Othergrounds: The IC Edition (Act 8: The Strangest Days have gone By)

Lin, Lily, Victoria, & Charles.

Song:

The group finally set off. Anyone who decided to leave was promptly left behind while they were left to their own devices. As Lin lead the group through the halls of the Eye Factory, everyone was cautious, because they didn't know what they would run into anyone. Fortunately, Lily can sense Metas from quite a distance and Lin can telepathically detect people as well. So far, there was not a soul within their range of detection. They were still cautious, because it never hurt to be. After a bit of a (bloody) trek, they managed to find the stairs and made it up to the uppermost floor of the Eye Factory. The upper floor was a little cracked from Eliza's various earth shattering attacks, but was still stable stable enough to support the group. Provided they don't do something stupid. They slowly made their way through the halls. Until they reached the furthest end of the factory and found it. A massive metal blast door. It looked like one of those doors that can withstand an atomic bomb (Because it can). There was absolutely no damage done to the door, or the area around it... In fact, it looked as if not a soul has been around these parts in years. On the side of the door was a large panel for inserting key cards. No matter what card was put  in, the only card that'd work would be the Master Key. Which Lin has kindly relieved from Lily (And will hold on to for a little bit). She causally walked over to the door and slipped in the master key-card. A loud beeping sound could be heard as the door slowly opened inwards. The room was pitch black, aside from the small amount of light given off by the various electronics. Then, all at once, the entire room lit up. The first glance into the room. The room was full of large sever machines, neatly arranged and constantly updating with information that is imperative to the Eyes. There was a straight pathway formed from the door all the way to a massive computer screen, opposite to the door, with an equally massive keyboard. This pathway was straight and had some railings that would prevent anyone from wandering around. A straight shot to the computer.

The moment the door was open, Lin took a few steps inside, being the first one to be inside. "I heavily suggest that some of you wait out here and stand guard. This will not require the whole group, and we just cannot get ambushed. Too much valuable resources in there that we just cannot afford to let get damaged..."

After Lin spoke, Victoria nodded her head. She figured that she. While she was tired, her powers were back to normal at this point. She can still pose a bit of a threat to anyone who gets cocky. "... I'll stay out here. I'm gonna' watch for anyone." Victoria then telekinetic lifted Charles inside, near the door. She rested him against one of the railings. Then she stood guard outside while everyone else either went inside, or helped her keep guard. The latter would be helpful.

"Just... Before we step inside, I have to say that it's imperative that you do not touch anything in here. Breaking even the smallest thing will cause some... Disastrous results." Lin warned the group before she went inside. As she walked inside, she couldn't help but continue, "... And I mean really, really bad things will start happening to the Eyes. The school will literally collapse in on itself." Then Lin made her way.

While Lin was telling how bad of an idea it would be to touch anything, Lily was looking around. Just to see if someone was around... Even though Lily can sense their very presence. There was an acute feeling in her chest that one day someone will be able to get around her Meta sense. She was the second person to enter the room behind Lin. "Yeah, I hear you sister..." Lily hesitantly says as she walked in behind Lin.

With a skip in her step, Lin walked all the way over to the computer screen, she inserted the Master Key into the computer slot. Which fully unlocked the system for them to manipulate. Then she promptly sat down on the chair. Looking up at the computer screen, she immediately started typing. Lin went through the system, bringing up everything that looked like it could be of note to the group.

Lily took position and leaned up against the computer desk with her hips pressed against it. She crossed her arms and looked directly at the computer screen. Lily inserted a few statements here and there while carefully observing the computer monitor. The group could order around the Eyes right from this. Assign more eyes to any given area. It appears that the most Eyes have been assigned to the Dorms and the Training Hall. Lily hesitantly spoke to the group, "Okay, so we can fix up the Cafeteria from here..." Great, we don't have to worry about preparing a meal... Actually, no, the Traitor might poison it. Lily thought to herself. There wasn't too much else interesting, and absolutely nothing that'd help them get out of here. Then something caught Lily's eye on the computer, she pointed at it while blankly saying, "Wait, Lin. Go to that right there."

On cue, Lin clicked the very thing that caught Lily's attention. A very special kind of. They were called Hangar Eyes. Deployed deep within the sub-basement, assigned to the Hangar. There were a lot of these eyes active, a good five hundred were active at this very moment - Plenty more remained inactive. The existence of these Eyes obviously tell that, one; there is a hangar. And two; there must be plane. Either way, there's a way out of here. They just need to find it. "Now this is a surprise," Lin started off, leaning in closer to the computer screen. "This venture may have been worth it after all." Lin then gave Lily a smile.

Now, Lily was ecstatic about finding out there were planes. She smiled widely and stood straight up. Her reaction was just pure squee; "Oh my god! Yes! Sweet lord we can finally the hell out of this place once and for all! I..." Lily faded off, realizing that she was getting a bit too overexcited, her facial expression promptly turned flat. Lily put her hands behind her back and tried to revert back to the leader-like demeanor, before anyone . "Can you find out where this place is...?" Lily was trying her best not to sound like a giddy schoolgirl - But it slipped every now and then.

"Possibly..." Lin says, hesitant. She wasn't sure if she could get the exact location of this place. "I can try." Before Lin turned straight to the computer screen. Fiddling with it to see if she can get a location. Knowing that there's a hangar is less than useless information if they can't even find it.


Drake Blackmore, & Jake Valos.


The roar of bullets had inspired both Jake and Drake to pick up the pace. They had no idea what was going, but if someone was in trouble, they were just the people to help. Off the top of their heads, they. Either it was Luce shooting, or the Traitor (They had long assumed that the b*stard has a gun). When they arrived, they stopped to peak around, and eyed the scene from behind cover. Luce was fighting that weird girl that Jake ran into last night in the mansion. From first glance, it appeared that Emily had mutated, growing blades and tentacles to attack Luce. For what reason they were fighting was unkown, they didn't really care. The room also seemed to be on fire, and scorching hot, there was a massive crater in the room lined with/full of a scorched black ash. Something big must have happened here... What is the question. They were going to find out. Drake noticed the deceased Hunter on the ground, and was set alight with anger - Well, at this point, he was even more disconnected than before.

However, Jake saw the deceased Hunter lying on the ground and his heart sank. Oh no... It's unlikely that he was the Traitor, there was plenty of evidence pointing against him being the Traitor. He just knew that Johnny must have had a hand in this. If word spread about this, it could make his time here very difficult because Jake's in league with a murderous monster. Might erect. Either way, Jake choose to intervene in the fight, so they can investigate. Jake leaned closer to Drake, who looked ready to jump in and kill both of them, and whispered, "Follow my lead, don't surprise them and they fill us with holes..." Jake then quickly turned invisible.

That's when, with one snap of his fingers, Jake interrupted the fight for a moment. He erected several illusions. He crafted a titanium wall in between Luce and Emily. The wall was quite wall, it wouldn't be easy to just walk around it. Emily, and her blades, were stopped by the wall before they could even reach Luce. Instead of stepping out himself, Jake sent an illusory duplicate of himself forward. Jake had remembered that Emily had a form of super senses from last night, so that makes this much easier. This duplicate was effectively Jake, it smelled exactly like him, it felt like him, and it had a steady heartbeat... Of course, this would fall apart if the actual Jake was detected. The illusion of himself stepped forward. He kept the illusion away from the fire, because the heat would immediately destroy the illusion.

While this went on, Drake made his grand appearance to the duo. He stepped out from behind cover, making his footsteps heavier so that they announce his presence to them. Drake had his fists balled and a scowl that showed he meant business. A few meters away from them, Drake transformed into his plasma-form, just in case. He exploded into a massive cloud of bluish-green plasma that appeared similar to electricity and gas. It completely engulfed him, he couldn't be seen from under the gas. Drake then took a few steps forward, out of the plasma, as the cloud faded away. Revealing that he had transformed into his new and fresh Plasma-form. He was completely engulfed in the plasma, which formed a thick shroud around his being. It even appeared that he was made of it, but is not, only infused/enshrouded in Plasma. Drake's outfit was incorporated into the transformation. The floor underneath his feet started getting hot.

"Enough! This fight is over!" Drake loudly, and boldly declared. Like a champion that called all the shots around here. He didn't know if they were going to turn their guns/swords on him - He's already told himself that he's more than willing to go toe to toe with anyone here. But only if there was no other way. The plasma enshrouding Drake's being started to burn/glow twice as bright. Two orbs of plasma enshrouded his hands. Showing off he was ready for a fight should they bring it there. While Drake was a little worn from the fight, he still had enough fight in him to kick their @ss. Drake's tone was cold, and serious, "I don't want to fight either of you right now - But, I have questions that need answering this instant." A major contrast to how he talked and sounded earlier.

Of course Jake is a very clever individual, who makes sure to cover plenty of options. He wasn't about to leave Drake in the open should they attempt to turn their attention on him. He created an invisible barrier of boron carbide, effectively separating Drake from Luce and Emily. Should they attempt to attack, the barrier would protect him. Not even Drake knew the barrier was there. All Drake has to do is not get too close to it with his plasma form.

The last thing Jake was going to do was let Drake get hurt. Since Jake is the group defender, he defends.


