Lost Child/Chapter 4
Before everyone, the arena is overgrown along the edges by strange dark and sickly vines and the arena roof is blown completely off. The bottom rows of the stadium's seating has been sheared off, into a giant pit, down below filled by human flesh and body parts that are weeping open. A strong stench of sex permeates the entire place, while the open 'mouth' in the centre has a giant tongue-like flagella sticking up into the air. It appears on the defensive as a small black figure is bounding across the surface toward the centre.
Sorien watches as Tag bounds across the thing. "Well, that's not something you see everyday..."
Apostasy grimaces as she looks around. "Ugh.. this is... disgusting. We need to end this thing." She spots Tag running out across the surface. "Huh. Go Tag?"
Cilan looks curiously towards the black creature, "Huh.. wonder what Taggart is doing.. though I guess it probably involves killing stuff.." looking to Apostasy she offers a small chuckle and agrees, "Yeah.. go Tag!"
Sparhawk shakes hir head to keep it clear. "This is among the many things I wholly disapprove of." Shi checks the Laser Pistol OF DOOM for charge, as it seemed to help last time.
The figure reaches the centre and dives in with its claws wide open, disappearing somewhere down into the 'mouth' and vanishing from sight. A few moments later it pulls the tongue in and the mouth -closes-
Sorien yips, "Yeah... I think... (She swallows) Okay, worse than meat-pond..."
REDACTED shivers and tries to hold her breath from the awful stink.
Apostasy looks at the others. "So. What now?"
Sorien yips, "Spar... Could we... Use the vials we have and funnels with your pack-power... To counter infect this thing? To disrupt it?"
Cilan thinks for a moment, scratching at the back of her head and she adds, "Probably.. follow Taggart? He looks like he knows where he's going.." finished, she offers a shrug, and leaves it at that.
Near the entrance the creatures that had previously paused from the attacking tongue, move forward and into the arena, and each moves towards one of the holes and with a growing erection they begin to mate.
Solixis holds Ally close. "This smells really bad..."
Ally holds tight to Sol and remains silent, completely in terror and overwhelmed by the whole thing.
Apostasy makes a disgusted face as she sees what the creatures are doing. "Oh, ewww. Seriously, people, we need to do something. All those in favour of following Tag?"
Sparhawk glances over at Apo. "This is your lead, it's your quest. Any indication as to where your hostage is being kept? Tag may not be looking for the same thing we are."
Sorien digs into her bag, coming up with a small blue jar. She opens it, and a VERY strong, familiar scent wafts out. "This'll kill the smell, mostly." With that, she puts a dab of the noxema on her nose, sneezing once after.
Apostasy shakes her head. "Nothing. Except that she's probably somewhere in the middle of all... this." She sweeps a hand around.
The noises the creatures make is disturbing, and after orgasming, they look exhausted but continue about their mating. Many of them collapsing before long while still tied with the thing.
Cilan shudders at the thought of Kale being in the middle of this place, but remains silent, instead looking to Apostasy almost expectantly.
Sorien offers the jar around. "What about disrupting it? Would that work, Spar?
The collapsed creatures begin to dissolve into the flesh, turning into little pieces and then flowing down into the opening. Those departed are soon replaced by another waiting patiently for their turn.
Sorien's ears go back. "We have to do SOMETHING."
REDACTED says, "Are they feeding it, or being called for some reason? This just doesn't make any sense." She turns away looking sick, but manages to keep her stomach.
Sorien blinks. "You're kidding. He's indestructible. We... Aren't."
Sparhawk shrugs. "I have never tried to unmake a pack before. What are the odds that it would strike back at me? I can try...but guarantee nothing.
While everyone is distracted, some of the dissolving creatures remains begin to flow off into a single collection, those with good eyesight can see it's made up of small wiggling creatures, worm or centipedelike.
Sorien yips, "Hm. Maybe just use what vials we got with funnels to infect it? ...Gods, what is that?"
Sparhawk peers at the wriggler. "It's going somewhere else. I'd lay odds someone is running that finger of the black beasts, and wish to follow it."
Cilan decides to take a better look at the collection, and removes one of the rifles from her shoulder, with that done, she drops to a kneeling position, and brings the scope to her eye, peering inquisitively; Her finger resting comfortably on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.
