[Episode Three] Defile

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Lower Reactor Control

A suboptimal situation. The armor was not an issue. In fact, it could be fixed now through the tried and true methodology of 'use the function again.' So, naturally, this should be fixed immediately. And Marie did so, the echyllis taking form into glowing light blue shapes, before hardening back, good as new. Merely disrupted. Not damaged. An interesting effect. At least clothes stayed during disruption.

The rogue overseer had turned against them. That was the more suboptimal part. She was also taxing the Voltage key quite a bit, and while she had her natural affinity to it, the key was starting to run low. She needed something else from Juryrig.

He was right. This driver is imperfect. More improvements could be made. Better efficiency, better potency, superior monitoring of the key's condition. However, he was also currently without a driver, and the crew kept no spares. Unless...

"Juryrig. There are two spare drivers on my work desk. I want you to use Zone to grab both." Marie sent to the alchemist/madman, over the communicators. "And give me a spare key. I will be giving Voltage more than its fair share of stress."

She drew her lines in the air. Rings of electricity surrounded her position, and one line looped around the Bouncer trying to attack Juryrig. It was time for an unscheduled shock test.
 
Lower Reactor Control
Big Glas


He could've been having a sandwich right now, but NOoOo! The humans wanted to dig through boxes! Glasawyr flared his wings agressively and let out a roar at the approaching harpies that wouldn't have been out of place in Jurassic Park film. His sharp, blue eyes quickly scanned the flying machines with a cunning that many didn't expect from him, given his more animalistic mannerisms.

They were small. Fast. Armed with ranged weapons.

He was big. Slow. Armed with fists and fire magic. Easy to hit a large target such as he.

Solution? Be smaller. Be faster. Be harder to hit. Close the gap and nullify advantage. Brutally slaughter them and their pack. Steal their food.

One problem though: the child on his shoulder. Need to deal with that first.

Return of Human Glas

Shrinking down, Glas reached up and caught Aradia before she could fall. Carrying her on his hip, he darted behind a pillar and set her down.

Run, Aradia. Back from whence we came. Hide, still and quiet, like a mouse. I will find you afterwards.

He said so unaware that Aradia was a mage. In his mind, it was only right to fight the aggressors while the cubs escaped. That, and it looked like the Alpha would need help. He was her personal smol transporter, though, not her boss. She was free to do whatever.


Glasawyr, personally was about to whoop some monkey ass. He darted out from the pillar, human sized and agile. Raising his left hand towards the leading harpie, he sent a stream of blue flame at it. If nothing else, it was an attempt to distract/disorient it while he launched himself at another pillar. Pushing off, he began bouncing erratically towards the lead harpie, trying to keep it between him and the other one as best he could while simultaneously making himself a hard target for the first.

Another classic combat strategy: when outnumbered, limit the amount of force the enemy can bring to bear. In this instance, the rear harpie would be hesitant to fire and strike its ally, meaning for the time being Glas would hopefully only have to directly fight one.

Finally, Glas rocketed right towards the first Harpie, bringing right foot back and shooting it forward in a flying sidekick straight for what he assumed was the head, with nearly 700 pounds of force behind it.
 
Kurodyne Defile
Room of Robo-Rampage!


Aradia peeped, her voice making an adorable - albeit ear-piercing - noise as she suddenly found herself airborne, and then just as quickly found herself in the arms of the not-dragon-who-is-just-a-dragon-in-disguise. She was, thankfully, aware of the rest of the situation, though - and knew that it'd be better to keep herself distant from the fight. The rogue robots looked hurty, angry, and more than capable of landing their blows, unlike the gargoyles from a while ago. If she wanted to help everyone else recover, the little magician would do best to keep her limb count as close to four as possible. So she took Glas's advice, and ran. She ran to the door, can kept herself behind it - keeping most of her little body hidden behind its (hopefully) solid frame, but keeping an eye on the room as it burst into pure and utter chaos. At least she could tell who was friendly.
 
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Fighting spider tanks! (Warehouse)

Rhea only paused a short instant as she successfully tipped the shelf... with some help. The echyllis super not nice to people- even... maybe especially to her, but it was a potent weapon, and who knew how raw echyllis in these amounts interacted with electronics, especially the arcadian stuff!

The liquid, pink flames, even the fumes- they were all almost certainly a good source of echyllis to grab. She just needed to make sure none of it touched her any more than necessary. She took that moment to fortify herself with reassurances. That this was necessary. That violence was the only thing it understood, and it wouldn't take retreat as an answer.

She was careful, as she made her way closer to the toxic mess. She did her best to "grab" at the air, to keep the fumes from the echyllis from permanantly damaging her in some horrific way... Even as she did her best to duck around under the robot's line of sight. It was taking alot of her focus, with each of her movements being used for her 'bending' alongside the need to not become a... She shook her head.

The scene was... terrifying. The hot pink flames casting everything in a strange light... the choking fumes... but she didn't let it distract her. As she arrived, just barely within reach, her first act was to step in towards the fiery sludge, with almost a twirling sweep, to bring it around herself, all along the edge of her radius, as she'd been trying to do with the fumes in the air.

And as she did so, she stepped in further, gathering even more around herself, working it into a hard barrier in short order, before bracing herself and suddenly taking a decisive step towards the machine, lashing out with a straight punch- intent on firing a concensed, hardened mess of the stuff at its stupid fat robot face! Then she thought better of it, and went for the still explosed turret, and shouted "Suck Crystal!"

She was not proud of it, as far as oneliners went. going red in the face after realizing she actually said it aloud.
 
Warehouse

Reman got up, slowly and just calmly enough to lax the injuries he had just taken. The sudden blow sent a shock through his body, the bullets being a much higher caliber than they initially looked. Reman knew if even ONE of these bullets touched flesh it wouldn't just be blown off, it would be eviscerated. Reman whipped up a tailwind to try and divert local bullets before moving towards Rhea, trying to help before watching the mass of crystal condense on the surface of the turret. "Agh!" shouted Reman as fragments burst from the mass, siezing the opportunity to grab a sizeable one and pocket it before running towards the exit. "You both need to get OUT of here, the exit's this way. I'll cover you." the shock leaving his voice slightly hoarse.

--------------------

Lower Reactor Control

As if she needed such a complex plan. Direct and prescise, that was the way to do it.

Romulus readied the bullet in his fingers before heating the end of the bullet casing, leaving just a brief moment of time, clasping the shell with his hand to absorb as much shock as possible before firing the contained projectile at one of the limbs of the nearby creatures, ditching the crystal with brief sear marks on his flesh from contact with the metal before reaching in his pocket for more.

"If any time is a good time to trust me, it'd be now. The GUN. Whichever one of you has it. I need it."
 
