Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[Torsiedelle]

Torii was about to make a comment to Nick about where he could relieve himself, and then, suddenly, she was falling. It was a scary feeling, falling, feeling like your stomach was being sucked out, and then she realized that it was the whole building going down. She didn't know how far it was, or why this was happening, or what would happen. She was scared out of her wits, and closed her eyes tightly. She felt dull.

She fainted, for just a minute or two, and she came back to in a daze. She felt sick, and her side and arm hurt like hell, as did the left side of her head. She blinked a few times, but everything was still unclear to her, and she slowly scrambled to her hands and knees. "What the hell was that about?", were the first words out of her mouth before she sat down against the wall and wrapped her hands around her legs. She buried her face into her knees, hoping to help her dizziness.

[The Carlisle]

Kale had took off the lid of the barrel. The fresh water sparkled in the faint light. She picked up one of the empty cans and dipped it into the glistering waters. She lifted lifted the can up to her mouth to take a well deserved drink.

And now she was falling. Her fear kicked in. She was paralyzed in her fear. She let out a scream like that of a dying beast. She closed her eyes to block out the sight of the oncoming ground. She was not ready to die. She felt the ground hit her and.... it was... soft?

She opened her eyes and slowly started to move to see what had cushioned her. She perked up in surprise at the sight. Under her was a leafy patch. She picked at a leave, only to fine another one closely against it. She started peeling the thing like an onion, discovering layers upon layers of soft and flexible leaves. She smiled, petting the plant that had saved her from her fall. It was odd though. It obviously came from her but... she did not 'will' it actively. It was an unconscious action.

Kale shook away the thought. She was alive, that was more important. She looked around to see her surroundings. They were in a cavern. The bank had collapsed from a sinkhole into it. She could see the rremains of it strewn everywhere. The others were down here too, seemingly as fine as her. She got up slowly from her place and stepped forward to get a better look... only to step into a puddle. She looked down at the puddle, its faint yellow sheen glistening as it stirred in the leaven cushion. Kale quickly jumped out of the puddle of her... byproduct. It seems she relieved herself unknowingly when she hit the ground. She didn't blame herself though; she was kind of... falling. But she still felt embarrassed. Her face flushed red with shame. She quickly distanced herself from the plant and decided to go see the others. Kale saw Torii against the wall and was filled with concern. She walked up to the girl and knelt down beside here.

"Torii?" she said," You okay?" She carefully placed a hand on Torii's knee.

[Giovenith]

Falling was an interesting experience. To Giovenith, as soon as the floor collapsed, it felt as if all of her organs had whooshed as far up as they could, as the rest of her form was tossed carelessly into the air to do with as gravity pleased. The crashing confusion of debris, crashing, yelping, and dust had prevented her from developing any clear mental image of their speedy descent, though it wasn't anything the girl would have missed. It felt both instantaneous and eternal, with racing nerves shock-freezing Giovenith into the moment even seconds after she had been safely deposited on an old money pile. It temporarily prevented her from processing the going-on's about her clearly, though when her mind stopped spinning, it turned right to find herself being tightly embraced by someone. There was just the ever-slightest shade of blush on Giovenith when she figured out that she knew the feel of this embrace well enough by now to quickly realize who had helped her up.

"I-I'm okay," she reassured Marcus gently, pushing away a bit to look around the site. "Is everyone else okay? Guys?"

Kale and Torii were shakily helping one another out, and Nex wasn't too far from them, seemingly unharmed as well. Giovenith remembered the couches she had pulled out though, and experienced a heart-stopping millisecond when horrific images of dented skulls danced in her head, only to be banished as quickly as they had come by further surveillance. A couch had squished Bran and Sterling together, but they otherwise didn't seem pulverized. Now Nick and Turtleboss, the littlest two of their team, those were the ones that really concerned her. They could have been so easily squished by the fall, and Giovenith wouldn't have ever gotten over it if they had.