Johnny Valos, & Sylvia Bertoose vs. The Minotaur


So beautiful, and yet, just as dangerous. Johnny thought to himself as he watched Taylor injure the Minotaur with her new cryomancery power. She is quite the threat... But isn't as experience in combat as Johnny is. He was quick on his feet when Taylor had critically wounded the Minotaur, and it was trying to escape. Johnny flash stepped to the side of the Minotaur. Jumping high up into the air and kicking the Minotaur in the face. Johnny's heel came in contact with the Minotaur's cheek as it was stunned, but still standing. Johnny then promptly used both feet to push off of it, he landed on the ground, and dashed off the very second. This time, Johnny was going to be a bit creative with this new flash-step ability. Once he got in range, Johnny jumped high up into the air, until he was leveled with the Minotaur's head. Then he flash-stepped, head-first, right into the Minotaur. Knocking the Minotaur out, a cloud of blood spit and teeth came from it's mouth. It crashed unto the ground with a monstrous thud. Once again, all of this occurred in a few seconds, it's near-impossible for observers to keep track of him. Johnny gracefully landed on the ground, then walked on to the Colossus, then stood on it's chest.  He hissed at the (Unconscious) Minotaur, laced with venom, mocking it before he finished the job, "... You could have avoided this, and walked. Instead you choose to fight, and now look at you, on the ground ready to die... Time to finish what you've started, and die." While Johnny spoke, he pointed a finger gun at the Minotaur's face, as his arm was wreathed in a shroud of blood-right fire. Johnny then fired off a devil kiss that pierced the head of the Minotaur, went through it's skull, making a nice hole through it's head.

"... That was anti-climatic...." Johnny muttered to himself. The Minotaur was weak, and like many before him, no match for Johnny. He stepped off it's chest slowly. Before transforming out of his Emotional energy form. The lights faded away, revealing his smooth caramel skin. He jolted visibility. He experienced the pain that he received from being up close to the Minotaur's flames. Nothing that he couldn't handle - And he's experienced worst pains.

"... C'mon. We have to go." Sylvia spoke, softly, as she walked past the dead Minotaur and Johnny standing over it. This was the most serious she has been since she came into this hellhole disguised as paradise. She was staying out of this fight. She needed to conserve her energy just in case they ran into something tough. As she was easily the most destructive out of all of them, and has raw offensive power that both of her allies can't even come to. Johnny and Taylor handled the Minotaur fine, she didn't even need to jump into this fight.

"Right. Miss, L’eau. Our business here has been concluded." Johnny stated as he walked forward. Before breaking off into a sprint, he wasn't running at full speed, since he did need to conserve his strength, and not burn out. Sylvia promptly followed.

They were going to find Jake even if they have to tear this factory to shreds and kill everyone here in the process.

Lexy, Crystal, and Faith
-------------------------

The trio followed the others to the computers, but Lexy stayed outside the room with Victoria- Not because she felt like she could protect them very well, more so that she felt like if she did follow them into the room she would end up breaking something. It's what her immaturity did for her- she could just picture it then: 'ooh! what's this?' just poking something and then- poof! Everything explodes! They're all dead. That would be it with her luck.

Crystal was going to stay back for that same reason until she saw Victoria move the injured Charles into the room with her telepathy. Crystal followed, then, and held out a hand towards Charles. "I'll heal you, if you want me to," she offered. She had seen him fight earlier and he had taken out a lot of stasis escapees with his powers. He definitely deserved to be healed. Whether or not Charles said it was fine, Crystal placed a hand on his arm and began healing.


Faith had followed Lin and Lily into the room and looked at the computer, a small smile on her face. "I-i, um...." she hesitated nervously before speaking, "I can help a lot with this. You see, um... I can control electronics if you need my help finding the place or something." She gestured at the pet eye she still had as a way of proving her power, in a way.

((suckish post~ yay!))

Drake Blackmore, & Jake Valos.

True Night wrote:

"How nice of you to join us. I was just mopping up after what her friend Johnny boy did to poor hunter there." She motioned to his corpse. "Go ahead and ask your questions."

Turning his attention to Emily, Drake opened his mouth just like he was going to speak. Then quickly stopped himself. He crossed his arms tightly, and gave her a narrow glare. He knew that he almost did something stupid by jumping to conclusions and believing this total stranger. While he's not in the best of all emotional-states right now, he definitely has to stop to use his head. Like Victoria always tells him. Drake took a step back away from them. Then took a metaphorical step back. Obviously something important went on here, in this room. Six people went down this hallway, there is one dead in the middle of the room, and two are standing here. Luce and Emily. The former is someone he definitely didn't trust, and the latter he didn't know, and could be a Stasis Escapee... No, no, no. The way she talks says that she's familiar with the group and knows them. Still, he has never met Emily, or really even heard of her. Nor was Drake here when all of this went down. He was reluctant to believe either of them, really. For all he knew, this could be one clever plan by either of them to get the group to turn against each other. You know, take advantage of the situation. If it was someone like, Victoria, Dragonfly or Nicole, he would definitely be more willing to believe it, but now, he isn't so sure. Drake Blackmore is many things, and despite what some may say, stupid isn't one of them.

"Alright.." Drake says. He was going to investigate this further. There were many variables here, and he wants to get what he can out of Luce and Emily. So that he can decide for himself what happened. Drake started off, tone dead serious, "Now, I'd like to say that I'm the least bit interested in why the hell you two are fighting. I only came down here for the six people that came down here. I see two standing, and one dead.... Where are the other three?" Drake did know that the three were likely Johnny's bunch, and probably left, he just wanted to be sure. Then he blinked, keeping one eye on Emily, the other on Luce. Just in case anything goes down, he can just engulf both of them in searing plasma. The only problem was that Drake didn't exactly know what either of them were packing and could. The only upside is that they don't know what he can do, and he has Jake backing him up. The two of them together creates a powerful combination. "Now, what exactly did Johnny do to Hunter over there?" If only Drake could read minds... Oh yes. He can. Drake still has the form which he acquired from Lin. Which comes with both shape-shifting and mind-reading. Could be a simple way to end this encounter now and get a move on. The only problem is that it would require him to power down, and he won't have any offensive abilities... Eh, Drake will have to do this the old fashioned way. Without an easy way or any like it.

While the duplicate Jake had created showed no emotion, the real Jake showed plenty of it. He knew where this was going, and didn't like it. He was smart enough to know where this was going. There was no way to prevent it without looking even more suspicious. Perhaps he could find a good distraction. Yes. That'll work. There's that. The illusion pointed at the massive fire on one end of the room. Burnt/Melted metal was seen in it. There was few things that could reach that heat, and it interested him. Especially the charred monster in the crater. "What exactly happened over here...?" Jake spoke through the illusion in a curious, but stern, tone.


Lin Chai Kentt, & Carmen 'Lily' Santo.

True Night wrote:

"I do believe you're forgetting something. If it were as simple as flying out of here a number of metas, myself included could have just left. What we really need to find is where in the dome the planes enter and exit from and how to open it."

Lily was promptly snapped back into reality. The excitement and glee had suppressed the logic in her head. "Oh yeah..." Lily said blankly. Now that she thought about it; they have no way of even flying these planes. Unless they had automated planes or something. All they have to do is find the hangar, and open the hangar doors, then they have an easy way out. "... Let's do that then." Lily gleefully says. Still excited from behind.

Celo wrote:

"I can help a lot with this. You see, um... I can control electronics if you need my help finding the place or something."

Lin certainly thought that having Faith around could be a great thing. Almost all the school is electronics. Control the electronics, then you control the school. She could open the doors, boss the Eyes around, plenty of things. Hell, perhaps they don't need that master key - Wait no. It's best that they keep the Master-Key on them. Lin doesn't know who Faith is, and what are the limits to her ability. Over-relying on her could prove... Disastrous in case. Lin gently bit her upper lip. "Yes, your assistance is certainly appreciated. We need to find the hangar and..." Lin faded off intentionally, leaving it open for Lily, or anyone else, to put their requests in.

"... I would say fix the kitchen eyes..." Lily says. It was risky as hell just leaving all that food open in the open. She had guessed that the Traitor would poison it or just smash it up again. So there'd be no point in doing so. "... But that traitorous puta would only poison it, or- Wait!" Then the idea came to Lily. "What is the full extent of your abilities... Could you, uh... reprogram a large amount of Eyes from here?" This idea that Lily had was utterly genius.


Charles, & Victoria Blackmore.

Celo wrote:

"I'll heal you, if you want me to,"

"Like I would say no to healing..." Charles says to Crystal, humorously. It was a silly to throw in "if you want me to". Because one; Crystal's healing him anyway, and two; he feels like sh*t right now. He recalled that he had already copied Crystal's power the last time she healed him. She doesn't seem to be aware of the replication, though. Charles just waited while Crystal healed him. That nasty purple bruise on the side of his face quickly faded, and the pain promptly subsided. He felt better than before. Charles stood straight up. Feeling a little bit lightheaded, but still in perfect shape. There was something that Charles needed to check before anything. His power. He made his glasses float a few inches off his face, by the glass. It appears that his power was in perfect condition... Crap! That was before he realized something. He was probably out for a good twenty minutes. He would lose his Sand Manipulation shortly. Charles quickly dug through his pocket and pulled out a silver locket. Not even worrying if Lexy or Crystal saw, he put Sand Manipulation back inside. A green light, similar to electricity, came out of his head and traveled down his arm, into the locket.

"... So, how are you two holding up?" Victoria asks everyone, mostly Lexy and Crystal. She knew that Lexy felt a bit of guilt for what happened, and she knew that Drake probably felt worse. "The sooner we get wrapped up here, the better. I think we should just call it a night and retire to the dorms..."

Luciana "La Cordera" Rojas

Luce didn't lower her guns, keeping their sights right in line with Emily's skull.

