Ex Machina; Infiltration

[animusmods]

Characters: Riki and the infiltration team
Setting: administrative levels
Format: any
Summary: Riki's efforts must be sabotaged. Stealth is the name of the game and time is of the essence.
Warnings: psychological horror

Though the chipped unit does not follow, he sees to it that the team advances the rest of the way. At the end of the lit corridor is a set of double doors, heavy-duty polished metal with small windows set into each one.

Through the windows, a massive machine is visible, connected to thousands of holographic screens that are hard to make out at the speed at which they're being manipulated. The machine sits in the center of the room and is networked to four elaborate terminals stationed along the walls via a complex tangle of panels, wires, and towers. Each of these terminals controls its own set of floating screens; the sheer amount of holographic monitors in the room is disorienting, and really, it's hard to tell what's connected to what.

In the chair in the middle of the enormous set-up is Riki, maneuvering all of the screens with the same ease with which most people breathe. His back is to the doors that lead into the room, and for the moment, he is utterly engrossed in his work.

Comments

[slightlyoblivious]

Yukiko mouths a 'Thank you' in Gandalf's direction - being able to see everyone else is a relief, even if the glittering things are hardly that. Whatever they are, she can only imagine what they'll do if they touch one of them, and none of the possibilities are any good.

She takes a few steps towards the retrieval unit, careful not to get too close to the glittering perimeter.

For now, she isn't going to risk casting anything. Wind magic might be harmless enough, pushing the creatures back, but burning them might just make them angry. It had worked against the metal, but she's not going to push her luck.

[animusnpcs]

As the glittering things grow closer, vague shapes appear--reaching hands and shining teeth and wide, compound eyes, clawing and giggling and staring.

[notayoungkitten]

Ocelot has been watching warily the entire battle. She has no magic at her disposal; she's entirely out of her element. She's not even sure that she can shoot at the vague shapes.

Are they just glamour, or are they really there?

She moves with Yukiko to protect the retrieval unit. At the very least she can use her body to put a wall between the unit and whatever this latest attacker is.

I got permission for this from Matt last night

[puppy_lancer]

Lancer has to work hard to keep himself from shuddering when he hears the laugh. It sounds like the shadow children...and like the children he found the last time he had been down here.

When he sees the shimmering things take form, he takes a step back in surprise...and almost trips over Naoya's unconscious form. If he could hear himself, he would have uttered a few choice swear words as he pulls Naoya up from the floor. Then, he sends a burst of fire at the creature, trying to get it to retreat away from him.

Got godmod rights to Lucifel again - Ally had to miss tonight too :(

[warriorscribe]

Enoch backs away from the things that appear, towards the chipped unit, pulling Lucifel with him. He's unarmed, but he can take a few hits thanks to his armor if he can't simply dismiss the illusion. When he's near the terminal, he closes his eyes. Not real, they're not real, they're not real...

He'd never succeeded in not acknowledging things in Heaven - but then, he'd never tried to. And even if it didn't work with the blood back in February, well. It didn't matter. It was his only other option against them.

Lucifel would have a much easier time doing the same, however, as lack of acknowledgment was an angel's natural state.

[animusnpcs]

The creature struck with fire hisses furiously and recoils for a moment before lunging at Lancer. Just before the creature is close enough to be clearly seen, Lancer is swallowed up by darkness.

The creature, now only a vague, glittery, slimy sort of thing, tries to bite through Lancer's throat.

[puppy_lancer]

On reflex, Lancer drops Naoya and raises his arms and spear to try and block against the glittering thing. He tries to tell himself that it's probably just more of Riki's machines, covered by a glamour. He also takes a step back, trying to get some distance so he can make some sort of barrier.

[animusnpcs]

The creature chews up and swallows Lancer's spear easily enough--then it lunges again and goes for his arms, since they're blocking its progress.

[puppy_lancer]

Now that he's unarmed, Lancer tries to retreat even more...only to trip over Naoya again, sending him tumbling to the ground.

[keybearer]

If it weren't for the silence, Riku might've yelped at Lancer's sudden disappearance. It happened so fast. Moreover, it proves that an offensive approach carries heavy risks.

Rather than retaliate, Riku steps back, encircling himself with a spinning breeze to boost his defenses. He'll pass the boost to the retrieval unit and its protectors as well. Even a little shielding should make some difference, right?

[animusnpcs]

As soon as Lancer falls the creature falls upon him--it will tear out his throat and eat his insides, leaving a bloodless hollow shell, unless something stops it immediately.

[attheclocktower]

Like Riku, Xion screamed when Lancer suddenly disappeared. Or at least, she felt her vocal cords move. She retreats next to Reno, her Keyblade lowering as she moves, suddenly more relieved then ever that he's there. She reaches out a hand to touch his arm.