Water. It was the very faint sound she first became aware of in the chaos, with her sight finally catching the stream before them all. A stream, that meant that there was a way out by walking, possibly, she thought. It seemed like sound survivor logic. With twilight brimming in the gaping mouth above them, the greasy scales of this world had robbed them of any possibility of settling down safely as they had previously expected. But outside was outside... then again, this tunnel wasn't much better. Overhearing FUBAR's words further pushed the point, and geared Giovenith into action. Breaking away, the godling dove for the scattered supplies, desperately stuffing them back into her now-soaked sheet, and a few in her pockets out of instinct.

"Nick? Torii, do you have Nick?" she asked worriedly, looking around frantically for the small friends. "Turtleboss? Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk..." She made a generic animal-calling sound.

[Torsiedelle]

Torii was slow to lift her head back up and see Kale. She was a little pale from the nausea, but she definitely fell better. "Yea, I'm okay. Just a little shaken up, is all. Did you..."

"Nick? Torii, do you have Nick?" she asked worriedly, looking around frantically for the small friends. "Turtleboss? Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk..." She made a generic animal-calling sound.

"Nick? Oh...", Torii blinked again, and looked around herself. Nick was there, although she didn't know if he was hurt or not. "Nick's here, and he looks okay, but I'll check.", She said. She stood up, still a little shaky, and took a few steps towards Nick, then got back down to her knees. She poked the cat once, then another time. Nodding back to Kale, Gio, and Marcus, she sighed. "So, what do we do now? I have a feeling that it's a long climb back up there."

[Giovenith]

"FUBAR said that robot-water stuff might be coming to investigate the sinkhole," Giovenith explained quickly, scrambling to grab the last of her cans and tie the wet sheet. "If they are, and with that climb, I think we need to follow this tunnel, and fast. Any supplies we had, grab quickly, we might to speed it out of here."

[Monfrox]

Varona stared blankly at Nex. "What, don't you always take an evening swim after the building you're going to be spending the night in falls through the street into a cavern?" She said in a monotone. She tread water past him while cradling the waterbear in on pair of her arms as the other held her Kalash down, her pistol out, and her ATR at her side. She strode into the bank entrance, dripping wet from her cloak. "I'd advise not going to the women's restroom from here on out." She said to the group as she tracked water inside without a care.

[New Aksarben]

"FUBAR said that robot-water stuff might be coming to investigate the sinkhole," Giovenith explained quickly, scrambling to grab the last of her cans and tie the wet sheet. "If they are, and with that climb, I think we need to follow this tunnel, and fast. Any supplies we had, grab quickly, we might to speed it out of here."

"I agree, Gio." Sterling called across the room. his horn lighting up to enshroud the couch in a sterling blue glow. He started lifting it up to get it off of him and Bran, intent on lifting it off of them and setting it down somewhere secure. "We should gather what supplies we have from the Bank, and what we had before that, then we can head out as quickly as we can down the stream. That would be safer than likely heading up towards where that evil water might be. I just hope this stream is going where we want to go. If not we could be in for quite a long trip, longer than we thought we would have."

Sterling then looked over next to him and tapped Bran's shoulder with a hoof as the pony shifted into a sitting position, hoping that the man was okay. "Hey there, you okay, friend? That was quite a nasty fall wasn't it?"

[Motoneuron]

Ki instinctively began to fly as soon as he felt the floor fall out from under him. Unfortunately he didn't realize that the entire building had been coming down and flew head first into the (fortunately soft) drop ceiling before becoming disoriented and coming down to a much heavier landing than he was used to. He quickly picked himself up, looking around a little embarrassed at first before realizing that basically everyone had a rough landing. He hoped that no one was injured and then his thoughts immediately went to that pool, what if it wasn't repelled from this place.

"Is everyone alright?" Ki paused a little bit and then adding on while trying to sound calm "Does anyone know if that... stuff up there can come down here?"

[Primordial Luxa]

Insidious laughed genuinely her skin flashing between black and hot pink "What? No. We just need a hand sorting through these book silly."

"Oh, alright then," Naomi's relief was apparent in her nervous laughter.

She looked about the room and the myriad of books. So many! They really should hire a librarian or three. "Is there anything in particular we're looking for, or are we just reshelving them?"