"What happened? Johnny, Sylvia, and I left to pursue Hunter. I was told he was the Traitor, yes, the one-" she almost said gunning down, but realized that terminology might be...incriminating. "...mowing down the others. So we find him, along with two other of the escapees-" Luce fumbled over the pronunciation of this word a bit but kept going. "Killed them. All three of them. The Colossus as well, it grabbed a girl, think her name was Gabriela. We took it down, but it killed her as well. Johnny and Sylvia, they were related to this girl, they ran off. I went to leave but she found it amusing to put up a barrier. Sealed off that exit. Started making death threats, which a girl like myself doesn't take very kindly to."

Luce's arms didn't waver, or shake noticeably-the heavy sixguns stayed resolutely pointed at Emily. "Were I you two gentlemen, I would not believe a word either of us said, however."

Luciana Rojas didn't feel she'd lost, but she hadn't won. This is not over. You do not understand, Little Miss Emily. I have people's lives relying on my getting out of this place. To save them, I would sacrifice any of you gladly. I cannot let the risk of your threats be carried out. You will not be the first child I've killed. Or the last. Luce slipped the guns back into their holsters, finally easing off a little, but she was still wary and alert-Luce hardly ever dropped out of the hypervigilant mindset she'd adopted these days. "...but, what I speak to you is the truth. Swear to God. Unless either of you intend to stop me, I'm interested to go and speak with Johnny. Stay here with la puta and the bodies if you so desire. Jake, I think your name was, the cute one, who didn't care for me, kindly drop the...ahh...I do not know the word..." she motioned towards the invisible walls around her with her hands. Given the way Emily's tentacles had been stopped cold, she assumed the boy was employing another of the barriers he'd used earlier. "...I have no wish to quarrel with either of you. However, I do not appreciate being trapped-this is why I had to fight her in the first place. No hard feelings, either of you, but keep one lovely lady such as myself and Emily locked down here, and other people might start getting some bad ideas, no?" a trace of her old self was creeping back into her voice, the harsh, emotionless Cordera that shot out the Colossus' eyes and searched Hunter's corpse head to toe gone. Still, it was lurking just beneath the surface, waiting for a wrong move from Emily or something similar.

Should they let her leave, Luce knew right where she was going. There were reckonings to be had, and she was going to need a few new tricks to carry them out.

Faith
---

Faith nodded in reply to the question. "I-I think so. These computers are connected to all the Eyes, right? I can j-just reprogram them like I did this one." She once again gestured at her pet Eye. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

--
Crystal
--

Crystal finished healing Charled, wincing as a small headache began to form. She brushed the small pain aside, however, and raised an eyebrow as she watched the green light travel from Charles's head to a silver locket he was holding. What was that green light? Obviously a power of some sort, but what? And why would Charles use a power on a locket of all things? Crystal hesitated before asking, "So what is your power, exactly?"

--
Lexy
--
When Victoria asked about how they were, Lexy smiled, "I'm fine. Feeling better a ton." still a bit guilt-eaten, but better. She would feel better when Drake and Jake get back with hopefully everyone in the group that left. Who all was missing? Johnny, his little group, Emily, Hunter... oh no. Hunter... Johnny. Lexy's heart sunk. Didn't Johnny start accusing Hunter of being the traitor? He wouldn't have, right? Lexy's expression turned to worry as she pondered it. The battle, while traumatic for the girl, had certainly put some sense into her (though not very much). "Victoria? I don't know if you knew this, but Johnny was thinking Hunter was, like, the traitor. And those two are both missing..."

Drake, Jake, Johnny, & Sylvia.


The more Luce and Emily explained what "happened", the less and less Drake actually believed them. Apparently, the Valos had pinned Hunter as the Traitor, and they had chased him down here and executed him. This story obvious left a lot of room for lying. Well, Drake himself thought that Hunter was a creepy b*stard and was hiding something. Victoria had a bit of faith in him, so Drake went with it. But, as Drake told himself earlier, he wasn't here to see what really happened. These two could very well be lying to cover themselves up. Or trying to pit them on their opponents. If he took everything at face-value, he'd be long dead. Obviously, he didn't believe a word either of them said. The one thing that Drake did listen to was Luce saying that they shouldn't believe either of them. There was one way Drake would know for certain; go find out for himself. Drake closed his eyes. His plasma-form still radiating from a distance, the lights could be seen from a distance. The floor underneath him was burning hot, if anyone were to approach then they better have some good shoes. "Ugh... This is pointless..." Drake says, heavily irritated by the turn of events. "I wasn't here, and I don't believe either of you. So this is how things will go down: we're going to all leave here nice and quietly, and I'm giving him a proper burial."

Spoiler:

Now, Jake on the other hand, pretty much forgot everything they said when Luce said that Gabe was killed. He the news shocked him and sent a spike of fear down his spine. His concentration was shattered. As his illusions were heavily concentration based, each and every illusion faded away the very moment this happened. The walls that he had created were gone, so Luce and Emily could go free - And Drake was unguarded. Even his illusory duplicate. Jake quickly regained his wits and scowled. He wanted more details on this. He stepped from behind cover and took steps towards them. His duplicate disappeared, so they probably already know he's somewhere close. As Jake took steps closer "Luce! Do not start f*cking with me!" Jake angrily and loudly exclaimed, "What happened to Gabe!? Where is my other half?!"

A mass of footsteps approached quickly. Judging from all the footsteps there were three of them. Johnny, Sylvia, and Taylor. The three stood in the doorway. Initially ignoring everyone in the room, Johnny turned his attention solely on to Jake. His right eye started glowing bright blue. Light tears ran down his eyes, as Johnny spoke in a saddened, somber tone, "... As much as I wish it wasn't true... Miss Rojas is correct..." Johnny tilted his head downward and slanted his hat over his eyes. Covering up his eyes with his hat. "... Your twin..." Johnny faded off, "... Is dead! You can believe me on this one, Jake! I - We watched her get impaled! And every second of it is pain! Pain for all of us! Just look at that fire..." Johnny announced to Jake as more and more tears came running down his face. His tone and emotions shown that he was serious as they come. Johnny wasn't too worried about Luce or Emily. He knew that Luce wouldn't attack without reason, and Emily was nothing to him but an attention CENSORED.

"No... No, no, no, no, NO!" He said over and over again in response to Johnny. Jake was in utter disbelief. He was just about to drop down to his feet and break down in tears. He was shaky, he looked down at the fiery crater. It... Seemed a lot more deadening. With the blackened corpse of the Colossus in the crater, and all this ash, it started to make sense. M-m-my... Twin, can't be dead! This is all just a silly trick, yes! A lie! She'll just pop out from behind them any second now! Jake tried to lie to himself as he grasped his head with both of his hands. The more he tried to deny it, the more and more it became apparent that there was no choice but to accept this. "Gab-Ga-Gabre..." Jake muttered over and over again, dropping to his knees. Memories flashed through his mind's eye. Memories of everything he and Gabriela did together. This was the low point in his life. He was missing the person who he grew up with - And was considered the other half of himself. Jake felt like he was missing something that he couldn't go on without. More and more tears started running down his face.

"Jake..." ...Sorry for your lost/I'm here for you/Need anything from me, say so. There were so many things for Drake to say, but he wasn't sure what exactly would even count. Drake turned his body halfway, one shoulder was pointing at Luce and Emily, and the other at the newly arrived Valos. His face turned into a saddened half-frown. The Plasma around his being dimmed slightly, it would be hard to notice unless someone was being super observant. It was a disheartening sight for Drake. While they may have killed Hunter and may be scumbags, Drake felt bad for Jake. He's a good kid that didn't deserve this. From his reaction, Drake knew that he really cared about his twin sister. He thought back to earlier when he felt terrible after finding out what happened to Jia-li and Jacob. Drake wasn't going to say a word about Hunter. He wasn't sure of what happened here, or who's responsible for Hunter's death. All Drake wants is for everyone to go separate directions, bury Hunter, and never come here again. If they are the one behind this... Well, Drake is going to make them answer for this. Because whether they suspected Hunter of being the Traitor or not, he will not allow them to go on a rampage. Drake just stood there, silent.

Jake's reaction didn't exactly uplift Johnny. I expected this actually, there was not a soul closer to Gabriela than Jake... They're wasting time here, the battle may be over, but now they have to find the perfect place to mope. Johnny walked over to Jake and grabbed him by the arm, carrying him back towards the entrance. Before they left, Johnny spoke, "Now... We are leaving. Miss Luce, I wish to speak with you for a moment, you may join us." Johnny said the group. With Jake still in his arms. He kept his eyes purely on Luce. "To everyone else; do not follow us."


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.

Celo wrote:

"I-I think so. These computers are connected to all the Eyes, right? I can j-just reprogram them like I did this one." She once again gestured at her pet Eye. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Alright..." Lily started off. The plan was simple. The Eyes were all over the school. They keep the school going and fix anything broken. What if they were programmed to seek out the Traitor and capture him? It's ingenious! All Lily wants to do is slow down the Traitor. "Can you reprogram the Eyes to look for the Traitor and capture him...? Without breaking everything - Oh and can you find this hangar."

((Celo, just have Faith do etc))


Victoria, & Charles Blackmore.

Celo wrote:

"So what is your power, exactly?"

This was a question he never really liked answering. He knew that a few people wouldn't like such an ability. People don't like powers that the Blackmores have passed down for generations. Well, people are going to find out at some point. Charles looked inside the mainframe room. They seem to be distracted with whatever they could find on the computer. So, as long as this girl doesn't babble on about it to everyone, he could just . "Power Replication... Apparently it runs in the family." Charles answered Crystal's question. Peering inside the mainframe room. "Don't go around telling everyone, please. It might not end too well for me."

Celo wrote:

"Victoria? I don't know if you knew this, but Johnny was thinking Hunter was, like, the traitor. And those two are both missing..."