The flowing parts move towards a wall while coalescing into a single form, before becoming tentacle-like, and then it disappears into the sewer entrances that have been blown open.
Apostasy eyes the tentacle thing warily. "To hell with it. Everything appears to be centred below ground level. We're going into the sewers, people."
Cil manages to see it closer up, the little creatures are tiny tentacles, that flow together to create the larger thing.
Sorien yips, "Right. Ugh."
Solixis nods, looking to Ally for support. "Sounds like it's our only choice. We'd have to go there eventually."
Sorien yips, "Lead on, sweetie. "
Sparhawk readies tools. "Once more unto the architectural breach, my friends! Who needs a ride to ground level?"
Cilan shakes her head at something, shrugging soon after, and she returns the rifle back to her shoulder, looking next to Apostasy she nods and says, "Alright, sounds like a plan.." the dragoness then getting ready to simply follow the groups lead.
Ally cries, "Not the sewers, no one ever comes back..." She looks truly terrified.
Solixis holds Ally tighter. "You made it once. We can do it again."
Cilan regally proclaims, "Heh, well I say we change that fact, and become the first to enter, kick the ass of whoever started this, and leave again with any hostages the cult has.."
Sorien yips, "I don't wanna touch that... Thing. "
REDACTED says softly, "Neither do I love, but I will carry you so you don't have to."
Apostasy starts walking down the steps. "Come on, we need to move already."
Sparhawk patpats hir taurbody. "One passenger yote, then." Shi then leans over the ledge to peer and plan a flight path.
Sorien follows, but starts fooling with a few vials and a funnel; she's rigging it so that she can just slap it against the target and have it inject.
The group heads down into the arena, the steps stained with old spilled beverages as well as stains more recent of a different nature. They head forward until the edge just drops off, a good thirty feet down below lies the flesh of the creature.
Apostasy grumbles as she looks at the drop. "Stupid lack of wings. Could just fly down there otherwise."
Solixis hovers over the edge, incredibly nervous. She does NOT want to be the guinea pig for what that flesh does to people.
REDACTED sighs, and decides to go first and just drops down off the edge. Her fall is short, and her heavy weight smacks against the surface, it bowing downwards like a waterbed. She falls to one knee, recovering as the fluid-like response slowly begins to settle.
Sparhawk shouts, "Room for another!" to Apostasy, wings half-spread and one paw on the edge.
Apostasy grins and quickly clambers up onto Spar's back.
Sorien follows REDACTED, not willing to let her go alone; but she scrambles down the side rather than dropping.
Solixis Joins the others, desperately not touching the smelly flesh.
"Orrr... room for another another," Spar mutters as shi leaps into the enclosed sky. The flight goes no less than ten feet close to the wobbly surface until necessary.
Cilan drops down, her wings flared out to allow the large dragoness to glide easily, and nearly soundlessly to the surface.
A few moments after REDACTED recovers from the fall, she looks around her vision coming into focus, and she sees far off vaginas begin to spew those little black creatures. She calls out "Hurry up! We have to move quickly!" She holds out her hands for Sorien to jump.
Sorien jumps into REDACTED' arms.
REDACTED catches her mate and doesn't stop to look, knowing the rest can fly, and just moves straight for one of the jagged open sewer entrances, where the creature had went before.
Apostasy points at the nearest sewer entrance, the one REDACTED is headed for. "In there, Spar!"
Sorien yips, "I have such a bad feeling about this..."
Solixis follows, holding Ally's face to her chest, not wanting to scare the girl more.
Sparhawk soars over, backpack aglow with nanite power. "Gonna stay on and keep your ankles clean when we get there?" Shi folds hir wings and flies by mere science power when entering the tunnel that isn't fourteen feet wide.
Sorien looks around, trying to scan for possible ambush.
The swarm begins to search along the surface for whatever disturbed it. REDACTED having exited into the tunnel, the surface still rippling from her impact.
Apostasy chuckles. "Well, since you offered, I'll stay here. Stay close behind REDACTED."
The sewer is unsurprisingly dark, it is putrescent, although the expected smell has long ago been replaced by the vile stench of the creature itself. There's a thin layer of fluid on the sewer bottom, but it's otherwise wide, almost like a smaller subway tunnel.