Their shared brain space is in complete disarray. Alarms are flashing, but not blaring. The computer screens are blurred and unfocused. Photos and blueprints are all over the floor. There's no structural damage to the walls, components, or the central shaft in the center of the brain space, so the two personalities recognize they're at least unharmed.

"Why the FU- AAAAAGGHHH!" Tom pulled at his hair as he actively refrained himself from swearing.

"Why, Juryrig?! That was not what we needed right now, anyway, you already started a infestation in this place! We should've been helping Reman!"

"Well I didn't hear anything from YOU!"

"Either you couldn't, or you chose not to!"

"You were not this snippy when we first started-"

"-because I had hopes for this to work! Look how letting you off the hook paid off!" As the two exchanged sharp words at each other, the screens shed their static imagery, showing memories, sounds, what is going on right now, and such.

"Oh, YOU are the parental figure here now, huh? I kept you alive for all of these years, I was the one that made this arrangement, I could've just as easily kept you bottled up where nobody would have to see you!"

"On the contrary, this IS new, all of it!" Tom pulls down a screen, playing chunks upon chunks of snippets of memories, comparing the years past to the weeks present. Their times before the Downriver, compared to now.

"For one, we had nobody before now! You think I didn't see-" He wildly gestures at the screen, "THIS?! THINK JURYRIG, THINK! I'm not a child!"

"NO, YOU THINK, THOMAS! YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF THIS FUCKING SAFESPACE! I LET YOU LOOSE, AND SUDDENLY YOU JUST WHIP OUT YOUR HAND AND GET US INVOLVED WITH THE AFFAIRS OF STRANGERS!"

"Shut up! You don't know if that changed anything that happened right now!"

"I do know, and some human interaction isn't going to change my damn mind!"

"Well you know what, if nothing is, then you need to!"

"Not if you changed your mind first, Tom!"

"NO! Not until you do, Juryrig! I know you love me, but you don't listen to me!" At this point, the screen Tom had been holding down had flickered to the present, where there is a Bouncer heading right for them.

"If you can't even listen to the people you NEED to pay attention to, I don't see why I should- FUCK! EVASIVE ACTION!"

"NONONONONONOOKAYWE'LLTALKABOUTTHISLATER!"

The two make a mad dash for the controls, putting aside their differences to address the reality of the situation: immediate death.

Lower Reactor

"h-houwa- FUCK!" Juryrig snapped his attention up to the ceiling, where there's a pesky hook of seared metal hanging him by his coat. Coat?! The blast knocked him out of his Phase suit, too!

In a panic, he tried activating his Blunderbuss. He failed to do so, because it's on the ground beneath him. Judging from the dead lights and the lack of Juryriggness, the blast also knocked that thing out, too.

Plan of action: drop, grab, nigerundayo. Simple, straightforward, and he can just make a new jacket on the Downrider. A win for everyone.

"Here it goes!" Juryrig swaps with Tom, Juryrig taking a backseat to empower Tom's physicality. Tom slips out of the red coat, dropping to the ground, his legs letting loose a sickening snap and squelch as they break! Promptly, those appendages recovered right afterwards as if they were possessed by a spirit.

"SORRY FOR THE MESS, GUYS!" Tom runs the exact opposite direction as the Bouncer, grabbing the Blunderbass!
 
Warehouse

keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together That's... not quite right. Help's arrived, see? Help arrived, so— keep it together keep it together keep it together That's enough, they're not hurting anymore, you don't have to hurt anyone again, so— keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together The child, Rhea... yeah, captain's put her in your care so— keep it together keep it together keep it together keep it together"—so let me... DO SOMETHING!"

Glancing between the murderous tank and the hazard warnings scattered on the surfaces of box playloads, Keith somehow remembered in the middle of his stupor how even its tiny residue left behind in the Oakland Heavy Wayfarer was enough to not only disable the vaccuum device used to retrieve it for further examination, but also catalyze an unpleasant electronic reaction—of the explosion kind (albeit a small one). The informant knew what he had to do, then. "Argint! This might be inconvenient at best, take the kid and run! I repeat, TAKER HER AND RUN! PROTECT RHEA!" Taking aim at the palette of boxes, he loaded a singular high-explosive round into the empty rifle champer, cocking its hammer and pulling the trigger with a calmness that embodied trained behavior, betraying his outburst.
 
Lower Reactor Control

Marie's electric cage was surprisingly efficient at incapacitating the Bouncer, leaving it stunned and confused as it tried to move its frozen limbs. The attack was cut as short as the doomed plan when a high-speed projectile whizzed past Marie's helmet, slamming into the scientists armored shoulder. The attack cleaved the armor clean in two as it passed by, leaving Marie's body relatively unscathed but at the cost of knocking her clean down. The projectile continued, sinking into the wall a few meters behind her. A simple piece of metal rebar, but smoldering from the heat of its launch.

Across the room, Marie could see the sharpshooting Hapri had turned its attention from the airborne Glas. The Harpi unit raised its forearm-bound apparatus of metal and magnetic coils, readying another short length of coiled rebar in its breach. Much closer to home was another Grunt, moving to swing at the easy target that was the downed technician.

As Juryrig hit the floor, the Bouncer began to recover from its rudely unscheduled electroshock therapy. The machine was clearly unwell, stepping completely off boat and making great overcompensation with its movements. Still, the Bouncer lunged towards Juryrig with its heavy claw arm, grappling the Alchemists leg as he reached from the Blunderbass. He was able to narrowly grab it, but was being dragged across the floor as the Bouncer readied to drop its shield.


Aradia's hiding spot kept her relatively safe from the whirlwind of bullets and metal that was the battlefield, though the destructive follow-through of the Harpi's rebar projectile came a little close for comfort. The pilot and now acting magician could spot two Grunts that had equally made her out as a target. The two insect-like bipeds approached, revving their chainsaws as they went in on a pincer formation towards her.

The Grunt rushing towards Romulus met an untimely end as the round exploded from the artificer's hand, sending an armor piercing round straight through its chassis as entrails of wire and hydraulic fluid burst from its back. The machine hit the floor gracelessly, crumpling under its own dead weight. The attack left Romulus' hand in similarly bad shape, the fire from the explosion searing the edges of his hand as shrapnel left cuts in his flesh and clothing. More alarmingly, however, was a Bouncer making its way towards Romulus' position. The machine dropped its shield as it approached, learning quickly from the pile of metal that made up its former comrade. Behind the approaching threat, he could see the answer to the question that fell on deaf ears. The Veteran (or what remained of it) laid bound to the unmoving OSC-01, bound around their crumpled dress.


