[IC] TFW Chapter 1: Sloth

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Mega Star Cannon, Anemone.

 

She nearly stumbled at the door flying open. But she didn't despite her tiny frame. She managed to stay on her feet. She already saw Merlin fly past her. "This... is new. And not good new... bad new. Bad bad bad bad bad bad baaaaaaaaaad new." she thought to herself. She was regretting everything right now... how she handled things. Despite what she was saying she displayed her own recklessness perhaps. Maybe she was a hypocrite. Or maybe... this was all the more serious then any of them thought.

Anemone didn't know if she should be terrified of Merlin... or pity her. It was... strange feeling given the circumstance, the power of her stride what was seething right underneath her skin. However, Anemone didn't feel frightened of her. She wasn't scared by this... in fact the display for whatever reason, it had the opposite effect on her. Anemone produced her staff from her pocket, flicking it with the familiar motion.

 

The fluid one that extended it to the entirety of it's length within in instant. Practice honed... probably as much care put into it as her own magic. Perhaps a stupid and silly waste of time. But, Anemone thought to have a understanding of even the tools with which she worked her magic, as silly as it may be. After all, her staff was nothing more than the handle of a feather duster in reality. She had only removed the head to make it easier to store. It was nothing fancy and certainly wasn't proper but... she never really thought of changing it. The staff was hers and the one she'd always worked with. It was just a part of her magic now. She knew everything about it. It's weight, it's thickness... everything. It was the focus from which her magic flowed. Or perhpas it was entirely unimportant and just ritual she was tied to. She didn't know but she also didn't really care.

There was things to be done still. Someone to stop, people to save. She followed Merlin quickly not really leaving much distance. She moved with as much purpose as her mentor did. For, while her anger hardly bubbled outwards, a quiet rage burned. One angry at what kind of person could do... what ever the fuck this lab was for to but mere children. Maybe she wasn't as powerful as Merlin, she'd probably never be. But, she was going to do what she could to end this, to put to a stop to this injustice. There was too much delaying. It was well past time to act. So, she followed suit, keeping up with Merlin as best as she could.

[Chevaleresse]

Ice was surprised, if not entirely displeased, by this turn of events. She hadn't thought Merlin was capable of such a display, or at the very least none of her behavior to this point had indicated such. Unless it was an incredibly extended joke. . . Still. Merlin was moving, and she was here to help. Ice proceeded after her, though with a small degree of difficulty that she wasn't likely to admit; Merlin's long stride combined with Ice's. . . lack thereof meant that she had to take a lot more steps in the same amount of time to keep pace.

[DragonRage]

"Um, hello, sir?" After realizing that nobody else is going to, Bellona warily approaches the bee swarm and whoever is inside, "I guess I'm our representative, if nobody else wants to do it.  Um, cannon guy was named Ansuz.  I think he has a history with Merlin?  She's not good at briefings.  But he wants to combine magic and favor-based technology, and I'm pretty sure there's no way that's going to end well.  Especially since he seemed like he wasn't the most rational person in the world."

[Shamitako]

Those Guys

 

As promised, the wall of bees opened up a gap in their mass to let Bellona through. A little ways in the distance lay a large metal bear. Going by name and reputation, it was simple enough to gather who this was: Sleeping Bear, the God of Sloth. Considering Merlin's attitude towards mechs, Bellona was wary of whether to consider him her ally just yet. Still, it seemed she had no choice but to do as directed and go over to him.

"I can't hear you." The loudspeaker announced flatly, "It's hard enough to design cameras, and microphones aren't exactly useful in battle, so those drones don't have any."

[DragonRage]

Bellona approaches the guy, and repeats her message, speaking a bit louder so he can hopefully hear her better.

[Shamitako]

Those guys

 

Bear's mech remained entirely still as Bellona approached, it was actually rather unnerving to see something modeled after a living creature not so much as breathing. When she finally stood in front of it, a direct link audio opened up to her HUD.