Initially, Victoria was worried about Hunter. He did leave suddenly, and so did the Valos when the fighting started. He could have been killed by anyone really. The scene was very chaotic. It was quite stupid for him to leave the battle to begin with. Victoria, and others, could have easily covered him. Though Victoria wasn't going to point any fingers, or get too riled up, until she was certain about what happened to him. Either Drake and Jake will find out what happened to him, or they'll find out sooner or later. Victoria faced Lexy and spoke to her, "Lex... I don't know where he went or what happened to him. But I'm sure he'll be find. Drake, and Jake will find him. I'm sure."

Faith
---

Faith nodded before closing her eyes in concentration, sending her thoughts to the computer. This was a big command for several things, so it took more concentrating then normal. However, she did manage to reprogram the Eyes to do so. After a few seconds, her eyes snapped back open. "Done," she said, before turning as she noticed motion nearby. Her own pet Eye was wandering off as well. Oops. Faith returned its settings to protecting her and the Eye returned. "Most of th-the Eyes are now searching for the traitor carefully and for the hangar." Faith gave them a small smile, rather proud of herself.

-
Crystal
-

Crystal nodded when Charles told her his power. It was actually quite impressive- to be able to use others' powers is very resourceful. "Okay- I'll tell no one." She paused, suddenly realizing what it meant. She had healed him twice already, so did Charles copy her power? She didn't care if he did, but could he choose between powers to replicate if someone has multiple? Crystal sighed before speaking up, "Careful if you copied mine, though. You can tell no one this, as well, but I have two, though healing is the only one that works. If you do have healing, it takes a lot of brain power to use." She decided to go ahead and say that she had another power. It wasn't like she was telling Charles why she didn't use it. 'Sides, if Charles asked her to keep his power a secret, he would probably keep her secret quiet, as well. Not to mention the fact that she had to warn him so he wouldn't rely on her power if he copied it.

-
Lexy
-

Lexy nodded, looking at her feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. "Yes, but..." her voice became quieter, as though she were afraid of asking (which was actually close to the truth), "Would Hunter be able to survive against Johnny and that strange cowgirl who was with him?"

Luciana "La Cordera" Rojas

Luciana ignored Emily's jabs, not considering them worthy of gunning the girl down again. Jake's reaction, however, alarmed her just a bit-her head fell casually to her waist, just in case he tried something. She doubted he would, however.

"Easy, Jake. I did not kill her. That Colossus did. I'm sorry for your loss," she spoke, a touch of sincerity to her voice. Luce nodded slightly, continuing. "I'-ah, Johnny. I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten lost without me." Luce's tone, however, was gentle and easy: her stonewall face was softened a bit, and she seemed a bit empathic towards Johnny's loss. She was still angry at Johnny for the betrayal, for taking down Hunter without consulting her, but...but out of the heat of combat, she understood his decision a bit better.

Just as she would put a bullet in every mutant here if it meant the doors of the Othergrounds would open and let her leave, so would Johnny for his family. She could respect that-she didn't like Johnny, but she did respect him. An arrogant bastard, but a useful ally. Thoughts of striking up another alliance-or perhaps reforging the old one-occurred to her. She strongly doubted that Hunter was the true traitor, for no reason other than pure instinct-surely he wouldn't have been so foolish as to be caught by two wayward escapees if he was stalking them, killing them one by one? Hunter seemed too weak, too foolish to be their traitor. Best to keep her eyes...er...eye, peeled.

And the young boy Jake seemed to be falling apart. Another twinge of sympathy. I'm going soft.

"Mister Valos, I would be honored." she strode over to him, confident strides with boots click-clacking against the floor. Once they had left the room, Luce's tone took a serious note. "Be on your guard for Emily. She is not the type to roll over and die-neither am I. She's melodramatic and arrogant, but perhaps a threat. I understand you are both mourning, but perhaps we should grieve somewhere secure." Luce paused for a moment. "Sorry for your loss. I know this pain. Should we make it through this ordeal, I'll buy you all a drink." Because I know I can drink you under the table, pretty-boy. They water it down here in the States.

Spoiler:

Drake Deltori Blackmore.


"Wait! Don't-" Drake called out to Emily as he tried to dash forward to stop her from killing herself. His hand was extended forward to grab her. Even if he burnt her with plasma, he was going to stop her. He didn't know her or what happened, but he wasn't going to do nothing. Then he stopped, when he realized that he had failed to save anyone. Again. Watching Emily burn to death, regardless of what person she may have been, did not do good for Drake's spirits. The stress, trauma, guilt and remorse (Plus that nicotine deprivation) from the battle has been proving to be much more than he could possibly handle. He grasped on to the sides of his head again. Disconnecting himself from reality or what's even going on around him. Not a wise decision, but he wasn't using logic right now, all that's inside of him is a build up of his negative emotions. Honestly, why the hell do I feel this... Disconnect... Pain... Why do I feel less human than ever before... I just feel like I'm like the very monsters that I fight.

His reverie was promptly broken, snapping him back into reality, when a bright white flash flooded his peripheral vision. He turned his head to only see an eye searingly bright light engulf his entire gaze. He covered his eyes with his right arm. Shielding him from the light, until it faded away. He slowly put his plasma-enshrouded arm down. Revealing that everyone but him, is gone. Leaving Drake Blackmore all alone with a dead body. He had expected them to leave, actually. He decided to revert back to human form. The plasma around him faded away, almost like the plasma fell off of him. The floor underneath him was quite hot... So was the rest of the room actually. This place was going to burn down soon enough, and he wanted to be away from here when it did. Drake turned his attention to the dead Hunter, and walked over. He walked over to him and scoped him up in both hands. Drake didn't struggle with keeping Hunter held in both of his arms. Then Drake walked out of the room with Hunter in his arms, heading back to the last p. Promising himself that he'll get to the bottom of this...

When he made it back to the hall they fought in, the group had left. Only leaving behind a sea of dead bodies far as he can see. Disgusting. All of it. "Toria!" Drake called out for his older sister. Only for no one to call back, or even hear him. "Nicole!?" Drake tried again. "Crystal!?" There was no one else even in ear-shot. Hell, he didn't even know where they could have gone. He's alone. Perhaps it's for the best since he needs to be alone now more than ever. Drake turned around and left the building. There were two things on his mind;

The first, on his list was burying Hunter...

Second; was finding a place to be alone...


Johnny, Jake, & Sylvia.

Shade wrote:

"Mister Valos, I would be honored." she strode over to him, confident strides with boots click-clacking against the floor. Once they had left the room, Luce's tone took a serious note. "Be on your guard for Emily. She is not the type to roll over and die-neither am I. She's melodramatic and arrogant, but perhaps a threat. I understand you are both mourning, but perhaps we should grieve somewhere secure." Luce paused for a moment. "Sorry for your loss. I know this pain. Should we make it through this ordeal, I'll buy you all a drink."

Good. Luce doesn't seem too pent up about Johnny's somewhat betrayal. Now that they have Jake, their business here is over. Johnny hadn't any intention of staying here any longer. What he wanted was to get the four of them far away from here as possible... And he meant that literally. Johnny looked down at Jake in his arms. "Hey Jake, can you do your magic and make us disappear?"

While Jake was falling apart right now, making them disappear was a simple task. His abilities had advanced to the point where he could suffer a near nervous breakdown and make a simple illusion. A bright flash of light quickly engulfed the room, blinding everyone with a bright light. Then Jake made them all invisible by the time by the flash faded away. They were gone before then, they had made their exit. Escaping the Eye Factory and everything in it. After a long, sadness filled, trek through the schools, they arrived at the dorms. The only place where they could really return to without risking their lives. There was only one place where they could be; Johnny's dorm-room. Recently, he hasn't been using it since the Traitor's been popping up. Because that's one the place where he's expected to be. It was a large and grandiose dorm-room. It had snow-white carpet and matching wallpaper. The room had a red heart-shaped couch on one side and Johnny's neatly tucked bed on the other. Directly to the right was Johnny's wardrobe, with his various outfits. "Make yourselves at home..."

The very second that the door was open, Jake pushed his way inside and found his way to the nearest corner. There he just dropped to the floor and curled up into the fetal position. Crying and muttering things to himself. Sylvia just laid down on the bed across from them. "Now..." Johnny says, sitting on his heart-shaped couch, speaking in a saddened tone. "... I haven't felt this sadness in ages... But we do have business to tend to..." Johnny started off, reaching into the pockets of his coat and pulling out a cigar, sliding it in between his lips, clenching it in his teeth. He then pulled out a lighter, and pulled the trigger, warming up his cigar enough to produce smoke. He took in a puff and held it tightly in his hands. Then he spoke, "... In hindsight, I do not believe we killed the real Traitor. Even though there was heavy evidence pointing at him... That theory doesn't make any sense now that I know that the Traitor sent the Stasis bastards against us." Johnny looked away briefly, hoping to see a still living Gabriela with her arms crossed, giving him the same 'you f*cked up' look that she always does. "... The only real problem I see is that we now have a dead f*cker pointing straight at us. That will be a problem. If Blackmore wasn't there, then I could him in that fire, but alas..."

Taking a look outside, Johnny continued, "It was my mistake, and I do not intend on repeating it... Next time, we're keeping the Traitor b*stard alive"



Lin Chai Kentt, & Carmen 'Lily' Santo.

Celo wrote:

"Most of th-the Eyes are now searching for the traitor carefully and for the hangar."

Alright, now that they finished up here. It was finally time to put this d*mn building behind them so they can finally head home and do something that doesn't involve what amounts to be a genocide. Lily felt like they actually got something worth-while out of all this bloodshed. She let out a sigh of relief and stood straight up. There was one big concern she had, however. According to Lin's earlier warnings, destroying one small thing in here could be very bad. What if the Traitor swung by and trashed the place? They'd be screwed. "Now... How do we stop this place from getting trashed?"