Above the chaos, the newest member of the crew duked it out with one of the two Harpi units near the ceiling. The two exchanged passes, with Glasawyr taking the advantage as his attack connected with the right shoulder of the machine. The arm was ripped clean from its socket, leaving the Harpi to spiral out of control. The machine corrected quickly, evading a crash landing as it juked out the dragons next swipe. The machine rose up in Glas' blind spot, reading its stubby firearm to take potshots. The machine fired in somewhat accurate bursts, sinking red-hot construction staples inches into the dragons softer body parts while cracking against the hardener scales.



Dahlia moved away from the reactor, seeking cover as she ripped the radio from her backpack, chambering her pistol against it's holster as she did so. The state of the WAEP detonation on communications was unknown, but the captain sent a message on repeat to the crew. "DIPLOMACY'S GONE TO HELL, SEEK RENDEZVOUS-"

The captain was interrupted as a metal feather sliced downwards, knocking the radio away and the captain to her knees. The Rogue Overseer cut a glance at the captain, with an abnormal intensity in their eyes- the same ones designed to be amicable in nature. "I WILL TEAR YOUR GREEDY SELF LIMB FROM LIMB," the machine screeched as it swung once more.

Dahlia kicked away from the machine in panic, raising the pistol as she recovered to fire two bullets. The first round scraped the rounded edge of the Overseers head, deflecting into the ceiling above. The second sunk right between the face-plate and left eye, cracking the glass and spitting the plate apart to no avail. "AND MAKE YOU WATCH THEM PERISH." The machine thrust its wing forward, catching Dahlia's backpack on its path and tearing into the clothing and hip of the captain. They may not be weapons by design, but the feathers were still machined sharp.

Dahlia was paled from panic, but furrowed her brow as her gunning arm was currently pinned. The Captain braced herself against the assaulting machine, giving them an angered peer. "We're going to send you to the Vigali on a thumb drive," she snarled, gripping the handle of the black case as she swung the blunt box at the head of the enranged machine. It caught the Overseer clean in the side, snapping their neck joint as they were forced backwards. The box continued its trajectory, bouncing to a stop near the inner rim of the reactor control. The captain kicked the stunned Overseer's torso, giving herself breathing room to fall to the floor. She brought on hand to her hip, which was now clearly seeping blood through her light shirt.


Unknown

A darkened void was all that was present. Somewhere, deep within the possible confines of a certain Overseer's domain was an entirely solitary place, far deprived from the sensory input of the battle unfolding around them. Farther beyond even that of the circuitry and servos that were controlled from the Zen space in which these thoughts normally operated. The only noise was the sound of droning white noise, like a distorted ocean.

A truly well-known voice permeated the void, like an echo. It was a feminine voice, but carried a certain grit. "Why is it always in moments like this you come to me."

"Where else would I have to go."

The echo retorted. "You can come to this inner sanctum at any time, yet you choose to only immerse when things have gone down the cracks."

Inner Sanctum

Resentment. "Dwelling on the past doesn't help. I don't need to hear it."

The echo huffed. "Clearly, some small part of you does. Or are you too far up your own ass to see that?"

"I can't see anything. Everything is gone for the moment"

The echo paused, this was going nowhere fast. After a solid minute, they took a different approach. "Not everything. I must say that was the most alive thing you've done in years."

"Thanks, jackass."

The echo laughed, a truely hearty guffaw. "Now we're making progress. I can't see much from this... place either you know. But what I can see is that you're confused."

"Everything is under control."

The echo scoffed. "Yet here you are with yourself. You say you don't care about anything but your little quest for your broken relations, but from what I can hear it seems like you just took a lightning bolt for a- dare I say friend."

Frustration. "Means to an end, we're looking for the same things. I need to find out what happened when-.

The echo came in an outburst, overbearing. "WHAT HAPPENED? What happened is you let yourself believe running from the past would solve your problems. FIVE. HUNDRED. YEARS. Not a peep." The echo relaxed.

There was no response from the owner.

A third voice chimed in, a much softer and eloquent one. "Let me talk, dear."

"They're going to die, and I can do nothing about it. It's happening again. Just like you."

"You're both correct, Tara. You can't let your past mistakes envelop you, they're going to drive you to madness. In the same stroke, you can't blot it out and expect everything to be fine."

The hoarse voice spoke again. "You say you fear for them, but you've been keeping them a polearm's distance away this entire time." They grumbled.

Tara tried to look towards the soft voice, unable to find them. "Please, I can't even keep a memory of you alive."

The soft voice rebutted them with a cheerful chuckle. "But you did! You showed them my life's work! I'm not completely deaf, even... here."

The crass one groaned. "Oh how conveniently skipping past those blurry little details involving your purpose in this world."

The softer voice give a grouchy hum. "I loathe to see your priorities are all over the place. It's not like you."

"The crew, your old friends, your mistakes. What were you planning on doing with that 'madman's gun under your faulds? That Overseers word against yours??"

"Under. Control. All relations have reasoning and boundary."

The softer voice seemed to almost calm them down, reminding them of something. "You're worried they're going to find out what all you've lied to them about, concealed from them. Find out who you are. But the longer you try and run with that mask the heavier it's going to get."

The softer voice chimed in once more, soothing the situation. "What's more important to you is for you alone to decide. Your past or your future, both rely on your decisions about the crew. You don't need relations, you need help."

The rippling of gunfire could be heard, just ever so slightly from beyond this otherworldly place. "But it seems like that's a choice you're going to have to make very soon."

"What would the Baron say?"

As the stasis peeled away like a tide rolling off the shore, one last message echoed on.

"Take care, Tara."


Warehouse

The pink flames circled around Rhea as she stepped forward, as if giving her space. As she bundled them together, the flames wicked away from the solid fuel mixture below it, leaving behind black clumps of flammable material. As the barrier formed ahead of her, the machine took aim and fired. Bullets crashed against the barrier, leaving deep cracks in the forming wall. Something about her felt stronger, however fearful the situation was. One bullet was stopped mere inches away from the child, the deadly arcandum tip poking through the drilled crystal at eye level. As a result, the wall attack was less of an alpha strike and more of a... large shotgun. Huge chunks of hardened echyllis were sent downrange, colliding with the metal beast and knocking it around with force previously undocumented from her channeling. One crystal caught the turret in the side, spinning it around away from the trio and causing a barrage of collateral damage in the sweep as the machine was forced closer to the side of the room.

The distraction was just enough for Keith to make a clean shot, past Rhea, Reman, and the beast itself. The HE round slid through the gap in the machine's legs, impacting the railing containing the insulated boxes with a crippling bang. The shelf collapsed, unleashing powdery blue hell upon the room.