[warriorscribe]

Lancer has been in the shadows for longer than he's comfortable with. Without sound, there's no way to tell if he's still alive. But if anything of him remains... He thinks of the times he's missed a jump, fallen until Lucifel caught him with sudden teleportation and his armor protecting his body from the effects of the sudden stop.

Could he do the same here? He tugs on Lucifel's sleeve and points in the direction Lancer disappeared. The message was clear enough. Lucifel snaps his fingers, focusing on returning Lancer to them, maintaining his lack of acknowledgment to the creatures. He's not saving him from the clutches of a monster, he's wandered out of bounds, so to speak, and he's bringing him back, just like with Enoch.

[animusnpcs]

Lancer only blinks out and into existence for a second, but its enough. The creature skitters back into the shadows, and Lancer is once again illuminated by Gandalf's light.

[notachickenhawk]

<Right. Are we okay? We're okay. Also yes, it's the bird talking. In your minds. It's a long story. Right. Now what do we do? Look for the exit, I guess. Anyone got any ideas? Uh... you might have to do charades, I can't hear you back unless you've got some kind of telepathy.>

He's no good at chatter, he's just trying to keep people calm.

[slightlyoblivious]

Yukiko's heart is pounding like mad after what happened to Lancer. It's loud in her own ears, at least until birdspeak starts up.

"..."

She starts to say 'Wait, we can't leave till we know the computer stuff is done', but there's that pesky lack-of-sound thing. Instead, she waves a hand to try to get Tobias' attention, then gestures backwards towards the retrieval unit.

That's going to have to be enough.

[midgarhorizon]

Having been close to Naoya's body at first, Reno had a pretty good view of Lancer disappearing. Tightening his grip on his EMR, Reno nearly went after him, when the blue haired idiot appeared again.

Breathing a bit in relief, he turned his attention to Xion and gave her a brief pat on the hand and moved closer to Naoya where Lancer dropped him. Making sure he has Xion's attention, he signals her to "stay/guard only."

Sticking his javelin at the creatures had been an experiment, but if they only attacked when provoked...

[animusnpcs]

The glittery creatures draw even closer, but seem to stop and form a ring at the edge of where Gandalf's light would illuminate them. They seem hesitant to cross into the light.

[slightlyoblivious]

"..."

That's something, all right. They're afraid of the light.

Well, here goes nothing, Yukiko thinks as she silently summons Konohana-Sakuya, aiming a single Agi spell straight above her head. It's not meant to burn anything, just to add to the light.

For now she'll try to hold the light as long as possible.

[puppy_lancer]

Lancer sits for a moment, stunned and gasping for breath. He was more surprised by the fact that he had been snatched from the jaws of death than the fact that he had almost died. He look around at everyone, mouthing a "thank you," though his voice still goes unheard.

When he hears Tobias' voice in his head again, he keeps one hand on Naoya's shoulder. He hates it, but he has to admit that he might have no option but to retreat besides everyone else.

...Of course, the fact that the light seems to be keeping the creatures away is good to know.

[animusnpcs]

The creatures hiss and recoil as the light in the area increases. The vaguest outlines of the room can be seen now.

[imperialsun]

what was attacking he still isn't sure, and maybe it was still just a trick of the glamor. But either way, something had tried to attack and it seemed to be afraid of light. When Naoya turned and saw Yukiko preparing a spell, he decided to call forth his own as well.

A blueish energy formed in his hand, his mouth opening but no voice coming out, forcing his persona out with sheer force of will and mental energy. Above him stands Amon-Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, and as it raises its staff, he casts Azure Cessation, causing a circle of fire around them as an additional protective barrier and to increase the light around them.

[sageprincess]

... Light, huh. She can do light.

The barrier around her little group flickers and fades into nothingness as Zelda takes a deep breath. She's not sure how much more of this she can do, but... it's not like they have much choice. One after the other, she summons little hovering balls of light like Willow taught her to do so long ago, like she's done in previous infiltration missions when the darkness has encroached too far. And one after another, she sends them out of Gandalf's range, letting them hover around the edges of the room, around corners, wherever a shadow might be cast.

[animusnpcs]

The glittery creatures hiss and then shriek as the shadows they can hide in begin to disappear. The room is mostly dimly lit now, except for the dark pockets the creatures hide in.

[keybearer]

So this is what it comes to, eh? Well, even with the others shedding light on the room, a little backup never hurt. Letting his mind fill with images of flickering flames, Riku lifts his Keyblade over his head. A ball of fire swells at the tip, transforming the giant key into a makeshift torch.