Sorien yips, "I'm gonna dump a vial of nanites on those things if they get too close... "
Solixis keeps herself small and clutching Ally. Her own eyes allow her to see a bit better than normal, but still not amazingly in this gloom.
Apostasy curses. "Agh, I'm totally blind down here! Anyone got a light?"
Sparhawk grimaces. "This town could use a good flushing. Big storm drain monster...although swept-out-to-sea isn't a great thing either." The glowsticks in hir hands and the blue glow on hir back help cut the darkness, and shi hands one orange stick back to the human on hir back.
Remembering something from an earlier mission, Cilan pulls out a small vial of Builder Nanites, and shakes it, the glowing substance offering a soft luminescent glow around the room, "Here.." is all that is said as she offers the vial to Apostasy.
Apostasy grins as she holds up the two orange glowing items, casting a dim light around her. "Well, not great, but it's something. Keep moving, people."
REDACTED moves forward cautiously, the tunnel crisscrosses, and the tentacle isn't in sight. With the sheer number that had attacked them earlier it's a little surprising to see it empty.
Sorien yips, "This is SO a trap..."
Apostasy scowls at Sorien. "Yes, Sor, we're aware. It has been a trap since we went to my house. Now please stop complaining about the obvious."
Sorien yips, "Sorry for being nervous..."
There is a door to the side of the sewer, strangely out of place to exist inside a sewer at all. Tunnels also going off away from the rose garden as well as circling around off toward the other big arena.
Sparhawk mutters something agreeing with Apo, floating in the air as shi glances around. "Lost the target, let's try and go down some more."
REDACTED comforts her scolded mate, while her eyes search, not used to not being able to rely on her sense of smell. Her ears twitch above straining to hear, but there aren't any sounds in the distance.
Solixis continues to look around. "Ally, you got any directions that might help us?"
Cilan reacts to Soriens comment by pulling her twin handguns from their respective holsters, and holds them in a readied position.
Sorien shakes her head, watching and listening carefully; she stays close to REDACTED. "That door would be a good bet."
Apostasy nods. "Try the door."
Ally looks completely helpless at the moment. She has a gun that she has pulled out, and whimpers, looking around in the darkness terrified.
Sparhawk sidles midairshly over to the door and gives a firm tug, just to see if it's actually locked; if so, there will be violence upon it and nearly inevitable opening.
Cilan makes a small gesture as Sparhawk nears the door, enveloping hir and some in the proximity with a wave of distortion, offering any protection from possible hostilities.
The door, is open and opens with no trouble. It's a concrete sealed basement room, almost like a bunker.
Sorien glances in past Spar.
The room is similar in nature to the one in Apo's basement. No bed, but there are handcuffs along the wall.
All sorts of torture equipment as well laying on small tables.
Apostasy shudders as she sees the room. "Ok. He's here. Lovely. Can we please not be at this room anymore now?"
Solixis looks in to see if there is a door out of that room on the other side.
In the darkness, Apostasy recognizes and shivers at the sound of her father's voice, "What, my dearest Selene is shy all of a sudden?" Although he can't be seen anywhere and the echoing tunnel it can be hard to make out the direction.
Apostasy whimpers a little at the sound of the voice, shaking her head and covering her ears.
Sorien whispers, "Well... .Shit."
Sorien tries to focus on where the voice came from, large ears swivelling to lock in.
Sparhawk peers around too, frowning. "I suppose I could try to enslave the entire thing to my will, It's not that different than anything I have done in the past." Hir voice is pitched to echo back, taunting being the first birdy instinct.
Solixis gulps, listening for a direction.
The disembodied voice says softly, "I will let your friend go free my sweet daughter if you put yourself back in my protection willingly my dear. All you have to do is enter the room."
Apostasy cringes at that, and then speaks, her voice shaking. "Sh-show yourself first."
Cilan adds to Apostasy’s comment with a brash sounding, "Or are you too big a coward to show yourself?"
He emerges from the shadow into the light, tall, chiselled features, ever so slightly balding. He says, "I've held up my end, my dear child." And he grins, widely.
Sorien yips, "Lies. "
Apostasy whispers into Spar's ear briefly as she slips off hir back.
Sparhawk peers suspiciously at this apparent human, breathing the noxious air in to sort out all the signals. "Why are you here, and not everywhere?"