"Ansuz, huh." Bear mused quietly, Bellona wasn't even sure he was actually talking to her at first, "And she wants to combine magic and mechs? I can see why the witch would be upset about that... Well, I came here for a break, but it seems like I'm going to have to get some actual work done."

The bees surrounding Bellona's teammates receded, flying over to mill about behind Bear. They were now free to return into the facility or continue their escape. Bear's mech visibly shifted, there wasn't any real movement, just the joints repositioning slightly, in a way it seemed like it was stretching.

"If you're going to go back in there, I can provide support with my bees." Bear said, his voice actually sounding almost awake, "But I'm not complaining if you're all a bunch of spineless cowards. After all, I did come here so I wouldn't have to do anything today."

[Empiricist]

Exile - Team Mega Star Cannon - Hallway

 

"Hiyee~!" She gave a jaunty wave, unperturbed if not oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere. "I like the new outfit! It really suits you!"

 

She turns to face the rest of her allies "So, what'd I miss? Was the fight fun? Are we going somewhere?" she cocks her head, smile frozen on her face as if she forgot to say something, two gears appearing and turning above her head "Will there be cake?"

 

"Fedora's still stuck! Said he wanted me to get backup before I murdered him! There's some fancy symbol stuff here, they can connect to each other and make magic stuff appear! I think the symbols lose power after being used since you can mess with them and their connections without anything happening."

[Sutoratosu]

Cheyrn

 

"Gods fucking damnit..." Cheryn sighed under her breath. Her eyes still burned with the faint glow of crimson radiation, alone in the room. Getting yelled at because ya fucked was one thing, continuing to be yelled at and berared even after you admitted you were wrong was another- not that she'd actually cared about anything the seer bitch had said before she stormed out of the room. Yeah, fine, it was a bad idea to release the kid right then, she got it the first damn time. For Lord's Fucking sake, for a minute she thought it was mom standing there...

     But whatever, it had still accomplished what she wanted, at least now, they were actually doing something again instead of standing around fucking talking. She'd meant it earlier, about how they were wasting time- if only because she wanted to hurry up and get the damn job done rather than any real concern the others would get into too deep of a mess as decoys...

     "Hmph... I'm pretty sure she might stomp a mud hole into me bigger than the crater of a Fat Man though...all things considered..." as pissed as merlin had looked, she was honestly abit nervous to go showing her face again right now. The elder Mage was usually pretty chill, but... what she just saw... that was like a whole different woman entirely, right down the aura she emitted as she'd stormed out and torn the door down...

 

Yeah...no... she wasn't gonna risk it. Better to go and search for the kid and Blink- she'd seen a lot of weird stuff since she'd started training with the Round Table, but she had to admit, even Wisp Boy was a new one. Still, he had a decent head start on her and the ability to apparently go through walls... that would complicate finding him a little, but... was still better than potentially enduring the wrath of the Elder mage. That and the further away she was from Ms.Emotional Meltdown right now, the better. 

 

Without much more thought to it, she headed out of the room, not really sure where the hell the two had gone but certain enough from how the kid had gone through the wall it was probably somewhere relatively near... maybe an adjacent room further down one of the corridors...or something. Screw it, it was a better lead than nothing.

[DragonRage]

"Hm.  Many of us are badly injured, and I'm not really suited for solo missions with a high chance of danger.  Or group missions with a high chance of danger for that matter.  But we're supposed to be providing a distraction for Merlin and her group, to draw off the lab's security.  Drawing out Ansuz probably helped a lot, but the other group could still get buried in numbers if we pull out now," Bellona runs through her options quickly, and comes to an unwelcome conclusion.  "I think I have to go back in there, and make as big a mess as I can, to give Merlin a greater chance of success.  Do any of you feel you are able to back me up?"  She directs the question towards the general direction her teammates.  There's no way they're going to hear it through the distance and army of drones, but that doesn't seem to phase her.  "They'll at least be able to tend to our injuries.  It might be better if I go in there alone.  Less people would get hurt."