"Mostly reshelving. Just sort by author to start with." Insidious said motioning to a pile of large books in one of the corners that seemed to quiver slightly when she looked at it. "But if you find anything mention the Order of the Sphinx, Reanimators, or The Curious Case let us know" Primordial chimed in. As Naomi approached the books the smell of burning wax and the breath of reptiles began to curl into her nostrils as she began to become more accustomed to the place.

The books in front of her seemed slightly newer than others that were in the room and they seemed to have more traditional bindings. Many were wrapped in leather but a few were covered in elephant, crocodile and human hide. However some seemed to be made out of weird stone or metal and even one seemed to be entirely composed out of rubber. They all seemed to be in pristine condition and lacked any trace of degradation or rot.

The first book Naomi picked up was a slim hardbound diary, and it was obvious that similar blank ones can be purchased in any bookstore. It had the words The Diary of Randall Sylvester write on the front and as she flipped through it was obvious that it was the diary of someone. The first few pags began with him describing mundane things but soon he began talking about reading “The King in Yellow” shortly after this his writing becomes strange and unnaturally eventually it degeneras into long ranting passages and obscure poetry.

The second was a three ringed binder with a page on the front that read Transcript 12-B (3/18/87) with the words Operation Red Cloud written under it with a sharpie. It appeared to contain some typed up pages about an interview of some kind and it quickly became clear it was being down by a hospital of some kind. The patient was a deranged women who seemed to be ranting and raving throughout the various interviews. She mainly talked about a strange place called Yuggoth and “the eating trees”. It eventually ended with a note about the patient’s apparent escape.

[The BranRiech]

"Awesome, so if it gets damaged beyond reasonable amount, just bring it back in for repair? Be pretty far to travel, but I think we can do that." Natiya smiled, nodding in thanks to the man that was going to be making her armor.

--

When all of a sudden . . .

Bran ended up flat on his ass on the floor of the bank, shoved down by the force of falling down the sinkhole. In the commotion, he managed to lose his rucksack, as well as the pistol he was about to go and give back to Varona. If it wasn't broken, he certainly couldnt find it at this moment. Collecting his bearings, he looked around, trying to find someone.

[The Drone Empire]

Dani had survived the fall, but this she accredited to FUBAR, yet to be aware that nobody really died. To this, she nodded in thanks, taking a brief step away from the machine. She looked around at the mess, shaking her head in disapproval of the increasingly poor situation. FUBAR's words rang true to her, though their withheld stance towards the bank gave her slight comfort that they may not face trouble, though their apprehension may have very well been knowledge of this immense cavern beneath the structure, and if so, things would disintegrate fast... both figuratively and literally.

"Well, I suppose that expedition might have to wait, we'll be too busy being dissolved if the nanites do find their way in here..." She said to Dia in particular, indifferent on the possibility of death. She crossed her arms and looked out at the dark, waiting to see a silvery waterfall begin to flow in.

[Terintania]

Varona stared blankly at Nex. "What, don't you always take an evening swim after the building you're going to be spending the night in falls through the street into a cavern?" She said in a monotone. She tread water past him while cradling the waterbear in on pair of her arms as the other held her Kalash down, her pistol out, and her ATR at her side. She strode into the bank entrance, dripping wet from her cloak. "I'd advise not going to the women's restroom from here on out." She said to the group as she tracked water inside without a care.

"Not typically," Nex said, not seeming satisfied with the completely useless answer, but he said nothing else. He continued past her to the bank (The water bank, not the building), and stood there, looking around. Since Am had told him to not go anywhere alone, he wasn't sure how far he should go, so he simply stayed on the bank for now, looking around while he waited for the others to decide if they were going to stay or go. He just hoped they would hurry up.

[Transgravitas Directorate]

Dani had survived the fall, but this she accredited to FUBAR, yet to be aware that nobody really died. To this, she nodded in thanks, taking a brief step away from the machine. She looked around at the mess, shaking her head in disapproval of the increasingly poor situation. FUBAR's words rang true to her, though their withheld stance towards the bank gave her slight comfort that they may not face trouble, though their apprehension may have very well been knowledge of this immense cavern beneath the structure, and if so, things would disintegrate fast... both figuratively and literally.