Apostasy stands next to Spar. "Where is she?"
Sorien palms the altered funnel and keeps it out of sight.
"So your friends can hurt me, and you can betray my trust? I think not." Completely ignoring Sparhawk's address, he quietly replies to Apostasy.
Apostasy shakes her head. "Let her go first, or I'm going nowhere."
Solixis keeps Ally close, not sure what to do. A hostage situation is NOT what she expected in terms of traps.
Sorien whispers to REDACTED. "Keep an eye behind us, sweetie."
"This wasn't a negotiation." His ire raising a bit, "Selene dear, you can't expect me to let you go free in such a dangerous place."
Apostasy steps back from doorway. "Then clearly you don't want me very much, do you?"
REDACTED moves away in disgust, toward the other side of the group, looking back out into the the stadium. As she's walking she almost stumbles as the earth rumbles below, jerking suddenly like an earthquake.
He steps towards Apostasy, reaching out a hand toward her face, saying "My dear child, you know how much your father loves you."
Apostasy steps back again, a trembling hand pushing his away. "Prove it. Let Kale go first."
Solixis rolls her eyes. "I doubt he does."
Sparhawk raises an eyebrow at the floor shi refuses to touch. "Pools of blood and flesh I have been taught not to leap into. Excuse me..." The very large gryphon begins moving toward the doorway, a nanite haze rising around hir body.
He sighs, and then snaps a finger. The rumbling from before gets worse, and REDACTED cries out as a bunch of the strange little swarming things coalesce onto the tunnel entrance towards them, the mass pulling together quickly into a large shape.
(Sori OOCily asks how far Apo's father is from her - 3 to 4 feet is the answer; She has a funnel injector overloaded with palmetto roach nanites ready.)
Sparhawk spins at the movement, leaping up the stand on the wall above the doorway. Assuming the constituent parts don't turn into Kale, or carry the hostage into the open, Spar will swarm down into the room with Forget Steel swarming around severely inconveniencing the restraints in the room.
Cilan quickly changes her target, from the father to the mass, handguns pointed at it, though no bullet is fired, even if she was caught off guard by the new arrival.
The creatures do separate, slowly peeling open revealing a familiar dragon arm, then peel further, revealing more of Kale.
Solixis flares up with marsh fire, almost daring the creatures to come forward.
Sorien watches Apo's father, and is ready with her concealed attack.
Apostasy glances over at Kale, and then looks back to her father. "Someone check her."
Solixis blinks in surprise when she sees Kale.
Cilan nods affirmatively, replying by both holstering the weapons and saying over her shoulder, "On it.." finished she moves over to the mass, and checks Kale, to see if she is safe, and secure.
The little creatures fall back off her, and disappear below leaving her still on the ground. Kale's passed out, but breathing softly.
Apostasy gives Spar a meaningful look as she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and steps into the room.
Apostasy's father smiles brightly at his daughter, "So my dear, if she goes safely free, will I have you to accompany me?"
"Delightful!" he says, and follows after her.
Sorien yips, "Apo?"
Apostasy doesn't look back. "I made a deal, Sor..."
Solixis gulps. "Apos! NO!" she tries to grab for her mate.
Cilan grips her unconscious love and pulls Kale closer to the assembled group, "Apo.. what.. what are you doing, sis?" a look of concern brushes at her features as she notices her enter the room.
Sparhawk eyes Cilan's hasty check, then swarms down into the room as planned, though with the metal disassembler program fading. "Sometimes I like being ignored. It makes me feel...insouciant."
Sorien yips, "He's lying. Shi's under his control still."
REDACTED bristles at this, her eyes going cold and dark. She can't contain herself anymore and charges at Apostasy's father when his back is turned. She has a blade out before anyone can see it.
Solixis charges in after Apostasy, tears in her eyes, trying to catch the former dragoness and hold her tight, never letting her go.
Cilan grins at REDACTED's initiative, though says nothing, knowing any word may give the attack away, and Apostasy's father wouldn’t return to hell where he belongs.
Ally is sitting quietly in horror, she has a gun out, not really sure what to do in the situation. She bends over and asks Cilan if there's anything she can help with.