The idea to send the Eyes after the Traitor was not a good idea in Lin's eyes (No pun intended). They could possibly do damage to the school. However, it was too late to voice her complaints... She was going to keep her mouth shut. "Lock the door. It's impossible to get into here without a key." Lin spoke. Trying to avoid bringing up the Master-Key because it's best that the others stay oblivious to it's existence.

"That's it?" Lily asks surprised. "Well, let's go then." Before Lin could get a chance to respond, Lily was heading out towards the exit. She was eager to leave this place, to say the least. She was promptly followed by the others. The very second that they all were out of the room, Lin walked over to the keycard port. Quickly sliding the master-key in, prompting the door to lock and close. The door to the Eye Mainframe slowly closed and locked tightly. It would be near impossible to open through conventional means, so the mainframe was safe... Unless someone pulled out unconventional means.

After that was over with, Lily lead the group out of the Eye Factory. So they can finally leave this place behind... But they can never leave what they've done here.


Victoria Erin Blackmore.

Celo wrote:

"Would Hunter be able to survive against Johnny and that strange cowgirl who was with him?"

This was a tricky question for Victoria to answer. Merely because she couldn't really answer it. From their time together, she could tell that Hunter wasn't the strongest Meta-human. With what was going on, and who was attacking, there was much more to worry about than Johnny and Hunter. Plus, she doesn't know what the two Lexy mentioned are even capable of. There was no way to sugar-coat this without filling her with false hope - Which is something that Victoria is adverse to. The girl's young, and doesn't seem to know too much about how the world works. "Look Lex..." Victoria said, unsure about what to say. "I really don't if he could have survived or not. And that's the problem. He just... Shouldn't have left. Yeah, that. That was incredibly stupid of him... The only thing we can do is hope for the best."

When the group emerged from the mainframe room, both Blackmores followed.

Spoiler:

(note that Taylor traveled with Johnny and the gang to the dorm)

Taylor and Ryan

Taylor arrived at Johnny's dorm and sat down on his bed with her arms crossed. She was trying her hardest not to cry, but still a few streaks of makeup were dripping down her face. When Jake fell to the floor crying, Taylor's heart shattered. She fell on her side, and began crying softly. It just felt so hopeless. The ice melted off of her, though she evaporated it into steam before the bed got wet. It just felt so hopeless now. All of the strong people left were practically broken. Johnny was obviously upset, Jake was absolutely hysterical, and Sylvia was...quiet. Sylvia was never quiet. Once the ice evaporated, Taylor realized how cold she was. She began shivering uncontrollably. She hugged herself tightly, trying to keep warm. She pulled Johnny's white bed sheet off and wrapped it around herself, which helped some but wasn't exactly perfect.

"You killed...Hunter?" Taylor inquired, looking up at Johnny. Honestly, that really didn't surprise her anymore. People were dying left and right now. If killing Hunter kept some people from dying, then she didn't care. "Well, we're the...strongest mutants here, most likely. If...if people came after us, we'd be able to defend ourselves adequately. If we can find Carole, she'll make us even stronger. The only person who worries me now is Claire. Something tells me that if she finds out you killed Hunter she's going to become a major thorn in our side". She didn't really acknowledge Luce's presence, as she was much too concerned with Johnny and Jake.

Meanwhile, Ryan was at work. Jake's mind was weak, just weak enough for him to mess with him. He could sense the boy's pain from Ryan's dorm down the hall. He was broken and lost, looking for an answer. Now Ryan had another way to wound Johnny. Johnny was much too powerful, and after he almost killed Ryan, Ryan felt like the b*stard needed to be knocked down a peg or three. Nobody threatened Ryan Corvo and got away with it. He smiled wickedly, and closed his eyes, tapping into Jake's consciousness.

"Doesn't something seem suspicious to you, Jake?" Ryan thought-spoke to Jake maliciously "Johnny's a strong mutant. Very strong. Now, don't you think that if Johnny wanted to, he'd have been able to save Gabe?"

Lexy and Faith
----

Lexy sighed, shaking her head at Victoria's statement on Hunter leaving. The statement seemed rather... cold. Everything at the school seemed that way to Lexy, now. "I thought you, seeming like his friend, would be more worried about him probably dead." She walked to the front of the group, not listening to a reply. Lexy pasted a smile on her face to look more like her normal self. "Well, then, ladies and gentlemen- we're off!" she spun around on her heel and began walking, Faith also following.

--
Crystal
--

Crystal pushed her glasses up with her index finger and was about to head off when she noticed Seth to the side. She had already offered to heal him twice, both times ignored, but she decided to ask again. He seemed to be in a lot of pain, after all.

Crystal walked up to Seth as she held out a hand. "Let me heal you, please. You will not get any better at this rate."

Johnathon Kin Valos.

Maxx wrote:

"You killed...Hunter?"

"Yeah..." Johnny muttered. He was fine with telling Taylor this. The only thing he wanted to worry about is if people were listening in. He was more than certain there's a good ten people with the ability to listen in on this conversation. Which is why he hated this school since the moment he got here, actually. Johnny then took another puff of his cigar. Holding in the smoke, savoring the flavor for a second. Before blowing out the puff. The moment the puff was out of his mouth, he spoke, "It was a decision made in the heat of the moment actually..." He started off, realizing his error now that the fight's actually over. "Cornered by a monster covered in hard armor, in a building full of maniacs trying to kill you... I just couldn't risk him getting away. Either way, if he did get away, probably would'a gotten killed anyway. He was in a sh*tty state even before I got we got our hands on him."

Maxx wrote:

"Well, we're the...strongest mutants here, most likely. If...if people came after us, we'd be able to defend ourselves adequately. If we can find Carole, she'll make us even stronger. The only person who worries me now is Claire. Something tells me that if she finds out you killed Hunter she's going to become a major thorn in our side"

There was an obvious silence from Johnny. He didn't say a word, instead he thought about this. Really really hard. There was a heavy chance that people. However, he didn't really think that people will come after them over his death. He knew that Hunter wasn't too important, and Hunter was a strange, and incredibly suspicious, motherf*cker. Johnny could tell that he wasn't too popular, or that people will want to avenge his death. Nonetheless, he figured that people wouldn't immediately catch on - Even if they did, it would hard to pin the Valos specifically. Hell, they could even try to stretch it and say he tried to attack them, and it was all self-defense. All he has to worry about are people of the Telepath variety. The only Telepaths he could think of was Lin... And Corvo. Johnny could tell that Lin and Jake were friends, good friends. Probably to the point where she would turn the other cheek just for him. Johnny doesn't know about Corvo. With his luck, Ryan might still be butthurt over what happened and rat them out.

"Now..." Johnny started off. "I do not believe the group will not give us too much trouble for what I did. Hunter is nothing. The only problem I see is that they won't trust us, and will think even less of us." Johnny looked over his shoulder. "I know we pissed off a good number of people... Especially Gabe with her hatred of the Animal types... But only those confident enough in their ability will dare come and make us answer for what I did. Everyone else is too nice n' sweet to do sh*t." There was a brief pause after he finished talking. "They'll be a lot less open, less trusting, with us, hopefully. Worse comes to worse, then we just avoid them while we go about our business."

Then there was Carole. While she annoyed Johnny sometimes, was super useful. She could get them into anything. With her and Jake together, they can fulfill the defensive needs of the group. The only thing is that she ran off and completely disappeared. Johnny's quite cynical about plenty of things here. Off the top of his head, he can only guess what thing has happened to her. "While Carole annoys me sometimes-" Though, I have experience with getting annoyed.... "-She is useful for her power. But, the thing is, none has really seen her, have we? It's more than likely that Traitorous f*ck probably killed her before we got our chance. Sorry to be pessimistic, but it's the world we live in." He then shrugged.

Then came Claire... Oh boy. She was a threat, Johnny acknowledged that. Without TJ to hold her chain, then who knows what she'll do. But a threat they can easily deal with. Claire was all power and no technique. All balls and no brains. Johnny can beat her by himself. Claire had raw offensive power, and Johnny had speed and defense. Sylvia could also pose a challenge to Claire. Sylvia has speed and raw offensive power. Plus, all the Valos have been getting much stronger. Sylvia unlocked Sound Manipulation, Johnny can flash-step now and his Devil Kisses have been growing strong enough to be on-par with actual bullets. If Claire's confident enough to challenge him, then Johnny's more than happy to accept. "Claire doesn't worry me. I've faced much worse than her, and came out alive... But we should really try and take her out of the picture now that we're at this point...."

"Now, the only thing I'm really worried about is Blackmore..." Johnny started off. "Not because of his power -Though he has proven to be quite powerful, on par with me- Because of his influence over the group... According to Jake." He quickly glanced over to Jake. He was doing quite shitty, expected since he was missing his twin. Johnny has learned time and time again that having a loyal following of friends can be stronger than any ability that a Meta-human can obtain. When you have an army of friends - Especially if they're powerful - Following you, then you're going to be quite the threat. History has proven it. "Regardless of how strong we are, it would be downright stupid to just assume that we can take on everyone." There was another pause as Johnny looked at his cigar. Then he realized something. This is exactly what the Traitor wants. For groups to divide and fight each other. That is why he got the Stasis escapees to attack them. All he wanted to do was thin out their numbers, and hurt their spirits, so that it'd be easier to pick them all off.



Jake Vin Valos.

Maxx wrote:

"Doesn't something seem suspicious to you, Jake?" Ryan thought-spoke to Jake maliciously "Johnny's a strong mutant. Very strong. Now, don't you think that if Johnny wanted to, he'd have been able to save Gabe?"