"Well, I suppose that expedition might have to wait, we'll be too busy being dissolved if the nanites do find their way in here..." She said to Dia in particular, indifferent on the possibility of death. She crossed her arms and looked out at the dark, waiting to see a silvery waterfall begin to flow in.

"What goes around might come around?" Dia replied rhetorically, also giving FUBAR a nod. "This doesn't seem like a good place to sleep anymore, if what you say is true. Can they sense - uh, what can they sense?"

He, too, turned to watch the top of the sinkhole, after assuring himself everyone seemed fine. "Maybe we should be getting into that tunnel?"

[The Drone Empire]

Dani had survived the fall, but this she accredited to FUBAR, yet to be aware that nobody really died. To this, she nodded in thanks, taking a brief step away from the machine. She looked around at the mess, shaking her head in disapproval of the increasingly poor situation. FUBAR's words rang true to her, though their withheld stance towards the bank gave her slight comfort that they may not face trouble, though their apprehension may have very well been knowledge of this immense cavern beneath the structure, and if so, things would disintegrate fast... both figuratively and literally.

"Well, I suppose that expedition might have to wait, we'll be too busy being dissolved if the nanites do find their way in here..." She said to Dia in particular, indifferent on the possibility of death. She crossed her arms and looked out at the dark, waiting to see a silvery waterfall begin to flow in.

"What goes around might come around?" Dia replied rhetorically, also giving FUBAR a nod. "This doesn't seem like a good place to sleep anymore, if what you say is true. Can they sense - uh, what can they sense?"

He, too, turned to watch the top of the sinkhole, after assuring himself everyone seemed fine. "Maybe we should be getting into that tunnel?"

"They sort of just act on directive, but are less than kind to bio-organic matter..." She spoke, looking down at the tunnel Dia then referred to.

"At this rate, I would suppose getting murdered by whatever that tunnel may contain will be a less painful death than what lies above us..." Dani supposed, death seemed to be a simple fact at the pace they were going. If there was some vicious beast laying in wait to tear them limb from limb, then so be it.

[The Carlisle]

"Did I what?" she said, feigning obliviousness. Kale perked up when Nick was mentioned. She almost forgot the hardy kitty. She stepped towards t Nick, curious of his condition. He seemed fine. In fact,everyone looked fine. Nothing broken or gushing out blood. It was a bit odd, but it was a good oddity.

Kale paled when Torii mentioned climbing... up. Kale shook her head several times in disagreement. "No. I'm not climbing up. Just... no" she said, vehement in her disagreement.

[Fvaarniimar]

The cat mrowed as he half-nuzzled, half-head-butted Kale; simultaneously, he flicked his tail so that it would brush across Torii's skin. Being as frightened as he was, unconsciously Nick activated an aspect of his abilities which he'd never guessed at, which would have surprised him, and which was more closely related to his power to feel emotions ahead of time than to his ability of fine manipulation of bioelectricity/nervous systems to transmit signals, although it drew from both and then some; it was the same aspect which had made him uncomfortable around Klaus. As a result, not only Kale but also Torii would feel Nick's fear and confusion; although the cat could see quite easily and such, the fall had been very sudden and the situation hadn't exactly been reassuring before they fell, either.

<Can't we rest here awhile and continue later? I was looking forward... oh, right too much of a risk.> The cat's disappointment was almost palpable; if either had somehow managed to remain cheerful, she'd probably stop feeling that way for at least a few moments. Soon, he continued. <I can climb on my own, by the way, pretty well, and can also help guide you...> Although Nick didn't state it, the "you" somehow felt plural; additionally, the girls would get the feeling that Nick wouldn't mind so helping in the least.

[Germanic Templars]

"Awesome, so if it gets damaged beyond reasonable amount, just bring it back in for repair? Be pretty far to travel, but I think we can do that." Natiya smiled, nodding in thanks to the man that was going to be making her armor.

"Ya, und it's nozhing. Nov zhen let me introduce you your blacksmizhs." He said. He turned towards the hall behind him and called down it, "Hans, Klaus! Kommen sie jetzt hier!" His voice bellowed down the hall for a moment before fading. Soon there came the sound of footsteps that stopped at the doorway.

Two heads of blond hair adolescents, who appeared to be twins, looked around the corner. "Ya, papa?" They said in unison.