Edited March 19, 2017 by DragonRage

[Shamitako]

(OOC: Alright, things are about to kick into gear for reals like. Let's see how well I can corral you lot...)

 

MSC - Merlin

 

Merlin outwardly ignored her students, but her inner anger softened slightly. She was still upset she'd been pushed this far, but she appreciated that they had come with her. Well, except Cheryn, but Merlin refused to believe that any of her students would just give up, Cheryn was probably just chasing after the mage boy. A turn in the hall approached and Merlin spotted a symbol on the wall. Without slowing, she raised her hand and unleashed a barrage of fireballs into it. It was incinerated alongside a chunk of the wall behind it. turning the corner, Merlin saw the full network of runes and finally stopped. "This is where Feardorch was, isn't it?" She asked Exile. The last of her anger fell away as she realized that one of her pupils had been captured. This was all her fault, she should have warned them about Ansuz. She should have been more prepared, and she should have prepared them more if she was going to bring them. Yet still, she withheld explanations. She was still held back by her emotions, part of her still wouldn't admit what was happening.

 

 

Cheryn and Amelia

 

Cheryn rushed down the hall after Amelia and Tallow. She didn't have to rush far, as the sound of angry cursing lead her to enter the next room over. She entered it to find a room full of computers and an angry Amelia glaring at the wall opposite the door. Amelia turned around at the sound of the door. "Oh, you." She said flatly, "Kid went through the wall. Not sure how to get him back, can't chase him through without knowing what's on the other side. Any suggestions?" It was apparent that Amelia was in a foul mood, but it was unclear if it was because she'd failed to catch tallow or if Cheryn's presence was causing it.

[Sutoratosu]

Cheryn 

 

The girl glanced around at the console banks filling the room, thinking for a moment...

      "One. It's a bit of a stretch though," even as she spoke, she approached the nearest one and began to examine the system and it's files... "They'd probably keep this kind of basic data in their HUDs, have it on hand for quick reference, buuuuut... who knows, maybe there's a chance that the one of the researchers was actually dumb enough to save a copy of the facility map or something on one of these..."

[DragonRage]

With the lack of available help not really confirmed, Bellona heads back into the building without waiting for anyone.  Once inside, she starts looking for valuable or potentially noisy looking things to smash.  Distraction time!  Let's make some noise!

[Strider]

Sense looked up. Bellona had finished with the god, and had glanced towards them for some reason. He shrugged, not certain what she was doing. She would come over and tell them what had been said. Right? No, apparently not. When Bellona walked back towards the building instead of toward the group, Sense stood up.

"She's going back into the building. We should follow, I suppose." He was slightly disgruntled that she had decided to leave them without trying to communicate properly. There might be an excuse, but for now, Sense walked of to follow Bellona.

When he was close enough, he said, "We couldn't hear anything you said. Did the beekeeper say anything important?"

Edited March 29, 2017 by Strider

[ElfCollaborator]

Bartek follows cautiously, seeming rather concerned about this whole thing. They already got caught out once; he'd prefer not to be caught again.

"Bartek think that we should be more careful about this and talk a little longer. Plan a little."

[DragonRage]

Bellona curses internally, but pastes a smile on her face before addressing her comrades.  "I think bee guy is the God of Sloth?  Not sure why he decided to help us; I think he might have owed somebody a favor.  He did seem pretty concerned about what Ansuz was doing, though.  Regardless, we don't know what the status of Merlin's team is.  Ansuz was waiting for us, so they knew we were coming.  Merlin's group probably got ambushed too.  We have to stick to the plan and draw off as many of the guards as we can so the other team has the best possible chances to survive.  They don't have as many battle-mages as we do, so they could be in serious trouble unless we can take the heat off them.  The God might help cover us with his bees.  Or he might not bother because that would be work.  We have to do this."

Edited March 31, 2017 by DragonRage

[ElfCollaborator]

Bartek looks uncomfortable about this course of plan. He exhales deeply, nodding.

