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

[animusnpcs]

[The attack strikes true--the retrieval unit is cut in half and falls to the ground in two pieces.]

[uzuki]

Thanks...

[These things were much faster than Shion had anticipated. She stepped back, hoping to put a little distance between her and the rest of the units.]

Ether drive!

[Instead of another offensive attack to the units, the next ether Shion cast had no immediate visible effect. But further down the hall, a green light rose up from the floor beneath Sheba. Healing her wounds.]

[animusnpcs]

[Shion's attempt at healing Sheba has very little effect--it seems strikes from retrieval units are difficult to treat with such superhuman abilities.]

[seekinganswers]

A-ah...

[Everything hurts. Her attempts to fend off the retrieval units had been rendered completely and utterly useless - she's a glass cannon, really, and with her magic disabled, what good was she?

She's at the point of wishing they would just hurry up and do it already, just kill her so the pain will stop, when miraculously - they're not beating her anymore. She's vaguely aware of the fact that it was Felix's voice that had called out right before it, even more vaguely aware of the flurry of motion around them and down the hall...

And then there's the light. Sheba gasps as it appears beneath her - and while it doesn't do as much as it would normally, it does ease her pain a little. Not much, but a little. Enough that she manages to shift herself into a sitting position, though the movement causes pain to course through her.]

D-don't... let them get... your collars! I couldn't cast after... U-ugh...

[lighthousediving]

[Well that explained part of it, but Felix felt like he was going to have to take some risks to beat these things. Another glowing circle of brown light surrounds him (for anyone who can see it) as another Djinni is unleashed.]

Mold!

[He tries to focus it on one of the units closer to Sheba. If it worked, it would cause it to launch an attack on one of its comrades; in this case, another retrieval unit.]

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval unit stumbles, swipes in confusion at the air in front of it. It doesn't attack its comrades, but it doesn't attack Sheba or Felix either.

The other retrieval units are nearly finished unsticking themselves. One of them charges at Felix, aiming for his collar.]

[warriorscribe]

*Having learned that these are surprisingly...not very durable, Enoch whirls around to run interference again, running low and trying to catch the unit with his Arch out at waist level before the unit could catch Felix. If the attack hits he'll quickly leap back with the Arch as assistance to purify it. There's a long fight ahead of them and it can't hurt to stay in peak form as long as possible.*

[animusnpcs]

[As Enoch strikes, the retrieval unit strikes his collar--Enoch's abilities are now disabled. Still, the unit is neatly bisected, and dies soon after.]

[uzuki]

[WELL, with her ethers not being the most useful things in this particular fight, Shion raised her arm, the one that carried her MWS, and began firing off lock shots at the closest units. She moved backward, as far as she could while still attacking.]

[seekinganswers]

[There's not a whole lot that Sheba can do. She's gripping her staff as tightly as she can and trying to ignore the pain that she just can't shake off no matter how hard she tries - any move she makes, something hurts.

The others in her group have been doing a pretty good job keeping the other retrieval units off her so far, but if one of them gets close, she'll rather feebly attempt to fend them off.]

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval units stumble back, bleeding. Some fall when their wounds are too large. In general, the retrieval units are beginning to thin out.

Beyond the still closed door, there's a dry sort of roar.]

[lighthousediving]

[Felix had jumped back from the unit before Enoch struck it down, though he was not pleased to see that another one of them had been struck. The thinning seemed promising, but the roar did not. He definitely needed to avoid getting hit by one of them.

He raises a hand again in the direction of a few units.]

Mother Gaia!

[The floor (earth?) seems to surge with a power like the ground is opening up under a nearby trio of units, launching rocks at them.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch makes a frustrated sound as his armor and the beam of the Arch both vanish. He folds and stows the Arch - the body is too light to make a good bludgeon - and takes several steps back, acutely aware of the fact that he's just a normal human now.

He's in excellent physical shape, at least, within that normalcy, so he thinks he can do some things. But...he'll need another plan...*

[animusnpcs]

[The rocks fly at the retrieval units--they stumble, but for the most part the rocks crumble against them more than they suffer from the damage. One charges at Felix, aiming for his collar.]

[uzuki]

[Shooting seemed to be working well, so Shion continued with that. When one began to charge at Felix, she concentrated her shots at it, hoping to stop it. Half of their group being without powers was enough, thanks.

She also started to move closer to Enoch, so maybe she could keep them away from him too.]

[seekinganswers]

[If Shion's shooting wasn't enough, well -

The second Sheba sees a retrieval unit rushing at Felix, she grits her teeth, shifts her staff to one hand and... hurls it at the back of the thing's head. Probably not very effective, but...]

St-stay away from him!

[animusnpcs]

[The retrieval unit stumbles back before being struck in the head with the staff. It falls over, bleeding profusely and unconscious.

The Deathclaw tears the door open from the other side, dragging itself in with surprising speed using only its front two limbs.]

[lighthousediving]

[Once it's clear and Felix see the door give away, panic sets in. Sheba still wasn't moving and it was far too close for comfort.

He runs forward a few steps before realizing he still has two Djinn ready to use for summoning. Felix stops himself so he can focus long enough to cause a ghostly stone entity to appear and drop a few boulders that are aimed at the Deathclaw.

Felix continues to approach it once the summon starts, trying to determine a proper distance to hopefully guard Sheba but not be destroyed by that thing.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch darts forward to grab the staff Sheba had thrown, hefting the weapon before holding it uncertainly. He'd never fought with such a weapon, but he needed to learn.

So he'd probably be okay. Besides, it was mundane compared to the Arch or the Gale. In the meantime, he backs up to Shion.* Your weapon...aim for its eye sockets if you can...

*Her weapon was powerful, there was no denying that. She may be their best hope against that thing...*

[uzuki]

Okay!

[She adjusted her weapon and started firing double shots at the Deathclaw's head.]

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba, meanwhile, is just going to do her best to crawl away from the Deathclaw before it eats her or something.

Because that would really suck. pretend there's no hands in this icon]

[animusnpcs]

[The Deathclaw smashes one of the boulders out of the sky but is knocked over by the other, though it only rolls a bit and has soon righted itself, launching itself off the ground and at Felix. Shion's shots strike it, but as it moves it avoids the worst of it for the moment.

Sheba's abilities have returned.

The Centaur crawls in through the door and along the ceiling, spitting radioactive fluid downward.]

[lighthousediving]

[Felix is a bit too distracted by the lunging skinless and legless death lizard to pay much attention to the centaur. He doesn't want to get close and he can't be certain he'll unleash Vengeance if he uses his sword, so it was time to use more Psyngery.]

Odyssey!

[If he can hit the Deathclaw, a few large swords are about to fall out of the sky and hit it. Or at least it will feel like that to it.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch backs away from the Centaur as it crawls along the ceiling. Ranged attackers. Why did it have to be ranged attackers? He finds himself backed up against one of the doors to the empty operating rooms. Shame there wasn't a blade in there...

...Wait.

Enoch felt behind him for the handle and turned to get the door open, slipping inside. For now, he had to check something very quick - he wasn't ditching the battle, honestly!*

[uzuki]

[Shion continued shooting, stopping momentarily to shoot another blizzard attack that would hopefully manage to hit both of the cell escapees.]