In a flash of light, the room was engulfed in horrendous noise. Chain reactions of explosions ranging from pops to shockwave-inudcing blasts rippled the room, tearing concrete and metal clean from the floor as the machine was engulfed in it. The air was heated to an unbearable temperature as the room shook in a blast that could be felt all the way at the surface. The spectacle was witnessed by no one for long, as Rhea and Reman were forcefully ejected through their escape route and Keith was rendered incapacitated by the blast, the last thing he felt being a searing pain in his right shoulder.


Silence fell as the now non-volatile dust settled upon a new wasteland. The trio had survived, albeit narrowly. Reman's whirlwind kept him and Rhea safe for the most part, but larger debris had rattled his backside and left his armor deformed and sparking. Rhea was toasted, blinded, and deafened with her senses taking quite some time to return. Inside the cloud of dust and ash, they could spot a strange pink glow that formed a half-shell among the debris.

Keith found himself incredibly hazy among large chunks of concrete that once made up the rooms flooring. The scene around him was blurry and distant. Lights flickered and whined, pink flames dotting the room. The room was in ruins, the ceiling beams partly collapsed with only one shelf remaining standing. He could barely move, with his right arm being completely limp. Far above him in his dazed state, Keith could see a guardian angel resting atop the remaining shelf- a rather deformed and annoyed one at that. A small package from the heavens impacted him on the chest, inducing a strong wince. Military grade injectable painkiller.
 
Lower Reactor Control
Human Glas


With each impact, Glasawyr grimmaced a little. It was like being swarmed by hornets and unable to escape. He continued bouncing erratically.

The metal abomination enjoyed its little fire gun. He would show it fire!

Glas twisted gracefully in the air and pointed his palms at the first harpie, sending out a volley of fireballs at it, then landed in a crouch on the wall, with his momentum keeping him there.

His leg muscles tensed, the stone cracked in a vibrant spiderweb beneath the soles of his feet, and in a rush of wind the dragon boy was gone.

He hurled like a bullet, following directly behind the fireballs, directly towards the harpie. His plan was to latch on and rip its head off with his bare hands, then hurl said disembodied head at the other harpie like a missile.
 
Wasteland- Recently Warehouse Ejected

Rhea lay on the ground, on her back. In a strange state of too much pain to think, and also not enough to make her awknowledge the fact she wasn't dead when one of the last things she saw was an arcadium round almost going through her eyesocket. She was still conscious though, much as she might wish otherwise, and soon her writhing stopped, as every movement only brought her pain.

Even through all this, her mind racing and distracted with sheer agony, she recalled how strong she felt for once in the warehouse, latching onto that feeling. it wasn't one she was keen on forgetting. She also wasn't terribly keen on dying to Echyllis after all of this- and spotting the strange pink glow only brought that to the forefront of her mind. She slowly... painfully, sat up, and began weaving that barrier around herself once more- more to catch echyllis particles and stop them from infecting her than anything else.

And she began moving towards the threat. She was in pain, yes... but she could still move just fine. It wasn't all that different form trying to ignore the biting cold of Bivonia at the height of its winter chill. At least, that was what she kept telling herself as she whimpered along, setting out to contain what she perceived to be yet another chunk of dangerous echyllis...

" 'Least this time I... am still awake... God it hurts... Reman... you alive too?" She managed to croak out, inaudible even to her own ears.
 
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Lower Reactor Control

Of course. The Bouncers would be shielded against electricity. They survived that EMP, after all.

Oh, and of course they had some sort of rebar railgun. Honestly, a nice trick, it was a cool little gimmick electrokinetics like her could use - PLEASE, THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL YOU.

Except Marie knew the best counter to the classic railgun trick. When fighting someone who's using a railgun, the best idea would be to make sure it misfires. Sure, it was dangerous, risky, and crazy, but it makes the weapon just as dangerous to them as it does to you.

Before the Harpi could aim another bolt, Marie outstretched a hand, causing electricity to jump from the trigger directly through the rails. Accidental discharge, as it could be presumed. It would make the Harpi have to deal with the loading process again. That one wouldn't be hurting anyone.

But the more permanent solution to that was heat. An overheated railgun would physically melt as it fires more bolts. Glas could deal with that for a short bit.

Romulus could deal with it permanently.

It was only a moment wherein Romulus saw the veteran, tied with loose flammable string to Osco's waist. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the stunned android, lighting his whole hand ablaze as he burned through the string. Releasing it's bonds he spun the veteran in his hands and with a swift motion pointed it towards the nearest hostile robot in the cavern. The weapon was incapable of generating weapons or firing bullets in it's current state, but there was one option left to Romulus that he was waiting for. A quick slot of the Inferno key, and anyone in the room could tell what happened next.

"Armorize."

A quick pull of the trigger and a whirlwind of smoke flared up as the Inferno Knight donned his suit of armor once more, and as the black clouds dissipated, the ground began to spontaneously combust around the local area. Flame littered the cavern and chaos reigned as the echyllis disruption distorted small areas of armor where the echyllis was more concentrated.

It started with a punch, aflame with billowing clouds from the intensity of the burning fist being plunged into some robot's hide, the Veteran now welded into the armor at the waist. On his back, the "wings" were aflame, looking like a fallen angel enacting his great sin upon the temples of man.

While Tom would be amazed at the spectacle of the fallen angel aesthetic, he is currently being grabbed and being pulled towards the Bouncer. Tom's aware that, with Juryrig within him, he's currently pretty darn tough. Then again, Tom's also not mentally ready for this! Neither is his Blunderbuss, which is still having problems getting started.

Tom then had an idea: a reliable way of restarting just about anything that Tom makes is by slamming it really, really hard!

"Yeah, that ought to do it!"

With that, he slammed the Blunderbuss against the hand of the Bouncer... Nope. Didn't come back on yet.

"Ooooohhhhh... Wakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup- HAAAAAAAAAAAAAALP!" Tom bashed the weapon on the fist, desperately trying to get his weapon to activate.

Marie looked over at Juryrig and sighed. "Romulus. Zone, please." She reached out a hand towards him, asking for the key.

"I'm expecting it back. There are consequences for everyone here if that key breaks."

Romulus tossed zone to marie as the cave increased gradually in temperature.

"I'm well aware," Marie replied. She plugged the key into her driver, and put her hand through a small portal.

On the Downrider, a hand stretched through a portal, grabbing one of the drivers off of Marie's workbench, and a prototype she was working on. It definitely wasn't a driver, having the appearance of something similar to...a sword hilt. Then, the hand vanished, reappearing at the site where Marie's spearhead was.

"Got what I needed," Marie stated, disengaging the key behind a piece of cover and passing it back to Romulus, putting Voltage back in. "Now... Juryrig!" Marie shouted, throwing the driver and sword hilt at Juryrig.