There were so many feels going on inside of Jake, he could barely even explain things anymore. His normally logical and cool/level headed attitude, with his emotions kept in check, was tossed aside. Only raw and unrestrained emotion (Specifically sadness) were dominating his thought process. Hell, he even thought he was going insane right now. Nothing really made sense anymore. Not without Gabriela at his side. So when the strange voice spoke to him, he totally disregarded his previous experience with Telepathy (Specifically, his time with Lin), and totally went with it. Jake was confused, more confused than he'll ever be. He was willing to believe anything right now as long as it sounded legit (Contrast to his untrusting and logical attitude before).

Jake thought-spoke-whatever, in response to Ryan. I don't really know anymore... But... Johnny's fast... Really fast.... And tough too... If there was anyone who could save Gabriela... It could be him.

Luciana "La Cordera" Rojas

Johnny's dorm. Eh. She wondered if the invitation was to stay here for the night-while Luce had no sexual intentions with that, there was a certain strength in numbers, much as La Cordera preferred to work alone. However, she could deal with a small group if it meant an exponentially higher chance at survival: not only would a potential attacker only be able to kill one of them before the others woke up, their combined strengths could likely overpower most. Luce may not have had flashy gifts like pyromancy, but as the mighty nations west of the Appalachians had learned, the guns hanging by her waist were very, very deadly. With Luce's gifts making them spin faster, guided towards their targets with unerring accuracy, she was a force to be reckoned with.

And speaking of reckoning, there was still the matter of the traitor to be settled. Luce was convinced of Johnny's innocence now-he was showing emotion, real emotion-she was no empath, but she could tell-and that was enough to establish that he hadn't set the Stasis Escapees free. Johnny wouldn't have unleashed the Colossus, and if he had, he wouldn't have guided it towards Gabe. No, that didn't add up. It did extend a bit of immunity to Gabe's relatives-her gut instinct said Emily. She might not have had evidence, but Luce had no problems taking her out regardless. Next step on their list was leaving her as a little scorch mark on the earth...just like Gabriela, eh?

Ooh, that was morbid. Even for Luce.

Luce motioned to light Johnny's cigar with her own lighter, but he did it himself. Hadn't noticed, probably. Well, if he didn't mind a little cancerous air being in his room, she was going to light up as well. A cigarette held between her teeth, Luce flicked the lighter open and ignited her own nicotine fix. "...agreed. In the heat of the moment, I can understand what you did. Now you understand the importance of keeping whoever it is alive, getting them to talk. I do not know who is the traitor, but I should warn you all of Emily...she is dangerous. Soc...sosh....sosheeopathic. I think that is it. Surprisingly unharmed. While we try to figure out who the traitor is, I have suggestion. The armory. You all may not require weapons, but they are not exactly going to hurt you, either. Armory, I imagine, has several things that may be useful. Anti-personnel mines, riot gear, ammunition-" it was, perhaps, somewhat unnerving that Luce's pronunciation of these words was perfect-"..the list goes on. I don't know what Emily does, exactly, but the next time we encounter her, I do not think she will be quite so fortunate. That is my proposal. Besides, if we do not get there, sooner or later, someone else will-this traitor would not hesitate to employ such weapons. I say we go, take what we need, and destroy the rest. Scorched earth, I think you Americans call it."

And that concludes: Act 7: The Fall comes Quick


Act 8: The Strangest Days have gone By


Day 4. 1:11 Pm


It has been a day since the incident at the Eye Factory. The weather is warmer than yesterday, and the sun is shining upon this tragedy known as the Othergrounds. It's recommended that the students wear something loose to keep them cool.


Drake, Victoria, Charles, & Lily.

Spoiler:

In the Training Hall...

The Blackmores (Plus Lily, who decided to join them) began their morning like any other day; training. Since they had to wait for the Eyes to find the Hangar, they had nothing else to do other than pass the time. People were dropping like flies, the only thing that the living could do was get stronger, so they can protect themselves and the weaker. The four started off jogging - Which basically became a d*ck measuring contest between Drake and Charles. They then moved on to the Training Hall, and started honing their powers and combat skills - Which also became a d*ck measuring contest. Then a literal d*ck measuring contest occurred - Which Drake lost. Now, they are doing some actual relevant training, after Drake discovered how to something new with his plasma form.

In the middle of the one of the Training rooms, was Drake Blackmore. Wearing one of his usual outfits. A large green camouflage jacket, with no shirt underneath, showing off his chest. He also wore matching camo-shorts. Like he usually has, he kept his tinted goggles on his face, over his eyes. He wore tan-gloves over his hands. To help prevent any unnecessary transformations. He stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed, an annoyed expression on his face, and a frown. He's still affected by last night, and will likely stay that way for the rest of his time here in hell. "... Alright. I guess I'm ready." Drake says, seemingly sounding like he had other things on his mind than the task at hand. A bluish-green glow encompassed his being. His skin, his clothes, his hair, were all glowing. Then a loud screeching sound came from him, like high-pressured gas was escaping. His body seemingly exploded into a thick cloud of plasma (With the same color as his ). When the plasma-cloud faded away, there was only Drake Blackmore in his plasma form. His entire body was enshrouded in the plasma, and his clothes were also incorporated into the transformation. He was seemingly made entirely out of plasma, but he isn't. The floor underneath him got really, really hot. "Now..."

Standing near him, a good distance away, were his two siblings, Victoria and Charles. Victoria was wearing her workout gear from days before. A grey hoodie, and grey sweat pants. She wore black sneakers on her feet. In either case, Victoria wasn't doing just as well as Drake emotionally and mentally. Especially after finding out from Drake that Hunter was killed. He brought up that the Valos were possibly the ones behind it, and in the process, brought up the ambiguity around who killed him (Either the people who attacked them, or the Valos). Right now, she figured that they should find out for themselves, later. Right now, Victoria was examining Drake, with her hand on her chin. A few objects (A training dummy, a water bottle, etc) were being telekinetically lifted. "Go ahead. We should be fine... This time..." Hinting at a previous incident.

Opposite to Victoria, on Drake's other side, Charles was standing. With a few burns from that previous incident, his clothes were burnt too. He wore a snow white hoodie, with short sleeves, and was up over his head. He wore a short-sleeved, diamond patterned sweater, that was colored brown. It was hidden under his hoodie. He wore jean-shorts, that appeared to be tattered. He had on his round, thin-framed, glasses, and an expression that told people that he's annoyed. "This time I'm a safe distance!" Charles says, near sarcastically.

Watching from afar, seemingly uninterested, is the last member of their little group: Carmen Santo, or Lily. She was leaning against the furthest wall, and had her arms crossed, watching the whole time they were training. Lily was tempted to ask if she could use one of them as a test dummy. But due to the unpredictable nature of her powers, she knew it'd be best not to. While Power Manipulation can be a dangerous ability if used correctly, Lily cannot do it correctly. Besides, she might mess up someone's power at a time of need. So for now, she was going to hang back and be their little guard. She can sense any Meta-human, regardless of their abilities, so it'd be near-impossible to get the drop on her. Unless they had teleportation or something. She was also observing the Blackmores. Watching the Meta-human energy within their flow, and surge whenever they activated their powers. Lily was wearing a black jacket, unzipped, with a white T-shirt underneath. She wore black jeans with a large leather belt, and a flashy metal belt buckle on it. She had on black finger-less gloves, with the knuckles exposed. For once, her hair wasn't in a pony-tail. It's purple color flowed in the wind.

On cue from both Charles and Victoria, Drake tries to use his brand new technique. "... Alright." He extends both of his hands forward, in sort of a triangle formation. The area around him started getting much hotter, as light amounts of plasma started floating in the air around him. That shroud of plasma got thicker and thicker, until it formed an orb around Drake. This orb got larger and larger, heating up the air around him. Soon enough a massive orb of pure plasma form around Drake. Going fifteen-feet in all directions. Making Drake nearly invisible underneath the orb. Drake made a loud grunting sound, indicating that he's struggling to keep the orb going. He was using his strength to keep this up and running. "If you're going to do your experiment crap, Toria, do it now!" Drake hissed, in a fashion that indicated that he's strained.

Not wanting to waste any time, Victoria went ahead with her experiments, to prove a few theories. She sent some of her projectiles through the field (Aiming around Drake). They went through the field - Instead of being stopped, like Victoria had hoped. While in the field, some of her projectiles were downright destroyed, while others only got damaged. "I don't think it's a shield in the direct sense... Well, it kinda is - But that isn't the point." She put her hand on her chin, and observed closely. "It's more of a field than a shield. It'll stop people from getting in close, and maybe some kinds of ranged attacks... Anything durable enough to take it will have no problem getting through... Which I doubt will be a lot, since Plasma is extremely hot."

Drake had reached his limit at this point. He had dropped the field of plasma and dropped to his knees. The orb of plasma around him quickly faded away and was gone soon enough. The plasma that comprised his being dimmed a bit. Until he rose back to his feet, and then the plasma returned to it's usual consistency. "Now..." Drake says. He has discovered his shield/field technique, that can be used with a few of his forms (Such as his electric form). Now he can defend to an even greater extent. Should the situation arise.

"Take five?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah." Drake answered.


Johnny K. Valos, & Sylvia L. Bertoose.


In the Headmaster's mansion...