"Boys, meet today you have a special order to fill." He looked back at Natiya. "Mam, zhese two are your blacksmizhs. Come on out, you two." They nodded and ducked back behind the corner before walking out together. There stood were two conjoined twins wearing a black apron and gloves with some steel toed boots. "Hallo." Klaus (head on the left) said. "I'm Klaus und zhis is -" "Hans!" Hans exclaimed with joy.

[Cerillium]

Turtleboss wiggled in Varona's arms and then squirmed out of her grasp. He landed with a soft splash. Waterbears did best in water; he had no difficulties swimming along despite the current. There were things for him to eat.

Marcus nodded to Giovenith. He was a bit ashamed by his rash behavior but it wasn't anything to cause him to want to wear a paper bag over his head or crawl under a rock. He laughed it off and helped her stash a few things before walking to the bank entrance to peer into the gloom.

"Right. I don't know anything about magic but I do know those nanites would be bad news. Dani's right. The sooner we go, the better." His eyes widened as he caught sight of a dark form scaling down the wall; it was Am. He suspected the creature had chanced being caught by the nanites in order to join Nex. "Kale, let's load your stretcher up again. At this point, I say 'fuck magic'. Giovenith's pockets can hold a ton of stuff. We'll need light, plus-"

Am let go of the wall and fell the remaining thirty feet. His body position reminded the boy of a spider; the legs were tucked into the body. Marcus could hardly fathom as to why the creature would take such an action when it seemed perfectly capable of descending slowly. A soft splash told the boy that Am had landed in the water behind the bank.

FUBAR had also noticed the Tilktep. In fact, it was prepared to sizzle the parasite and would have done so were it not for Am's choice to let go. The unit had witnessed this strabge behavior on several occasions: logic stated that falling to one's demise was better than being harvested. FUBAR's light played up the sleek wall and illuminated the very top of the opening where a dark bolus rippled over the edge as slowly as frosting melting down the side of a warm cupcake. The unit burbled a warning that only Dani could interpret but the meaning was clear; they were all in danger.

FUBAR scurried into the tunnel just as a dark form tumbled from the bank's cracked roof. Am had climbed the building to rejoin them. "Haste!" the Tilktep urged the group. The conversation he projected into Nex' mind was more informative. "Friend Nex, now is the time to flee. Quickly, before the nanites inform their shepherd and it comes to investigate."

[Cerillium]

Nothing loath, ChryS jumped in with both feet. Metaphorically speaking.

"Bat'leth it is!" she declaimed, ringingly. There was no hesitation in her voice. "Live, yes? It would not be so real without genuine blades."

The mek'leth, too, looked promising, but she felt like only one blade as a prize was appropriate. No sooner had she thought that, though, than another female Klingon shoved past her and snatched at Ha'nS' right hand. Startled, ChryS took a step back, and then two steps forward.

"DoH!" she barked at the interloper who clearly took an interest in her man, and shoved the other woman back in case the command wasn't clear enough.

Ha'nS was flattered - and annoyed - by the emboldened female. "naDevvo' yIghoS!" he spat to indicate he wasn't interested.

The female was attractive for a Klingon but he could obtain a daemonette if he was in the mood to consort with a female warrior. This Klingon woman lacked Chrys' tenderness and doubts as well as her playful attitude. Klaus' men seldom felt physical attraction to anything thanks to their inner Daemons (a helpful trait when their main opponents relied upon sexual potency as a weapon) and this fact alone placed Chrys far above all other females in the omniverse. "No one can oppose the beating of two hearts," he growled at the interloper and bared his teeth to indicate he wasn't offering encouragement, "My heart has already found its match."

Mezran hadn't gone into much detail regarding combat between males and females but cultists saw no distinction between genders when in combat.

Rudolf slipped from his bench and pressed his shoulder against Mezran's.

"He'll kill her if she becomes too aggressive, and by 'he', I mean Hans' inner daemon," Rudolf murmured in his companion's ear. "He'll tolerate sexual aggression from Chrys but not from a stranger."