"Huh- AH!" Quickly, Tom grabbed the two from the air!

"I got it, I got it! I- Where's the user manual for these things?! Maine- I mean Marie!"

"Put the bracer on your arm! It'll walk you through!" Marie shouted back.

"I- uh- AAAAAAAAAH!" Holding the sword and bracer in one hand, he takes the Blunderbass by its muzzle, and at speeds that only a man with lots of fear can pull out, whacks the arm of the Bouncer over and over again!

This clearly isn't Juryrig that Marie's working with. At least, Juryrig is acting very irregularly.

"...never mind. Fuck this." Marie whirled her spear, throwing it at the Bouncer. "Let's just get it done."

Romulus rushed forth, looking for an opening in the bouncer's arm, and took it, holding it on place, prepared to hold the bouncer in place or better yet- tear it's hand off entirely.

To anyone in the room, it appeared to them he was just using his suit more effectively. Anyone who had used a driver could tell something was off, the power surge, the sudden hold over his powers, the raw strength, the heat in the cavern. It wasn't just that his power had grown like Reman's, his limiter appeared to be non-functional.

"JURY, SLOT THE KEY IN, PULL THE DAMN TRIGGER, IT IS THAT SIMPLE."

"BUT THIS ISN'T A GUN!"
 
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Warehouse

Not again. This is the third time that the mission has gone belly up because of some unknown factor just causing mayhem over just a cut and run mission. Armor halfway to disintegration, one desperate attempt plagued his mind. He wasn't just going to sit idly by and watch his crewmates, his friends suffer over the mission. Reaching towards the driver, a handle formed, darkened and fully realized.

It was just a moment. He knew he wouldn't let the crew deal with a moment like this again.

Out came the shaft of the weapon, harder and harder to generate from the energy of the driver. The generation algorithm however, worked beautifully. Like woven cloth it spun the echyllis projections into a formed weapon piece by piece.

No.

The outcome changed. Instead of the weapon being cut off at the foregrip unable to be retrieved, the blade fully formed, and made it's way out of the projector. It was an axe. A small axe, but one that looked like it had an echyllis tip, glowing bright green in the dust and fog now being blown away by Reman. Rushing towards the rocks and rubble, the blade of the axe sharpened itself with rapid cyclones of wind, being able to cleave through metal and stone like a pressurejet. Tossing the weapon towards a smaller falling beam, the weapon looked like Reman was piloting it through the air, using wind to alter it's course. Upon collision with the beam, the length of the metal shelf was carved in two and completely radiating iron filings as both parts fell away from both Keith and the impromptu field medic.

"I did it! Romulus isn't gonna be happy and you know what, I'm gonna be delighted to see him whine when he hears this!" Reman then noticed the growing heat in the cavern, eerie and unnatural. Worst comes to worst, the strongest one of the Knights just got a major boon.
 
Lower Reactor Control
Still posting before Candle does


Aradia thanked herself for taking cover - she didn't have the reaction speed to block those rebar projectiles, nor did she have the raw agility to take one of those blade-winged Harpis up close. She had to stop herself from trying to take notes as Glas turned himself into a living, deadly projectile - not to mention the globules of natural napalm he could spit out with a surprising amount of control while he did it. Then the captain got hit - Dahlia wasn't going to last. Not with a hurt hip and her weapon arm being pinned, at least. And it was only when they were almost on top of her that the pint-sized arcanist noticed that she'd not gotten out of the fight unnoticed by the chainsaw-wielding brawlers currently a bit closer than an uncomfortable distance away.

An emerald slid into her hand. Those sharp-eyed - which was probably nobody, given the state of combat at the moment - could see it glow, the energy stored within discharging through Aradia into a sheet of pure magical *presence*, blocking the first attempt on her life in a flash of sparks, mettalic and magical as the chainsaw crashed into the barrier she'd created, trying to tear it open just a few inches away from her left arm. She'd overcompensated for the hit, but it wouldn't last long. The gemstone clattered to the floor as its owner didn't plan on sticking around. Using her own reserve, Aradia made yet another barrier on the floor - aggressively repulsive. It shattered as she stepped on it, almost exploding her back into the room - out of melee range of the Grunts that paid attention to her, but not far from the danger.

She was rusty on trying this, her flight being a lot less... "graceful" than Glasawyr who'd done a similar thing just a moment ago. But it didn't kill her either, the Sivins not-a-child ending up a fair bit closer to Dahlia than she'd expected, but somehow landing on her feet. Better than expected.

The closest threat she could see was the enemy Overseer, still reeling back from the surprise strike. Aradia followed up with a push of her own, her body crashing into them to try and knock the machine over. If she'd had the time to think, an extra barrier would probably have helped.
 
Warehouse
Iiit's aaall ooveeer, but the cryyyiiing...

As the powdery blue hell began to react, Keith winced and snapped his eyes shut as the bright flash all but blinded him, chain reactions exploding into a shock wave soon after. Time slowed down for the informant for but a brief moment in the meantime, himself being enveloped by an otherworldly sensation of calmness and acceptance as the blast that ripped metal and concrete clean from the architecture, in his perspective, slowly but surely engulfed him before violently spitting him out all the same. He could feel the pain on his shoulder, an unbearable feeling that was overwritten by that same resignation to his fate. Perhaps he would cease to exist alongside the warehouse? It wouldn't hurt for long... he could only hope Rhea was safe. Such were the ex-sergeant's last thoughts before being completely knocked out by his impact against a piece of rubble.

It was not until several minutes later that Keith came to be, believing himself to have arrived in some sort of karmic retribution of an afterlife. Everything felt distant, like echoes of his surroundings of but a moment ago. An angel observed him from above a shelf, welcoming him to eternal rest... not, as unfortunately, the informant was forcefully awakened back to the cruel reality by the sharp pain he recognized too well of an injection. Not too soon after, Reman's delayed heroics arrived to slash apart a piece of falling ruin that would have rendered the "angel's" rescue entirely meaningless should it have completed its fall.

"Who... I---no, why... tch..." with too many questions in mind, the confused ex-sergeant managed to ask not any of them coherently. "...what happened? Where... where's Rhea?"
 
Lower Reactor Control

The one-armed Harpi raised their firearm once more, backpedaling away from the fireballs as best they could in the limited space. From behind the firestorm, several more tacks rushed forth an embedded themselves in Glas' face, one right in the eyelid. The fireballs impacted the flying unit, followed by the dragon itself, leaving little more than smoldering scrap in its wake. The impact of the staples left Glas' followup accuracy off, losing the other Harpi unit entirely.

