Endgame: In This Last of Meeting Places

[animusmods]

Characters: Aria, Zo, open
Setting: floor 001 for now
Format: action brackets
Summary: Aria and Zo reappear quite suddenly.
Warnings: standard animus event warnings

Aria and Zo tumble out of the elevator more than they step out of it. They look worse for wear; Zo's covered in minor scrapes and bruises, and Aria'a left arm hangs at her side uselessly, bloody and mangled. As soon as they're on solid ground, Zo turns and forces the elevator doors shut without touching them, leaving the broken car lodged in place behind it, and Aria slides to the floor, gasping for breath. They're both on high alert even for all their exhaustion.

SPEAK TO ARIA
SPEAK TO ZO
ESCAPE
-FLOOR EIGHT

Comments

[animusnpcs]

[There's a groan from the elevator shaft--and then the sound of crunching metal. Zo's eyes snap over to the elevator door.]

I think so.

[attheclocktower]

[The groan makes Xion whip her head around to stare at it too. That didn't sound good.]

Damn.

[They have to get out of here, fast. Especially Aria and Zo- wait. Corridors. Maybe... it was worth a shot. Especially now that her powers were back, fully.]

Where do you need to go? I can try and get both of you there faster.

[Normally corridors were risky unprotected, but if there was ever an emergency that called for it anyway, this was one.]

[animusnpcs]

The hidden floor. Don't teleport. [He says it very seriously--maybe he tried it himself.] There's--things. These things. They're scary.

[The crunching metal becomes more violent, as if something were chewing and swallowing the elevator car blocking the way.]

[attheclocktower]

[That gives Xion pause, her eyes widening as she looks back at Zo.]

Were they like... robot monsters? Riki did that to me, last mon-

[She cuts herself off as the crunches get louder, looking back at the elevator]

We gotta go. [Now.] I-If you need healing I can help. It's not as good with big stuff [Sparing a sad glance in Aria's direction] but, it should help with smaller things and pain at least.

[She's also done the full run from the bottom to the top floor, with powerful monsters being attracted to her. And this time they had help.]

[animusnpcs]

Not robots--real ones. We gotta run. They won't hurt you guys if you don't get in the way, so you don't have to go with us.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion shakes her head, determinedly.]

I've run from the bottom to the top of the Tower, before, with monsters chasing me the whole time. [For all she knew, he might even remember, seeing as he had to approve that particular punishment of Riki's] Besides... I want to help.

[And she knows she's not the only one. If something happened to Zo and Aria just because they hadn't helped because of some selfish sense of self-preservation... it was bigger than just them. Whatever was happening, this could affect all of them, and for their own sake as well as everyone's sake, Aria and Zo needed to be kept safe.]

[animusnpcs]

[The elevator doors burst open.]