Sparhawk barks out, "Cut not the fingers when the heart is your target, Void known as REDACTED!" Shi is otherwise inside the room of horrors looking around with grim interest from the ceiling.
Sorien, not certain what to do, turns and watches for the likely counterstrike.
Cilan doesn’t notice Ally's question, instead concentrating on REDACTED, perhaps preparing even herself for a counter attack if the first attack does not succeed.
Apostasy stands in the middle of the room, eyes squeezed shut, shaking and hugging herself tightly.
REDACTED sword enters through the man's chest and out his front. He stops dead in his tracks, and looks down at the gaping blade that hangs out of his heart, REDACTED having targeted quite perfectly.
Where there should be blood, there is nothing, the man looks down almost in surprise at the attack, and touches the sharp blade for a moment. He shrugs, and continues to walk forward. REDACTED still holding on the blade slides out as he walks. Her nostrils flare as she stares in disbelief.
Sorien mumbles, "I didn't think it'd be that easy..."
The lecherous man continues toward Apostasy, pretty much ignoring what just happened to him.
Solixis hugs Apostasy tightly, using herself as a shield from the evil man claiming to be her mate's father.
While still kneeling beside Kale, Cilan pulls the trench knife, and throws it the razor sharp blade at Apostasy's father, the weapon aimed at his skull.
Sparhawk sighs and pops out an empty vial from hir collector in preparation for harvesting a new compass...then makes a 'huh' noise at the lack of reaction. "If that's a fringe benefit of this horde, I might need to conquer it after all." The haze resumes, with intent to destroy every tool of evil in the concrete room, separating each atom from the next.
The blade strikes the man with a thud, and sticks into him, deep in his skull, but he continues onward, and says, voice a bit more raspy, "Oh how long I've waited for this."
Sorien yips, "... Dammit. Let’s see what THIS does. (Sori dodges forward and slams the injector home into Apo's supposed-father!)"
Cilan roars into the torture room, "Sis, you're not that weak girl anymore.. show him that.. fight him.. kill him, show him your rage! Show him the rage that could tear an MSPA into pieces!"
The man finally reacts to being injected, the nanites causing his own to react strangely, and he begins to separate, sloshing into those small tentacle things. They swarm towards Apostasy.
Sorien yips, "Gyah!"
Solixis continues holding tight. "Be strong. For me. For Kale. For everyone here. We believe in you. If you don't believe in yourself, believe in us, then."
Apostasy finally reacts, scrambling away from the swarm of tentacles, taking Sol with her.
REDACTED tries to hack at the mass with her blade, but only cuts off chunks of the writhing creatures and not really touching the mass.
Sparhawk laughs and chirps a few bars from 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' while smashing down from the ceiling, hexataurs the natural enemy of things that are small and squishy! Shi switches to a 'lie lie lie' song on ground level.
Sorien looks back to Kale and Cil, knowing that somehow this is gonna get worse.
Solixis scrambles away herself, not wanting to find out what those tentacle things are.
The mass suddenly stops it's progress, and begins to writhe, almost like it's choking.
Apostasy feels like something has just been ripped out of her.
Apostasy cries out in pain, collapsing to the floor and clutching at her chest.
Cilan leaves Kales side momentarily to grip Silverfang tightly and charge at the writhing creature, once there, she gives it a heavy arcing downward slash, attempting to take the creature out.
It rumbles more, and reforms into the man, who lies writhing on the ground, choking and gasping for air.
Solixis leans in. "Apos, what's wrong?"
Apostasy gasps out. "Don't... know! Hurts... like something... was ripped out of me!"
Cilan's blade cuts through the mass, and then it shifts and changes. The prone man's face has started to turn blue.
Solixis holds her mate tight. "Stay with me! I don't know how to help you, but I will."
Sorien, feeling relatively useless for the moment, keeps an eye out for trouble- especially watching Kale- She knows that things aren't quite as they seem.
He manages to breathe out, "Help me... Selene."
Sparhawk stops stomping on the reconstituted fake-human, standing like a waist-high fence between Apo and the seriously inconvenienced figure. "Definitely novel. Lie lie lie o/`
Apostasy hauls herself up on unsteady feet, and moves around Spar, leaning heavily against her. She looks down at the choking facsimile of her father, and forces out a weak, derisive laugh. "Never."