The other Harpi rose skyward to strike the dragon, but Marie's plan to misfire the weapon worked. The metal pole was sent out of the fray, striking the ceiling nearby. Marie did not, however, account for the Grunt approaching her. The grunt took a swing at her, it's chainsaw sparking and clattering violently as it cracked away at the technician's forearm armor. Coming out of the strike, Marie could feel one of the straps holding her driver in place frayed and loose. The Grunt reared back once more, lunging at the technician with its saw outstretched.

The Bouncer looking over Tom was stunned as it was rapidly beaten about the head and shoulder. It raised its forearm more and more between strikes, before one strike cracked the caged glass that covered its vital optics. The machine bore down, slamming its fist into the ground next to Juryrig's head in disorientation. Juryrig could see the metal hand crumple and deform against the hard ground, buying him time to make a proper escape. Marie's spear impacted the Bouncer in the back, causing the machine to be laid flat against the ground behind him.

A few of the machines near Romulus were backed off by the flames, one cleanly folded in half by the blast of his transformation. He found himself the new target of the remaining Harpi however, the flying menace choosing to evade the dragon's fury as it readied its next bolt aimed at the intensely hot signature.



Across the room, OSC-01 had been looted of the Veteran and left to remain, folded over. There was some small jolt within the android's frame, ever brief. Violently, a green figment of light burst forth from the open back of the Overseer, clawing to the floor in the shape of an arm and hand. The ghostly hand grasped the ejected reactor fuse with a flash of green light, dragging it behind slowly. The Overseer jolted again, a rush of strange power moving them once more.

The two Grunts that had been approaching Aradia were knocked back by the blast, small bits of glassy substance caught in their frames and saws as they hit the floor. They were not out of the fight yet, scrambling back to their pointy feet as they made chase. The Rogue Overseer was knocked over by the small magicians tackle, but their senses had come to them by the time the two hit the floor. The metal and rubber hands of the Overseer wrapped around Aradia's throat, forcing her upward as the machine rose once more. "Your intervention is as pointless as it is unwelcome." The machine's voice had calmed and steadied into an unnaturally detached tone.

The Overseer stood, tightening their choke hold on the magician as they raised her high off her footing. Dahlia kicked off the way, rushing in before being stopped by the same sharpened feather that cut her hip. "I told you, to watch. There's enough strength in this hand to crush a terran skull." the Overseer seethed as they cast a glance over at Dahlia, squeezing Aradia's windpipe. The Captain paused, glancing between the machine, her pilot and friend, and her dropped firearm. There was no time for a game, she dropped to a knee to grab the firearm. The Overseer turned back to Aradia, having lost the game. "Time is up."

The pinned wizard felt the grip on her neck pulse as a warm, viscous liquid splattered across her face and into her eyes; but nothing more.

The Overseer stood there with a completely blank expression, a wide black blade thrust clean through its back. Dark purple fluid splattered from hydraulic lines in the wound as the blade retracted, leaving the gridlocked machine to crumple over under its own weight. The wizard was dropped in the process, choked but alive. Behind the Rogue Overseer stood OSC-01, hunched over in an uncharacteristically exhausted stance.

"ROT IN HELL!" Dahlia screeched, leaping to the side of the fallen rogue with her pistol drawn. The Captain jammed the barrel of the 10mm pistol straight into the Overseers frozen eye, cracking the damaged glass before letting a bullet fly into the Rogue's cranium at point blank.


Though the lead Overseer had been... executed, the battle was not over. The machines around the crew froze for but a moment before continuing their rampage, their last order effectively outliving their chain of command. There would be no machine retreat. "Aradia, are you alright?" The Captain rose to her feet, glancing back at the hunched OSC-01. They had joined the world of the living once more, but something was off.

The two Grunts Aradia had abandoned soon caught up with the trio, joined now by two Bouncers, ready to strike. There was but a moment to prepare.


Warehouse

The thick cloud of dust and debris began to settle around Reman and Rhea as they made their way towards the wayward Keith. What few lights remained after the blast flickered and sparked, leaving the three in relative darkness once more. As Rhea approached the pink half-shell of echyllis, she could see yet another strange reflection calling back from within. Like a hall of mirrors, she could see multiple reflections, each one telling a slightly different tale. Among them was the sunbleached girl with a blown-open skull, and many other slight variations of the truth. Two standouts was a man clad in black and red armor, not unlike Romulus, standing where the strenghted Reman was clearing debris. The other, farther back, was another young girl looming above, nearly out of sight. Pale skin, dark hair, mismatched eyes, scrawny blue wings dressed in comparatively clean and orderly clothes. Looking back from the reflection, there was no such character there, anywhere.

The shell allowed itself to be broken away by Rhea, the reflections bleeding away silently as it went. Clairvoyance attuned.

As Reman landed beside Rhea, the two found Keith partly unconscious behind the half-shell, saved from a launched chunk of steel. He was coming out of it quickly, partly due to the shot of adrenaline and medicinal mixture flung into him a bit like a dart. Now was hardly the time for resting, but a brief reunion was in order.

The blasted remains of the turret-turned-tank were scattered about the fallout zone, in varying levels of crispness. Wedged in between two chunks of concrete was one of the turrets autocannons, knocked down to one barrel but otherwise intact. A quick cross-reference with the model found outside, and it could easily be converted into a formidable rifle. The room was dark, but Rhea could see that the safe located earlier had been caught in the blast, a chunk of steel wedging the door clean open- if a bit misshapen.

The silence of the room was broken by a static-laden message, originating from one of the crews radios.

"DIPLOM- ONE- HELL, SEEK RENDEZ-"

It would appear the blast cleared away enough of the jamming effect the walls held for communication to return, if poorly. It would also appear they were not the only ones to have encountered trouble.
 
Lower Reactor Control
Human Glas


Glasawyr grunted as his eyelid was pierced, and blue-colored blood began seeping from his many wounds. Nonetheless, he calmly and without flinching pulled the staples out of his face, and took a split second to assess the battlefield. His priority was to protect the Alpha and the cubs. He saw them towards the center of the room, being engaged by four false lives. They didn't seem to notice him.

Big Boye

Glas darted up to the grunts and bouncers attacking Dahlia and Aradia before transforming back into a full-sized dragon. His injured eye was still apparent in this form, squinting heavily.

ABOMINATIONS! PLAGUES UPON NATURE! I WILL WIPE YOU FROM EXISTENCE! YOU WILL NOT HARM MY ALPHA NOR THE CHILD!

Sure, the robots couldn't hear his telepathic battle cry, but it made him feel better. And, okay, fine- he'd help out Osco a little too, since both the Alpha and the child seemed attached to it. With a feral roar, Glas reached out with hands the size if trashcan lids and grabbed the two bouncers by the heads from behind, then proceeded to squeeze with almost a thousand pounds of pressure per hand. Like an orangutan crushing a coconut.
 