"Bartek will take point. If we get ambush, I have shield."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Mega Star Cannon, Anemone

 

"Yes, this is where he was previously. I can sense residue from his illusions here. I'm still not sure how it's not a waste of magic when it's something this powerful for something that has seemingly no effect but the amount fo power in it makes the signature not get washed away in all the ambient residue." Anemone said inspecting the area. Her true vision was having trouble due to all the random magic residue just littering this place but she could still make out the leftover traces of Fear... hibbityhoo's illusions. However, the realization dawned on her. 

 

"Merlin, knowing Feardocha's capabilities to some extent... his only powerful spells seemed to be illusory spells. It'd be impossible for him to break out of that kind of containment on his own." Anemone was looked pained for a moment, like she was choking on the words she was about to say. Almost as if they were the most vile thing in the universe and she didn't want them to pass her lips. "If our enemy has him captured... we'll need to spring him free. As much as I don't like him, he doesn't deserve such a fate." Anemone couldn't shake a feeling however.One that just sat in her gut wrenching in protest. It was swimming in her head but she felt compelled to let it out.

"Why set a trap not to kill but to ensnare? It doesn't make sense at all.We came into a lair one that could've been prepared if killing was the goal it'd be set up to do so... no? Maybe it's not possible with runes I don't know the magic well, hell I can't even detect it... but... something more dangerous then a simple cage surely would be the plan right?" her finger came to her chin as she pieced through the information presented to her. One part of being a good observer you became very strong at parsing data.

 

"Anyone with some kind of decent magic could break out. Killing couldn't be the goal. Merlin...what does Ansuz want from you? This... has to be some kind of ploy to get at you. It just... makes too much sense. This trap... gives away it's layer's intent. It wasn't to kill, maim or harm. Merlin I'm sure you don't need really any assistance from us, but we're here already so we're with you. We aren't exactly about to abandon you either, but whatever you're not tellin' us... it's too dangerous for us to not know anymore. We need to understand our enemy. You understand them the best. I apologize but my magic is at it's strongest when I understand exactly what I'm dealing with. Perhaps a flaw in my style however, Preparation is half the battle. I simply must know. I'm sorry if whatever event that is happening is troubling for you... I'm sorry for upsetting you if I am... and I'm sorry that this must be this way whatever this is comes out. But we need to know so that we can assist you. It's what friends are for. We're going to fight with you regardless, even if we don't know. Even if it's unsafe. Or, at the very least I will." she place a reassuring hand on Merlin's shoulder. Not really expecting it to do much to comfort the woman. But the gesture was still important she felt.

[Yours Truly]

Feardorcha does what he does best when inside of dangerous situations, which is to sit silently and try to memorize the voice of the one who had captured him, mimicking the....man's face was out of the question of course, since the obvious difference in height would immediately give him away, although of course he could always just use magic for that right? He then proceeded to spend the majority of his time memorizing every single detail possible about the man.

[Shamitako]

Those Guys

 

Gypsy was still worn out, so Charity helped him limp along with the group. Bear's bees joined Bartek in taking point, but the group strangely found themselves met with no further resistance as they slunk through the halls. No more rooms opened up to lasers, nothing. After a while the group stopped to make plans and contact Merlin, as Gypsy was finally rested enough to communicate full messages again. They ducked into a particularly empty room, leaving Bear to guard the door.

"This doesn't make sense." Gypsy said, stating what was probably obvious, "That grand opening and nothing after. I don't exactly know Ansuz like Merlin does, but he doesn't seem like he'd just give up after one failure. I'm gonna ask her what's up, I'm still pretty worn down so I can't go for long, anyone have anything for me to ask besides, 'What now?'"