[The Drone Empire]

Dani acknowledged FUBAR's warnings, hesitating for but only a moment before making a rapid sprint across the water, watching her steps with caution as she crossed the chilled subterranean pool, towards the cave. She could feel her dirtied white dress soaking with water; the chill of such a deep, dark space was awakening, that much was certain, but she still felt the need to find warmer places. She yet again cursed her human nature, exposing her to such environmental hazards.

She made it to the entrance of the cave, looking back at the bank. She felt a strange discomfort behind her, paranoia warning her of some beastly creature, or horde of monsters, that would rush from the dark and swallow her whole. She turned back, but there was nothing but black.

[Giovenith]

Turtleboss's splash attracted Giovenith's attention, and at first she was in glee to locate his position, but the sudden appearance of the Tilktep and it's dire warning set her off. She carefully sprinted up ahead, knelt down, reached out, and snatched the waterbear out of the stream with a considerable splash. "Come on, everyone!" she called, slinging her sheet over her shoulder and tucking Turtleboss under her arm. "We need to go, now!"

Normally she would have tried to make sure everyone was stable and comfortable before marching on, but the situation now was clear.

[The BranRiech]

"On my way."

Bran made his intentions clear as he scurried forth, listening to the sound of crushed glass shards in his rucksack as the medicine vials that were stored in there had broken during the fall. He cursed the fact, and quickly abandoned his bag, but not before saving some of the cans of food that he was hoarding, as well as a few personal effects that were always kept in his back anyways. He still hadn't found Varona's pistol, but if he happened to see it, he'd be sure to grab it.

Heeding Giovenith's warning, he made his way over.

"Where do we go then? I see no way to go?"

--

"Hmm, I'm somewhat versed in German . . ." Natiya said absent-mindedly as the two young boys popped around the corner. She had heard the two names thrown around the apartment before, and wondered if there was some sort of weird coincidence about it all, but she shook her head of the notion as the two excitedly introduced themselves to her.

"So you two are going to be making my armor today? You two must be professionals, Ja?" She grinned happily. "Ich heiße Natiya Nikanor." She nodded her head. She still had a tenuous grasp on the language, having taken more to English simply because of more years having been spent in America.

[The Carlisle]

Kale paled again at the Tilktep's warning. The nanites frightened her already by just moving around. The thought of them going after them sent a shiver down her spine. She started looking for Joe. He could survive the fall, but she couldn't predict if rubble fell on him. "JOE?!" she shouted. She could sense him nearby. She climbed over a piece of rubble to find him clammering up a pile of rubble. The plant had answered her call! Kale walked over to him and petted him a bit. Joe shook a bit in reaction.

With Joe found, Kale marched down to the tunnel where the others were. She was walking down, but making sure to stay behind Varona. She turned her head back to the others, beckoning them to come.

[Torsiedelle]

Torii scooped up Nick and hopped to her feet. "Sorry, Nick, but we gotta go. We can rest later, okay?"

She gave Kale a nod and jogged over by the doorway. "Well, no need to worry about that. We're going to run the other way, and I trust we can get away.", She said, tucking the cat into her arms. "I don't want to be wiped out by nanites. Anything would be better than that."

[Transgravitas Directorate]

"On my way."

Bran made his intentions clear as he scurried forth, listening to the sound of crushed glass shards in his rucksack as the medicine vials that were stored in there had broken during the fall. He cursed the fact, and quickly abandoned his bag, but not before saving some of the cans of food that he was hoarding, as well as a few personal effects that were always kept in his back anyways. He still hadn't found Varona's pistol, but if he happened to see it, he'd be sure to grab it.

Heeding Giovenith's warning, he made his way over.

"Where do we go then? I see no way to go?"

"This is one of those times where the phrase 'anywhere but here' applies," Dia replied gruffly. "Just follow Dani, Naked Plant Girl and Four Arms."

He still hadn't noticed that Bran didn't know Dani was Dani, though it could be excused, given the large group and the series of unfortunate events they'd run into.

"I could carry you, if you wanted, but we'd probably find ourselves alone and lost. Too much speed - not such a good idea. And where the hell did Dani go so fast? She was right here." His face took on a concerned look and he strode down the tunnel, splashing as he went. There didn't seem to be any material for him to ignite.