He manages to gasp, "I will always love you..." And then he collapses, going catatonic as his breath is stolen from him.
Solixis holds her mate as she watches the death of that creature.
Apostasy slides down Spar's side, sitting on the floor leaning against a leg. She mutters to herself "You really meant that, didn't you? You sick, twisted bastard..."
REDACTED moves back out, disturbed by the whole situation, and carefully helps Cilan lift Kale and brings her into the room. The dragoness is still unconscious. Her breaths are short, she seems asleep, perhaps dreaming, but there doesn't seem to be any response to her being touched or moved.
Sparhawk provides material support and gives a little bow to the shape. "I apologize. I lack the skill and power to untwist your mind from the devotion to death and despair, and regret that you go to your master now. Were I a dragon, I would hasten it."
Sorien yips, "We still have that... Thing out there."
Apostasy says, "And we still have a bomb. We need to find somewhere central to plant it."
Sparhawk grimly says, "And also a Taggart." Shi pulls Apo toward hir back again.
Sorien yips, "I don't think we wanna just.. Kill it. I'd like to help the victims to get free of it."
The earthquake rumbling begins again. There's a slurping noise that's loud, and reverberates like a roar.
Apostasy clambers onto Spar's back again, and then looks at Sor. "And just how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Sorien yips, "I don't know! I just wanna try. But let’s get out of the tunnels before we're buried!"
REDACTED is shaking Kale, trying to wake her up. She growls a bit at the comatose form. "Spar, what do you sense from her?"
Solixis looks back over to Ally. "You okay? Sorry about that. My rage got the better of me."
Ally looks confused by the whole situation, she has the gun pointed down to the ground at the crazy man who turned into mush and then back again. "Are, all of them like that?" she asks.
Sorien yips, "Carry her, sweetie. I think... We need to not be here. (And she starts heading back out the tunnel)"
Sparhawk trots over to Kale with intent of dragging the coma patient onto hir back too. "Erm... give me a minute." Apo's ride goes to hir knees in the muck and touches Kale while murmuring things. "I feel...oh hey, practical application time. There is no soul in this Kale-shaped finger of the black beasts."
REDACTED sighs, and picks up Kale's much lighter frame. She turns back towards Apo's father and spits on the corpse.
Apostasy growls. "So it's not even Kale, then?"
Sorien yips, "Body maybe... Mind no. That'd be what I'd guess."
"He cheats you even in death." REDACTED says sharply, feeling absolutely no remorse for the dead man.
Apostasy presses up against Spar, her arms wrapped around hir. "Let's just get out of this room now. Go deal with the big... thing. And go home."
Cilan breathes a small sigh before giving a long overdue peck on Kales cheek before assisting REDACTED in bringing the comatose dragoness to safety.
Apostasy feels lightheaded after everything. She feels the emptiness of her guardian and companion, and her back itches, strangely.
Sparhawk is out of the room in the sewer way, lifting an imitation Kale to drape across hir back. "We're not done here, heroes. Neither mind nor soul of this dragon are present within, we may need to seize by force."
REDACTED surrenders the dragon to Sparhawk.
Sorien gestures back at the stadium-blob. "Shi's likely still out in... That."
Apostasy scratches awkwardly at her back, and leans her head against Spar, eyes closed. "I won't be any good in a fight. Even if I wasn't back to vanilla human, I feel really messed up right now."
Solixis picks up Ally. "Honestly, I have no clue if they are all like that."
The itching continues until two limbs break their way out of Apostasy's back, tearing at her clothing as they twitch in release.
Solixis looks over. "Apos? What's happening?"
Apostasy cries out in pain and almost falls off Spar as wings rip through her shoulders. The pain quickly fades though, and she flutters them experimentally. "Ummm... I have no idea what just happened..."
Sorien blinks. "You got wings?" She still starts back towards the stadium though- the quaking of the ground having convinced her that being in tunnels isn't the greatest plan.
Apostasy flutters her wings again. "Uhh... apparently, yeah."
Solixis smiles at her mate. "You got wings! YAY!"
The group moves back out towards the arena, the ground continuing to rumble. The closer they get they see those creatures free, biting at the flesh while the mouth is open wide. Taggart-wolf has the tongue in his jaws wrestling with the thing, trying to rip and tear it apart. Judging from the current length it looks like he's succeeded.