 

MSC

 

"It's not a trap." Merlin said, her confidence wavering slightly, "This is specifically built so that even the most basic conjuring magic would break it, and I'm not basic. I don't think Ansuz was expecting me to bring backup. And I don't think he brought any either." She understood what was happening here, she'd probably understood the entire time. Ansuz had always been unwilling to accept the world, he wanted it to conform to him and refused to accept that sometimes he needed to change if he wanted to be accepted. When things wouldn't bend for him, he broke them, and Merlin wasn't one for bending. "He's challenging me. He thinks that all this science gibberish makes him better than me. He's trying to beat me." She sighed, "And here I am letting him have his challenge." Her face lit up, a proper smile replacing her previously serious expression. "Well I've been taking this far too seriously." She said cheerfully, "He can't beat me if I don't play the game. Let's go fish." She resumed making her way into the facility, but this time far less grumpy about it.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

MSC- Anemone

"Now that's the Merlin l know! Serious doesn't suit you at all. Need to be perky and bouncy!" like something else l know... muhuhu~ Anemone said her ponytail telling just how excited she was, swaying back and forth like a puppy's tail. Anemone pulled out her "staff" (and not... a repurposed featherduster) and flicked it open with the usual manner. Everything locked into place with a satisfying click like always. "Ooooh this is so exciting... maybe l'll get to use something other than support magic for once! Probably not, cause that's all l ever get to do and it's pretty much always my role cause let's be honest, most of you suck at it, but... a girl can dream ya know?" she quickly hurried after her mentor,not wasting a second.

[Twinwolf]

Forge - Those Guys

 

Forge considers whether she did in fact have any questions... "Ask if they've run into anything like we have? Or if she knows something that could make it easier to escape if that person shows up again?"

[Empiricist]

Exile - Team Mega Star Cannon - Hallway

"So! How do the squiggles work? Can we wash them off? Paint over them? Break the connections?" That all-too-familiar lightbulb icon flashes up again "Oh! Can they be selective? How do people working here avoid setting them off? That'd be really really annoying right? Just minding your own business and boom! Magic cage! Think it's something on their uniforms? Like a badge? A tag? Maybe we should find someone and steal their clothes? They might have fun stuff in them! Like a knife!"

[Chevaleresse]

Ice let out a faint, nigh-imperceptible sigh. Serious Merlin had been nice, for the short time it had lasted. For her part, other than the sigh, her expression remained glacial as always - to the point that one might think they'd imagined the exhalation. She followed behind the other woman, eyes constantly scanning the area for potential threats. A question came to mind after a moment of this. "Merlin. What threats should I - we - prepare for specifically?"

[Shamitako]

On 3/28/2017 at 10:41 PM, Sutoratosu said:

Cheryn 

 

The girl glanced around at the console banks filling the room, thinking for a moment...

      "One. It's a bit of a stretch though," even as she spoke, she approached the nearest one and began to examine the system and it's files... "They'd probably keep this kind of basic data in their HUDs, have it on hand for quick reference, buuuuut... who knows, maybe there's a chance that the one of the researchers was actually dumb enough to save a copy of the facility map or something on one of these..."

*trumpets triumpetly*

 

Cheryn

 

Amelia followed Cheryn's lead and started looking through the consoles for a map. Cheryn found it first, her third console had a copy of the facility map stored on it. She was able to download it to her HUD and take a closer look. Her current location was labeled "computer storage" and the one through the wall... "child bank." It was unclear exactly what this meant, but considering Tallow's state when they found him, it probably wasn't good. It looked like it was around thrice the size of the computer storage room.

 

(OOC: all that for this tiny thing. I'm gonna actually make an effort to make the map now like I said I would months ago)

[Sutoratosu]

"Well shit..." Tamar muttered under her breath, before turning to Blink "Looks like I was right. They really are that stupid. This uh... just went from bad to worse though; The room right next to this one is labeled as "child bank", and it's big- like, easily three times the space of this room. Probably where they're keeping the kids who aren't being experimented on or something. Either way...this might get a bit dicey, they've probably got some type of security set up in there if that's where most of their stock is coming from. Hopefully he hasn't accidentally triggered anything already..."