"C'mon dammit. There has to be something here." Johnny says, while he (And Sylvia) tore apart a room full of files in the Headmaster's mansion. Luce proposed a very good idea for the next course of action. Finding the Armory, which in Johnny's eyes, could be a major blow to the Traitor if they destroy it (You don't get flash bangs from just ANYWHERE). It also wouldn't hurt to amp up on weapons, since the situation hasn't been any worse than it is now for the Valos. Gabe's dead. Jake disappeared after last night, and hasn't been heard from since. Because they killed Hunter, they're probably going to get a bit of trouble for that. Nonetheless, despite how bleak the situation is, Johnny will not give in. Until they bring the Traitor down, and leave here, then they'll have to move forward. The first place Johnny thought of was the Headmaster's mansion. So here they are. Going through the files of his destroyed office ((The one that Lin was in an act or so back)). The floor had collapsed in, so anything that couldn't take it was destroyed - Which included paper. But the Valos weren't going to stop, if they didn't find anything here, they would hit up the Administration building. Then the dorms to go through the teacher's things, and so on.

On the other side was the room, Sylvia was flying around, going through the papers much faster than Johnny. Having super-sonic speed. "Come on... Come on..." The death of Gabriela had changed Sylvia quite a bit. Instead of an annoying twat who swears a lot, she was more mature, sensible, reasonable... But still has a habit of swearing quite often. Back to subject, Sylvia came across a large, and folded, piece of paper. She quickly grabbed it and unfolded it, and her face lit up with glee as she examined it. It was a map of the Sub-basement. Which was a near complete map of the Sub-basement, and was detailed enough to list every last tunnel. A few ((Plot essential)) areas (Like Stasis) weren't marked. "Johnny! Look at this!" She called out to Johnny, stretching the map out.

Johnny immediately dropped whatever he was doing and ran over to Sylvia. Quickly yanking the map out of her hands. "This is exactly what I'm looking for." He says, this is the first good news he's received all day. Now, they can put their plans into motion. Head into... Even then, it'll be hard maneuvering without a proper guide. Johnny was certain that Dragonfly won't help them. "Alright, we're going to head into the sub-basement soon as possible."

Quickly folding the map, Johnny placed it into his coat and ran out the door to the room. "Luce! Come here!" Johnny called, it was difficult not announcing what they found. He didn't care if he got the attention of someone else. Because if someone else does pop up, then Johnny will politely send them on their way and move on. If they're hostile, well... With Sylvia by his side, and this place being relatively close quarters, they should have no problem dispatching whoever comes their way.

Crystal was walking along side Lexy, heading for the training hall. The duo actually had a growing friendship since the day before, as Lexy had stepped in to protect her during the fight with the Stasis escapees and when Crystal had attempted to cheer up the younger girl. Currently Crystal was wearing a light blue tank top with a light-weight white jacket and a pair of blue jean knee-knockers. Her hair was up, as usual, and she was wearing her glasses. Crystal had decided that she needed to learn to fight and keep others from fighting her battles, so she was going to train. Lexy, after being asked by Crystal, reluctantly agreed to join. Crystal knew that Lexy was still depressed about the recent events, so she decided to try to cheer her up. While Lexy did seem to be acting normal again, there was an atmosphere of sadness about her almost unnoticeable, but Crystal could still sense it. Some may say she had a "motherly instinct" about her.

Lexy was, in fact, still depressed though getting better. She was chatting and smiling, but mostly it was acting. Her attire for the day was a plain white sphagetti strap sun dress and a bright orange jacket. She also had on some orange flip flops and her curly hair was being kept out of her face with an orange hair clip. They walked into the Training hall and Lexy smiled at the Blackmores and Lily. "Hey, guys. What's up? Crystal came to train so that she can, like, do some fighting and I just chose to join."

-
Faith
-

Faith was still laying in bed in her pajamas (which were basically some light blue bed-shorts and a grey tank top) Her hair was surprisingly not in a mess, though such a word would describe her right now. One hand was tightly holding something silver with a chain- Jack's dogtag necklace. She had some eyes bury him last night and left a stone on his grave with his name and a message written in permanent marker. She still couldn't believe he saved her and died. Faith stared at the ceiling, silently grieving.

Luciana "La Cordera" Rojas and Olivia "Livvy" Averton

"Hold for a moment, Jonathan" Luce called back, her voice sounding somewhat happier and more cheerful than usual. A few moments later the lonely hallways of the Headmaster's Mansion were echoing with her boots running along, stepping over the piles of the rubble without a single misstep. She skidded to a stop in the room where the others, a rather un-Luce grin on her face and a excited look in her eye, the energy levels of which Luce only displayed during a fight.

Livvy was giggling as well, flickers of green and blue light dancing around her shoulders like a heavenly cape and happily wearing Luce's cowboy hat. "Again! Again!" The energy between the two was...natural.

"Not now, Starlight. What did you find, Johnny? I found something very useful myself. "Luce's tone became a bit more serious, although she still seemed rather playful and...surprisingly young. The scars on her face seemed like they might've been acquired from some terrible accident-one that she laughs about now-rather than...however she had gotten them. Besides that, Luce's energy...hell, as much as she talked about her brother, it made one wonder if she had a sister. What had happened to her.

Sir Teddy-he was now dressed as a medieval knight-was curiously sticking his head out of the back of Livvy's bookbag, and Livvy periodically stuck a hand behind her pink-highlighted hair to make sure he was still safe. "Lucy who are these people?"

Luce quickly introduced her comrades, then reached two lean, strong arms up and hefted Livvy up, setting her down on the ground. "Everyone, this is Starlight, my new friend. Starlight, I think I dropped a hair clip back in the hallway, could you go find it?"

Livvy happily went on the snipe hunt, turning and running back into the hallway. Her exceptionally keen night vision would mean she wouldn't be distracted long, but Luce didn't need much time. She adopted a more serious tone when she talked, but she couldn't hide the fact she'd been having fun.

"Quickly, before whatever you have to say...we would be wise to take this girl with us. She does not look intimidating but...something about her..." Luce frowned, thinking of the words to say. "She does not get lost. Her vision is better than mine...not just because of, you know," she muttered, nudging at the eyepatch. "Taking her with us to the armory could be...beneficial."

Livvy yelped and the hallway she was in briefly flared with golden light; Luce was turned with her revolvers primed at the open door before the girl's scream was over. She stepped into the hallway, out of which Livvy came scampering, looking rather panicked. She clutched onto Luce's leg, flickering like a miniature sun. "...sorry. I couldn't find your hair clip, I just thought I saw something." The few days she'd spent on the Othergrounds had left rather...profound effects on the girl.

Luce gently stroked some of Livvy's hair out of her face, wincing a bit when she made contact with the girl's skin. Small tendrils of smoke were coming up from Luce's pants, and she politely broke contact with the girl until Livvy, flickering and trembling, calmed down. "It is alright. Nothing will happen to you with us." Luce glanced at Johnny as if to say, Let me hear what you found, but perhaps keep the bad news to a minimum with her around.

Drake, Victoria, Charles Blackmore, and Lily.


After Drake had tired himself out, he quickly moved himself to the nearest bench and sat down. He rested his behind on the reinforced bench, and slumped down. Placing his elbows on his knees, and letting his hands hang. He quickly reverted back into his human form, with the plasma quickly dimming until it was all gone. His skin glowed a bluish-green for a few seconds, before it faded away. The area was a little hot to say the least. Because of his plasma-form was immensely hot, and the heat tends to spread. He wasn't in the best of moods right now. So a "break" was in order. Hopefully until everything blows over and starts to get better.

"So, how are you holding up?" Victoria asks, sitting down next to Drake on the warm bench. "You seem... 'Out of it.'"

"That doesn't begin to even describe it." Drake says.

"If only there was a psychiatrist left here..." Victoria moans.

"Hmph. Weren't you training to become a shrink before you came here?" Drake decided it was best that he just avoids this conversation and just talks about something else.

Before they could continue, a friend interrupts. "Yo Blackmore." Lily starts off. She was sensing two Metas approaching, one weak, and one mid-tier. While it could have been nothing, (And even if it is a fight; the Blackmores can handle it, they are quite powerful) Lily knew it's stupid to ignore them. "We got company." She then points in the direction of the door. At this point, after this has happened literally a million times, she was less then worried.

Everyone in the room looked where Lily pointed. With burning intensity and an ominous feeling in them. Expecting either a fight, or a friendly face... To reveal Crystal and Lexy. Two known allies of the Blackmores (Or the "group" in general)

Celo wrote:

"Hey, guys. What's up? Crystal came to train so that she can, like, do some fighting and I just chose to join."

They were relieved to say the least. They eased up and returned back to their usual dispositions: Dark, gloomy and sad. They didn't look to be happy to see the pair. Not in the sense that they didn't. They just weren't happy to begin with today.

"Yeah," Drake blankly says, "You can join us." There wasn't too much for them to help Lexy and Crystal with. Since their powers are non-offensive, there wasn't too much. Unless they want help unlocking potential abilities within their range. But, Drake has been in plenty of fist fights. While just fists may be useless against people who can weaponize sonic booms, and fart black holes. It'll come in handy being good at hand-to-hand. "Hmm... I think we can help ya'. Mostly me." Drake stood straight up and walked over to them. He was tempted to smoke a cigarette - But was reminded that he has none (I know what's next on my to-do list). "Since I'm our best fighter." Drake spoke the words confidently, like he was certain that he's the best. Which is actually true, out of all the Blackmores, he's the strongest. Now, that's beyond the point. "... What are your powers actually?"

Johnny K. Valos.