Apostasy notes the creatures attacking the fleshy beast. "I guess whatever was keeping them working for it is gone. Probably right about the same time my father died."
Sorien yips, "Maybe we can try my idea to trigger a breakup? What do you think, Spar?"
Solixis headtilts. "So, where do I set us up the bomb?"
Little swarms of tentacles pull some of the creatures into the holes, pulling them inside. Others tear at the flesh. The whole thing is a mess.
Apostasy looks around. "Gullet usually works pretty well. Though getting that close to the mouth will be... tricky."
Sparhawk comments, "I like wings. Wings are good. If nothing else they make good knife-fighting tools." Hir own wings are stretched out behind, forming a guardrail on either side of the inexplicably-mutating human.
Apostasy shakes her head a little, still feeling less-than-well after everything that just happened. "Someone make a decision, people. Sooner, rather than later."
REDACTED spotting Taggart runs forward, going quadruped to run faster, her single khanda is strapped to her back as she runs. Leaping from the sewer exit onto the surface of the flesh.
Sorien takes another injector and loads it; not getting an answer, she injects the fleshy wall and watches what happens- this time with her own species being the source.
Sparhawk watches for a bit, then frowns. "Wait... the tiny tentacles are the ones being broken up, the giant pile o' flesh is fighting for their own control. And none of the tentacle-beasts seem to be helping against the Taggart beast. So I'm going to engage in Spiderblood Protocol B, I think." Shi starts fishing out one of the shiny metal devices known as converters.
Apostasy slips off Spar's back and flaps her new wings experimentally. An overjoyed look comes onto her face as she rises into the air, and she draws REDACTED' loaned khanda before flying off in pursuit.
The flesh struck by Sori's nanites grows black and fuzzy.
Solixis holds Ally tight, hover above the battlefield.
REDACTED is bounding across the surface, the ground quaking under her feet. She nears closer to Taggart and slashes down with her blade against the thing he's holding. It cuts firmly and deep, and then gets stuck before it's severed. She growls out and pulls it out and hacks at it again.
Sorien yips, "Damn it. Maybe we need to find the core of this thing?"
Ally screams as one of the creatures moves towards her, and she fires her gun at it reactionary. It hits it in the eye, and then the creature melts.
Apostasy follows REDACTED lead and swoops down, hacking into the tongue-tentacle thing, passing back and forth, slashing it each time she passes.
Down inside the 'mouth' eyes stare up at Apostasy blinking. Many different eyes.
Solixis yelps in surprise as the guns is fired so close to her ears. She almost drops Ally, catching the girl before she leaves her arms.
Apostasy wavers in the air, her flight path wobbling a bit, as she sees the multitude of eyes staring up at her. "Whoa! That's creepy."
Sparhawk observes the en-gooing beast and twiddles the vial that never did contain Apo's father between hir fingers. "Or maybe the third tool. Let's see where you go home to, hmm?" Making another vial of black beast swiftly, shi also offhandedly shoots a terrifyingly bright laser beam into the flank of the thing everyone else is fighting.
The tongue sloughs off, and Taggart howl's in triumph, the high pitched coyote howl again contrasting with his menacing form. The wolf snarls and tears at the tongue, pulling it apart with his claws. The central shape collapses back into the mouth and the creature screams, or that what it'd do if it actually had lungs. The noise it makes comes from the quaking flesh that throws REDACTED off her feet onto her tails.
Sorien sees REDACTED fall and runs out to her, preparing yet another injector.
Taggart turns towards REDACTED, and his rage filled face suddenly turns, his ears tweak, and his head quirks, his eyes studying the prone hybrid kitsune. He suddenly grabs REDACTED, and dives back inside into the mouth with her in his arms.
Apostasy dives down after Tag and REDACTED without hesitation.
Taggart lands on the cavern below, his claws digging into the eyes that line the surface of the room. The concave room, the entire surface beyond the central shaft are covered with eyes.
Noticing the danger REDACTED is in, Cilan breaks away from Kale and rushes off alongside Apostasy, entering the mouth without a second thought.
Solixis holds Ally tight. "Ready? This is going to be a little wild!" She dives in after the others.
Apostasy ignores the eye-encrusted walls and floor, and follows after Tag and REDACTED.
