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

[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.]

[seekinganswers]

[Something in Sheba shifts a little, and as a tester, she raises a hand and tries to summon up a breeze. Success. Her lips curve up into a small smile, and she closes her eyes as she focuses her energy.

There's a rush of violet light, and somewhere above them, the faint, ghostly form of a huntress appears. Moments later, a flurry of arrows rain down from the sky on any and all monsters or retrieval units that happen to be about.]

Ata..lanta..!

[animusnpcs]

[The Centaur spits radioactive acid down on Felix before it's blasted away by ice and arrows, dropping heavily from the ceiling as it dies.

The Deathclaw's skin is torn up and it's bleeding, but it's not down yet--it swipes long, deadly claws at Sheba, who's the closest one to it.]

[lighthousediving]

[The acid hits Felix on his left arm, and immediately shouts in pain. He quickly tries to brush it off with his cape, trying to cast Cure on his arm before any possible damage gets too bad.

And Sheba...this was bad. He swings his sword in the direction of the Deathclaw, hoping that the one in three chance of Vengeance being unleashed will occur and that thing will get hit by a number of magic arrows.]

[warriorscribe]

*The table rolls its way out of the room Enoch had vanished into, Enoch himself behind it. He saw the Centaur on the floor and the Deathclaw still ahead... There was nothing he could do at the moment, not like this - he'd meant to have some sort of vantage point to get to the Centaur from, but it was already dead...

He rushed ahead of the table, flinging bodies to the sides of the hallways, all the way up to just behind where Felix was, at least.

Here's hoping Vengeance worked, because Enoch needed to prep the way...he was running back to the table already, vaulting onto and over it to get behind it. It was pretty clear he'd made a path for it, but for now it could either be weapon or transport...it all depended on the way things ended up...*

[uzuki]

[GO TEAM TABLE Shion moved a little closer, but stayed behind the table. She continued shooting at the deathclaw, pausing only to use another big healing ether, this time one that would target their whole group. Maybe more than one would do the trick for Sheba's injuries.]

[seekinganswers]

..!

[She can't move - not quickly enough to dodge, anyway. She's too injured for that. But when she sees the claws coming for her she panics and thrusts out her hands as she gathers her Psynergy to herself to cast a spell, as fast as she can, hopefully fast enough to avoid getting clawed to death.]

Sleep!

[animusnpcs]

[The deathclaw falls asleep--and lands on top of Sheba as it does. From its prone position its stabbed with arrows and finally dies, leaving the area eerily silent for the moment.

Sheba is healed somewhat, but most of the retrieval unit-inflicted injuries remain.]

[lighthousediving]

[Felix hurries forward and tries to move the bloody corpse off of his friend. However, he only has one arm that isn't screaming in pain, and this thing was pretty big. Doesn't mean he won't keep trying though.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch rolls the table down the path, and goes to help Felix try to lift the Deathclaw's corpse off of Sheba. Hopefully between the two they can roll it off her.

If they manage to push it off, Enoch will try to lift Sheba and get her onto the table. Leaving her anywhere here alone doesn't seem like a good idea.*

Would you mind if I hold onto this until my own weapon is useful again?

*He's still holding Sheba's staff, in the crook of his arm at the moment to aid in pushing and lifting. He'll give her staff back if she wants it, of course. He just doesn't like the idea of facing these things completely unarmed...*

[animusnpcs]

[More retrieval units show up--the ones who had previously been in tubes on the other side of the door. Much like the first set, they aren't fully recharged.

Unlike the first set, however, they're armed with large hammers, impossible for a normal human to lift, which they swing about as if it were made of styrofoam.

Getting hit wouldn't be a fun experience.]

[uzuki]

How many of these are there..?

[Shion ceased her shooting for a moment, and took to ethers again. It was hard to know what would and wouldn't work, but she cast slow, which would affect all of the enemies nearby, if it worked.

After that, she began shooting sleep ethers at the retrieval units, rapidly firing them off at any units that approached the group.]

[animusnpcs]

[The units seem momentarily addled, if not entirely affected by, the ethers, but with a wave of their hammers they seem to dismiss them.

They charge forward, bringing their hammers down on anyone or anything within reach.

That table, for example.]

[seekinganswers]

[Felix and Enoch will hear muffled sounds from under the corpse of the Deathclaw, until they manage to free Sheba and she's not muffled anymore]

--hate Jason, I really hate Jason!

[She is enraged. Beaten half to death, nearly crushed to death by a disgusting, bleeding corpse - this is just not her day.]

Of all the places we could have been exploring why did it have to be JASON'S?!

[She continues her tirade as Enoch pulls her up onto the table, stopping only when he addresses her.]

Go ahead. I don't think I could really go hand to hand right now anyway. My best bet is going to be to hang back and cast--

[And then the next batch of retrieval units appears. Sheba gasps, shuffling back on the table and then wincing with pain because movement hurts, but if she stays in one place she's a sitting duck and she has to do something and--

She glances at her allies. Felix, Enoch, Shion - they were going to need as much help as they could get in this place. She brings her hands together and focuses her Psynergy as best she can with the retrieval units getting closer and closer. Knowing they're there is terrifying, it makes her heart pound and her breath catch in her throat, but she still manages to call out -]

High Impact!

[Felix, Enoch, and Shion will feel strength surge through their limbs as the spell activates.

A moment later, they'll hear a sharp scream as one of the retrieval units makes it to the table - and the girl sitting on it.]

[animusnpcs]

[The impact cracks the table in two.

And mashes Sheba's chest to a pulpy mess.

But maybe that's a lucky break, in an awful way--the retrieval units are built to retrieve, and they hesitate in their attack as they try to resist the impulse to retrieve the body now presented to them.]

[lighthousediving]

[Felix has to fight the urge to vomit as he's momentarily paralyzed by what he just saw. Even knowing this place could bring people back to life after any atrocious death, he couldn't shake the disbelief. Revive wouldn't even help here.

Those feelings are finally replaced with a seething anger. Yes, he had kept going after being forced to destroy his own parents, he could keep going now.

He starts swinging his blade with his right hand at the mid-sections of any nearby units, trying to make any times when Vengeance didn't appear count. But really, she was more appropriate now than ever...]