Lower Reactor Control
Oxygen.


Aradia was coughing and sputtering on the ground, having collapsed like a wet noodle once the overseer had discharged some probably-unsafe industrial fluid all over her face - before being terminated by Dahlia. She wiped at her eyes to get some vision back and sputtered out, "Yeah, yea-ACK!" Her throat was heavily bruised, and a tiny amount of red fluid was lauched from her mouth when she coughed. Between the wooziness of bloodflow interruption and a literal dragon crashing into the floor and giving the Bouncers a very, very severe headache, she didn't seem to entirely be in the right mind anymore. So there she lay, in a rather precarious position in this maelstrom of conflict, hand reaching rather slowly - too slowly - into her pocket.
 
Warehouse

Rhea stayred into the abyss... untill it blinked and dissolved away. She didn't really like what she saw, and yet... she understood, she thought, just a little of what this was. Things that could have happened, or might in the near future. But nothing that was quite in line with the actual truth of the matter... yet. It was a shame that was the only thing she could see all that clearly.

At least she could hear bits and pieces of reman's excited rabbling, and the radio squawking... something.

Those things, were probably important. Maybe.

She hardly trusted herself to talk, but tried again- only barely able to hear her own words a little better. And the pain didn't get any worse! maybe it was getting better, even. "Okay... I'm okay, Reman is okay... was Romulus here? can't remember... Keith probably needs help" She said aloud, to both herself and to keep the others on track. Reman seemed... distracted. By what she wasn't sure. "Should prolly... get what we can and find the others... ow..."

In the meanwhile, she edged towards the Safe to inspect the contents. She wasn't going to leave this place empty handed... But as she moved, she kept her eye on high, looking around with bleary eyes in an effort to catch a glimpse of what that angel in the mirrors might be.

They weren't alone... but to say aloud could be dangeorus. Best to keep a sharp eye out and collect what she could like the little scavenger she was, before vacating the area to lessen the chances of undue echyllis exposure. She wished she knew sign language like in those tacticool cartoons she could catch a glimpse of sometimes to signal that something might be wrong... something to think about for next time, if she wasn't barred from coming with next time for how she was a child and almost got exploded.
 
Lower Reactor Control

Take another defensive maneuver.

Marie interfaced with the Bouncer's chainsaw, revving its motor to speeds that it was not meant to handle. A burned-out motor would be a useful thing for the chainsaw to experience. She stepped away from the Bouncer, towards Romulus and Juryrig(?). At the least, Juryrig wasn't reliable again. Neither was her spear. It was time to do a little more.

She activated her speed. From Juryrig's(?) hands, the sword hilt vanished, along with Blast. As it became obvious by looking, Marie had taken them.

"Alright, good of a time as any to test how much load the system can handle..." Marie contemplated for a second, before jamming the key into the small receptacle in the sword's pommel. "Draw."

In an instant, the sound of an explosion boomed through the cavern as a bright red-and-orange fireball flared out from where the blade should be, before the fireball...coalesced. It refocused itself, gathering, spinning, back into the vague shape of a blade. She assumed a combat stance with her weapon, a luminescent, barely orange blade that looked like it was forged from a fragment of a star's core. She swung the sword down, cleaving a piece of rubble in half. An impressive first sign.

"That's more like it."
 
Lower Reactor Control

Together the two bouncers lunged towards Glasawyr, aiming to claw into his arms. The dragon was superior in strength, however, grasping the two bots and lifting them off the ground. The dragon slammed the two bots against the ground in a gruesome crunch of metal and oil, leaving them to shutter to a stop ahead of the group. Dahlia braced herself, looking up at the dragon momentarily before making her move for the downed overseer. "I don't make idle threats." she grimaced as she gripped the sparking head of the overseer. With a kick and a yank, the head of the rogue overseer was ripped right from it's thin neck in a shower of sparks and debris- for later observation of course. There was simply no time to take the whole thing.

The two grunts Aradia had fled from struck down at her, their blades caught on a projected orange barrier. The blades were jammed in a web of red as a blast knocked the bots careening through the air in a spire of flame. OSC-01 jolted, striking down another approaching grunt with a cleave clean in two. The Overseer's head twitched as a garbled voice returned slowly. "W-w-w-wwwee need t-to leave. e."

Dahlia grunted, gracelessly jamming a carabiner through the shot eye-hole of the rogue overseer skull. "Couldn't- agree more." the Captain winced as the heft skull rested against her wound. "Glas, find us an exit."

Marie, Juryrig, and Romulus were backed against the wall no longer. With the power of their experimental tech in hand, the three were capable of cleaving through the ensuing foes. The flaming greatsword proved effective against the grunts and bouncers alike, giving Juryrig time to beat his firearm back into functionality. Bolts of fire rained from the air, striking Romulus across the head and shoulders as the Harpi unloaded it's entire magazine into the man's armor. Slinging the rifle to his shoulder quickly, the blast from Juryrig's gun was more than enough to send the machine hurtling into Marie's line of fire. The second Harpi saw what came of the first and cautiously disengaged, choosing to pick up whatever remained of the machine force as it fled from the reactor room.

With the bulk of the resistance dispatched, Dahlia stood again without cease in gripping her wounded side. A twitch from a half-crumped grunt prompted it to unload another shell into it' exposed mechanics, splattering oil all over the ground. The room was a mess of metal, oil, and fire, and the reactor was still not welcoming. "Come on, come on, let's get moving." she shouted both to her team and over the radio. OSC-01 obliged and followed Glas slowly, still not looking right from the blast. The dragon in question gave a noise of agreement and reached down to scoop up Aradia and Dahlia both in his arms. He began stomping back the way the party had come, toward the large cavern with the statue.

“GET OUT OF HERE NOW. BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND.” Romulus’s armor was slowly and steadily starting to disintegrate upon the overexertion the veteran was putting on the suit. The walls of the cave started to fill top to bottom with black, dark smoke. Like as if an ocean poured into the sky.

“... WE’LL SEE YOU LATER, ROMULUS!” Tom shouted at Romulus over the raging, volatile armor, as he kept firing the experimental weapon. For added effect, Tom loaded the Swarm key inside the Blunderbass, blasting chunks of scrap into shrapnel that fired towards the remaining bots.


To one side of the room, Glas found a blast door that had not been perfectly sealed. It was tight, but enough to force a hand beneath to raise the heavy metal door. After a few seconds of exertion, the load was lightened by the aid of OSC-01, who jammed their shoulder beneath the door frame to raise it higher. With a garbled sound, the Overseer jammed a glave beneath the door as a wedging tool. Go. Rrrun.” she waved to the two others as a distant rumble shook about the tunnel. Glas went into a low prowl, sliding beneath the propped door like an overly large snake.