Sori's skunk infection immediately begins to spread, the surface quaking as black fur spreads throughout the area. The exposed holes of genitalia close over as waves of fur spread. The eyes look filled with terror. The Tagbeast howls again in rage at the creature, but it turns into a squeak, as he turns and then passes out onto the ground.
Sparhawk wheels around, seeking the home of the beasts that once contained Apo's father and now (probably) hold Kale; when the vial does not leap toward the maw with almost all hir friends, shi hollers, "Bomb away! Kale is not in that thing!"
Solixis headtilts. "Spar, should I set this up here?"
Sorien keeps concentrating, hoping against hope that it works.
The flesh writhes and contracts, the outer edges begin to slough off into liquid.
Taggart's wolven body begins to change, his form shifting fast, and painfully as his bones contract and move shape, and fur retracts.
Sparhawk taptaps radio. "Find a centre-mass point, I...oh hey, that's new. It appears to be melting out here." Shi begins trotting away from the tide, hopefully toward the source of beasts.
The beasts begin to flee as the creature loses cohesion under them, running out and away from the garden.
As the creature starts melting, Apo grabs the now-human Tag and strains hard as she tries to fly both herself and him out of the mouth-cavern.
REDACTED grabs Sorien and tosses her up and out of the cavern, throwing her mate to safety. She sighs, and sits down, knowing she has no real way out of there.
Solixis nods, quickly setting the bomb down and activating it. "Everybody: RUN!" She grabs Ally and pushes herself as fast as she can out.
Apostasy drops Tag near Spar and goes back. She sees REDACTED still in there, and flies down to her. "REDACTED! You have to get out of here! Sol set the damn bomb!" She grabs her under the arms and strains to lift her, despite having no more than normal human strength.
Apostasy's small frame bursts with light, as she somehow pulls REDACTED up into the air despite the vast differences in weight. Apostasy radiates with nearly blinding light. She drops REDACTED onto the ground outside the tunnel, and then falls to the ground. Apostasy's frame now very different in shape, as the light begins to fade.
Sori and REDACTED grab and drag Apo and Tag, moving them out across away from the bomb as quickly as possible.
Cilan does exactly as she is told and charges out of the tunnel, following the rest of the group out of the tunnel.
Sparhawk leaps to the sky, shouting something involving "Bigby" and "Infallible" as shi aims for the hole in the roof with the Kale-shape on hir back, glancing down once to determine that people are in fact getting out. There are few places to hide from a flying hawk who has a compass pointed at your heart and ears to hear your heartbeat.
Everyone safely away, the explosion sets off, blowing apart the flesh of the creature which rains down, black and furred flesh all over the nearby city.
Apostasy groans weakly as she comes to again. "Urrrghh... what happened?"
Solixis looks over her handiwork.
REDACTED says to Apo in Sori's arms, "You changed again... into what, I'm not sure." between breaths as she runs with Tag in her grip. Tag's fully out.
Apostasy motions to Sor to put her down, and she stands on steady legs, looking herself over. "Umm... I would say a wolf.... but wolves don't tend to have wings, do they?"
The remaining parts inside the arena slough off, dying. The vine-like things also die along with the creature mass.
Solixis hugs her mate, squishing Ally between them. "Wolfie!"
Sorien yips, "Uhh..."
Ally makes a muffled eep as she's squished between fur.
Apostasy giggles and gently pushes Sol away. "Careful Sol, you'll suffocate poor Ally." Her tail is wagging steadily. She looks at REDACTED. "So... what should we call me? What I am, I mean."
Solixis backs of and hugs Ally. "We did it!"
Sparhawk floats in the sky in the aspect of the relentless hunter, the hero who is just offscreen and always there before you arrive. The celebration doesn't reach up there, nor does Spar get to offer a name!
Cilan offers a weak smile as she notices Apostasy’s newest change, and promptly walks over to her, "Here sis, thanks for letting me hold onto it.." is said as she offers the greatsword back to its rightful owner.
Apostasy smiles happily at Cil as she reaches out to take the sword. "Thanks sis." As her hand grips the blade, the whole thing is suffused by a bright glow. When it fades, Apo is left holding an arming sword and a shield. "Well. That was... unexpected. And yet... feels right. Like I've been using these all my life. Weird."