What...? Was the first thing that popped up into Johnny's head. He wasn't in the mood to make any stupid jokes (If he was, he would make a comment about Luce's motherly side). Everything here was just so confusing. Why was Luce bringing along this little girl...? He recalled her being the little girl that the group found in the sewer two days back. There was one thing that Johnny disliked, and it was little annoying b*stards. Her name's apparently "Starlight" and that didn't help Johnny's negative opinions of her. However, Luce put, stretching it here, faith in his decisions, it'd only be fair to give her's a shot. "Found a map." Johnny said, his tone was slightly annoyed. Seeing that they are alone, he reached into his pocket and presented it to her, unfolding it. He had one end clenched tightly in one hand, and the other on the opposite side. Showing the contents of the sub-basement off to Luce. "Could be useful" Johnny's head darted away to the side. "... And I'm not sure we should bring along a child, if something goes wrong then it'll be on us... However, I'll trust your judgement on this matter, though."

The little girl was flickering a color like she was a goddamn sun now. Johnny had little idea of what the girl's powers were... But he knew that if she was going to cooperate, it'd be best to get on her good side. And fast. Johnny knelt down forward and gave the girl a warm smile. "Now where are my manners, hi there little girl, I'm Johnny... That's a, uh... Nice little bear you gots there. Is he a noble knight?" Totally not creepy. Not at all... Now in addition to being a scumbag, people probably start to think I'm a diddler too.


Lin C. Kentt, & Jake V. Valos.

Spoiler:

"It's... Sorry, I can't begin to describe it..." Jake says in a somber tone. Slumped against a tree, with his legs folded, and his arms wrapped around his folded legs. Tears were running down his face, as he hadn't taken the news of Gabriela's death that well. To the point where he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. There was little comfort in his sociopathic siblings. They were already leaving him behind to move on to their next evil schemes, while Jake was here all alone - Not alone, he has Lin. He split off from the rest of the Valos last night. Staying alone in his dorms, until he managed to get the gall to leave it and find Lin. They found a quiet spot by the lake to go talk. "... I can't explain how I feel. I'm missing someone who was more important than anyone. She and I... Fought... A lot... But..." Jake faded off, tightening up his body. He was unsure of what to say. Since Jake wasn't in the best of all states, he wasn't too concerned about his clothing. All he had on was a white tank-top, jeans, and his oval-shaped glasses. No fancy outfits or hats. Just that.

"Jake, I will be here for you, helping you through this." Lin says to Jake, trying to let him know that she's his friend. Lin can read his thoughts, digging into his mind, and understand his pain quite well. His sadness was immense. Lin had a feeling that he will never be able to recover from this, and that he's scarred for life. She would be too if her sister was dead (If she even had a sister). For now, her main concern was making sure that Jake didn't get injured. He's quite vulnerable right now, and he could easily be picked off by the Traitor or any other devious party. Lin was wearing a tan-jacket, buttoned up, (With a white t-shirt underneath) and blue jeans. She had a white flower placed neatly in her hair.

"Yeah, I don't think I can get over this... Even with you...." Jake says, with a sigh. "Look... Gabe... While I questioned her from time... Was the one person... One person..." Jake sighed again. "I just don't have the power by my side forever..."

"I... You can't just give up here. There's simply too much at stake to give in. You are just as necessary as everyone else to the collective cause of escaping here. And... You have me by your side." Lin delivered her speech. With an uplifting smile on her face. A smile that tried to tell Jake that there is indeed hope for him - Hope for everyone. In all this pain and destruction, that hope he was slowly gaining was immediately lost when he learned that Gabe was killed. And it was Lin's mission to give him back all that hope.

"... I don't really see the point in going forward, honestly. I..." Jake says in a somber tone. His newfound cynicism was making it hard to see the point in what Lin was trying to tell him. "... Now I know that Gabe is something I definitely need to go forward. When she was by my side... She gave me a bit of her own power. Her confidence, her help, her fire - To help me overcome everything." Jake started off. "Years back I was nothing but a no-named tool that everyone took advantage of... She gave me a bit of assertiveness, her confidence, and helped me... Become a better person, the sad boy I am today. And in turn I helped her. She was reckless, stupid... I helped her... Not be like that." Jake tensed up again, and looked down at the ground, instead of Lin. "When I lost her, I seemed to have lost everything she gave me... I'm back to square one. It's only a matter of time before I become a doormat."

That warm and friendly smile on Lin's face got wider. She was trying her best to help him, and while she seems to be making no progress: She isn't giving up. Jake is her single closest friend here, and it's in her best interests to keep him going. "Gabriela may be gone... But that does not mean you should disregard everything she taught you. There's a bit of her inside of you, and it'll always be there. No one will step on you, and you certainly aren't alone." Lin spoke to Jake in an uplifting tone. "You have Johnny, Sylvia, Drake, Lily, Crystal, and others... Gabriela will only truly be dead when you give up. Then everything that you did together, everything that you two have learned, will be lost. Forever."

At this point, Jake was starting to see the light in this. And starting to see something else. He was honestly developing feelings for Lin. But there was still plenty more to come before he really becomes the Jake he should be. "I... Never thought about it that way.... Perhaps...." Jake faded off again.

"You and Gabriela have a mother and a father. They will never know what happened to Gabriela if you do not get out of here - And every parent must know that they've outlived their child. Do you think you can do that? Get out of here for her? Get out of here for everyone who's fallen?" Lin asks Jake.

"... Yes." Jake says in the same sorrowful tone he's been speaking the whole time. "I can."

The pair were by the lake, a few meters away, in the woods that surrounded it. The area they were in had full view of the lake. The animal types were in view too, but the pair didn't pay them any mind. However, Jake had made both of them invisible, but there was nothing stopping someone from hearing.

Lexy wasn't sure who Drake's question was directed at, so she went ahead and answered for both of them with a pasted smile. "Well, you already know that Crystal heals and I have perfect aim." Crystal seemed uncomfortable, but Lexy didn't notice. "We both, like, can't fight and need to practice. Actually, I think I mostly need a weapon, y'know?"

Crystal had let Lexy say her only good power, remaining quiet as she examined everyone. There was a definate atmosphere of sadness around everyone. Nevermind that-she needs to train. "Well, I couldn't protect myself that well against a meta, but it's good to know some fighting tips for next time. My power, in truth, is more psionic in the enhance area. I can only enhance the growth of cells and such by concentrating and visualizing. I don't think there's any other ability within my partial psionic abilities." She had a feeling the statement probably confused at least one person- that one person being Lexy, who had a confused, shocked expression on her face.

-
Faith
-
Faith sat up and dried off her face, which was wet with tears. She was done weeping, for now, and slipped Jack's necklace around her neck, its lightning bolt complimenting her grandmother's gold necklace. She was still in a sadenned mood and didn't feel like changing, so she just slipped on her jacket and some sandals, grabbing her purse before heading out. There wasn't much to carry around anymore, true, but Faith foundno reason in having the accessory if she didn't use it. She walked down the hallway, unsure of her exact destination until she passed Nick's door.

Faith paused and took a step backwards and turned to face his door, hesitantly raising her hand and knocking. "Nick- you there?" she called quietly, as not to attract unwanted attention. She wasn't sure how she was going to react if he answered. He wasn't there yesterday when they fought- was that good or bad? Faith was unsure. If Nick didn't answer, she would leave just like yesterday.

Luciana "La Cordera" Rojas and Olivia "Livvy" Averton

Luce raised an eyebrow-well, perhaps she raised both, the eyepatch concealed her other one a bit-at Johnny's disapproving tone. She walked over to look at the map and leaned in close, whispering at a level she was confident Livvy couldn't hear, "This little girl is something else. Trust me. She can guide us through the sub-basement. And..." she glanced at Livvy, who was looking at the door with a rather worried look on her face, trembling a bit. The flickering light had begun to die down, but was still barely visible, like a hint of golden St. Elmo's fire. "quite honestly, darling, I think she may be stronger than you. Stronger than me. Stronger than any of us. Far better to have her on our side than against us..." Luce's cheerfulness was gone, a cold, calculating tone laced with her exotic accent remaining: she viewed little Livvy, clutching a teddy bear and wearing a Disney princesses backpack, as a significant threat.

She broke away from Johnny after sparing the map a moment or two of observation-she, of course, couldn't read any of the words on it, which made it rather useless to Luce specifically, but as a whole, it would prove quite useful. Very soon, they could breach the armory and reap its harvest. Luce's sixguns had held up well over the years, and she wasn't about to cast aside such useful tools, but there were always improvements out there. Emily, she mused, would not fare so well against a hundred armor-piercing rounds, delivered straight into her eye socket within the span of a few seconds. She didn't think anyone would fare very well against that.

Livvy squeaked a little when Johnny spoke to her, but quickly calmed down-he had, rather masterfully, found the Achilles heel of Livvy's antisocial behavior: Sir Teddy. She beamed for a minute, rocking the bear back and forth. "Yay! You guessed it! Lucy couldn't figure it out."

Luce smiled subtly, making it unclear as to whether or not she was humoring Livvy or really couldn't figure out what the bear was.

"Nice to meet you Johnny! My real name is Olivia Averton but everybody just calls me Livvy and Lucy calls me Starlight." Livvy rocked back and forth on her feet as she talked, the initial shyness and fear melting away rather quickly the more she spoke. It was clear the girl was full of energy-not just the flickering golden lights kind, but the playful youth of childhood. There was no doubt about Livvy's willingness to go on an adventure, at any rate.

"Johnny, are we leaving for the sub-basement right away or are we stopping for prov...provisions first? Might be wise to bring food-" in case we're there longer than we expect- "...in case Starlight wants a snack later on." Luce had, notably, tied her vaquero jacket around her waist by the sleeves, concealing the gunbelt for the time being. Given her hypervigilant nature, she could likely still reach the guns easily (or may have hidden them away somewhere else entirely) but Livvy didn't need to know about them for now.