---
Kerolyne Defile
Main Cavern


Glas stampeded through the winding halls of the Defile, searching for light- a way out. Dahlia and Aradia were both forcefully glued to the dragon's shoulders, wincing at every other step. "Uuunff," the captain coughed, fumbling around her neck with her free hand. She retrieved the remote starter for the Downrider, jamming the blue button on it furiously. Click and click again, looking for an escape route. Would a ship even be able to realize where they were?

The Dragon galloped into the main cavern of the Defile, blinded by a thundering clack and electrical whine of overhead lights. When the blindness settled, Glas peered around to find himself at the far end of the cavern, atop an aged dam. To one side he could see the thin creek running up the ravine, towards their entry point. To his other side, he saw a large basin filled with a tin layer of water, sitting beneath a massive monument of stone and metal. Hanging catwalks and carved roads spiraled away from the dam and reservoir, with the enormous statue serving as a central tower to the area. The twisting stack of roads held hundreds, if not thousands of doors.... mine shafts. An absolutely putrid scent permeated the

The cave rumbled once more, prompting Glas to hit the floor on all fours. The dragon charged ahead towards the center of the dam for takeoff, only to be slammed by falling debris emanating from the brightly-lit ceiling. Glas and his passengers were knocked careening into the inside of the dam, tumbling into the cold and smelly water below. Dahlia went limp for a moment upon hitting the water, riddled with shock from the drop in temperature. Through scrunched eyes she saw the vast depths sealed off below them, through a heavy metal and glass lid that had begun to seep through over time. The captain was hit with a second, reeling shock when she saw what floated in the murky water.

Decayed, half-frozen bodies. Hundreds of them. Humans, aliens, winged creatures, and many oddities in-between; their last moments laid preserved in ice as they scrambled for air. Those close enough to consider themselves 'lucky' had only wound up rotting first. Dahlia threw herself out of the water in a scramble, throwing up as much of the flesh and disease-infested water as she could with a bloodcurdling scream. The Captain fumbled in absolute panic as the red cloud from her body billowed out into the water. She ran torwards Glad and Aradia, the latter of which had yet to resurface as Glas tugged her broken face from the water. The gesture was sweet, but it was far too late for the pilot.

Overhead, the walls of the cell block began to morph and crumble. Dozens upon dozens of red lights blinked on in sequence to shine down on the trio. As a crackly whine of an alarm echoed through the cavern, as the entire outside wall of the sealed reservoir began to step outward. Cubic golems of metal and concrete with red eyes, once blended in carefully with the bricks themselves. Glas and Dahlia stepped back through the waist-high water, looking up as the rhythmic thunder of march descended upon them.

Dahlia couldn't comprehend it, shuddering as she began to crumple from shock. This couldn't be happening, and yet it was. Everything had been going so well for the Downriders, this crew. Now it seemed like doom was a mere waiting game. Turned over in a cascade.


---
Warehouse

Perhaps someone should have seen this coming, maybe some did see this coming. In truth, not all were destined for greatness. In the warehouse, Rhea and Romulus grew close to the safe they had fought so valiantly for. They were joined slowly by Keith, who was still trying to work off the immense pain in his back. Working as one, the three swung the broken door open an inch at the time, revealing the treasure within for all the world to see. The vault was... empty. Not a scrap had been left behind by the Arcadians- they knew better than to leave such valuable contraband within a looters reach. Even in death.

The silence of the room was broken by the crunching of a folding metal door. The three turned and stumbled back over the debris, looking up to see a homogonous black liquid seep out beneath the half-open door. A clawed hand burst through the warehouse door violently, rending it in clean in two as the trio were knocked away from the safe. The door was forced open in ribbons as a deep growling noise reverberated through the air. Through the open door an enormous multi-eyed head peered through the door. Reman kicked into the air at the ready as Keith reeled for his rifle as the scaled beast lashed out. He got a number of potshots in on the beast, piercing through its scale armor cleanly as he threw Rhea away. The incoming strike knocked him away, clean into the crumpled pile of metal shelving lining the room. He tried protecting her until the very last. The beast was six-legged and coated in armored scales, not unlike the one the group had encountered near the entrance of the cave. This one however, was significantly larger and appeared quite unhealthy- oozing a black substance from beneath it's bright yellow eyes.

The beast screeched, bearing down on Reman like a fly in the light. With one claw it took the man to the ground, his axe cleaving its flesh against the hard rubble before shattering entirely. All that remained was a clouded splatter of blood and dissolving echyllis scraped against the stone. As Rhea laid in shock and pain amid the rubble of the room, she could feel a cold energy coming off the creature, something that didn't sit right with her, nor her echyllis manipulation. It was an energy she had felt vaguely prior near Juryrig, and sometimes even on Bivona. Now was not the time to weep or throe, however. Failure is the lifeblood of success. To deny it is to deny progress; and deny, some did.

---
Lower Reactor Control

OSC-01's frame shuddered under the weight of the blast door, peering occasionally at the trio of knights who worked to clear out the remaining bots. The time for a new start has come. It is inevitable. The robot lurched, their footing slipping slightly as she shook her head. Not yet.

The rest is too unbearable to think of, would they perchance make it? Could they defy everything, and make it out? No one here could possibly think that. A strut in OSC-01's leg cracked audibly under the weight, prompting her to change stance underneath the door. They could, they will. "H-hurry up. Assss-holes." She was picking up on the local language fast.

She knew full well this wouldn't stand for much longer. These heroics were a pointless endeavor and she knew it. In time, the three knights had emerged from the smoke, coughing and exhausted. "We're doing our best. They're all," Marie hacked, "toast."

For your sake, I shall spare you the knowledge of their fate. With an violent lurch, OSC-01 nearly collapsed. The Overseer was ejected from under the massive blast door, leaving it to crash to the floor as its enormous counterweights fell down again. The three stepped forward hastily to evaluate the collapsed door, Romulus and Marie getting to work attempting to pry the door back open. Fruitlessly, Tom slowed, leaning down ahead of the hunched Overseer to check on them. "Are you okay??"

In the end know they shall come to see this old light again, and for now your mind shall run free. The Overseer stood up slowly, unnaturally robotic with the damage they had endured. They stared silenty at Juryrig wihout expression save for the tiniest shake of the blank head. In timeless slumber and eternal wake. The Overseer slung their arm down to unfurl a full glaive at rest above the floor, the end of the implement exploding with a brilliant green flame.

Dedicated to the future, we dream.
 
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