. The door is going to have to be pulled open.

Unfortunately there's no way to avoid a collar strike with so many retrieval units crowding after Sheba. Her powers are disabled.

The good news is these retrieval units can't simply snap her neck at their current strength. The bad news is they begin to beat her to death.]