capitalh | SCARY TOWER SIEGE #3

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SCARY TOWER SIEGE #3

Who: Tar Pit Rescuers/Captives
Where: That tower that just erupted out of the tar.
When: Saturday March 15th, around 6PM for when they appear.
What: A creepy looking tower pops out of the tar pits and superheroes come to fight it and save its captives.
Warnings: Violence, body horror, mind control, fucking creepy bullshit.

A spiral tower looms ahead, sprouting from the depths of the La Brea tar bits. Cyborgs swarm the grounds, and energy weapons defend the fortress.

Eventually you find your way into a shallow subterranean cave, or what resembles one in form, at least – while the uneven cave walls resemble those of a naturally formed cavern, there is little stone to be seen. Instead the interior's surface is a strange metallic substance, a translucent black shot through with veins of pulsating light.

The only place the glistening black metal doesn't cover the stone is around the edges of the assorted pools and lakes that dot the expanse of caverns. They don't contain water, though – instead they're filled with a thick, opaque black substance. That's right – underground tar pits. A few of them are host to a struggling robotic creature or one of the mutilated cyborg animals that has toppled in and been unable to free itself. The others don't seem inclined to help – both they and the substance that covers the rock everywhere else give the tar pits a berth of at least a foot or two wherever they can help it.

The cage you find yourself in, along with those of your fellow captives – made out of the same dark metal that coats the walls – are for the most part located in those areas of the cave system where there are also the most tar pits. As one moves to higher, dryer ground, the number of cages decreases, while the concentration of machinery jutting from the ceilings, walls and floors, not all of it with clear purpose but all of it strange and organic-looking, increases.

The ceilings are low, and the tunnels linking otherwise separate tunnel formations are narrow, and easily blocked by protrusions of metal and machinery that part, apparently autonomously, only to allow through one of the robotic or cyborg servants that patrol the caves.

This location is smaller than the others, but it still digs deep into the ground.

[OOC: There will be specific mod NPC posts made within each rescue log for dealing with the central hub of the AI. Remember, if you want to fight one of the Nightforce, ask a mod.]

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[ghost leads the trailblazers through the city to the la brea tar pits, where a bizarre tower looms large ~~over his deceased brethren~~. he barks at karkat and katniss, nosing his way around until he finds a shallow cave. he barks again before disappearing into it.]

[Things have already turned into a total mess around here by the time they arrive. Katniss is just trying to set down a frazzled Karkat from their over-city flight when Ghost is already zipping into some sort of cave at the base of the tower.

Right now she's just hoping that the defensive aspects of the building around going to lock onto them. Just keep focusing on those other guys, lasers.]

Point or rear, Reaphook?

[Just listen to how enthusiastic about this cave she is: not at all.]

[this is SO UNDIGNIFIED and NOT COOL AT ALL, but whatever, he's had to do this before – more often with Nessa than Katniss, admittedly, but the mighty Reaphook is alas no stranger to getting piggie backs from girls]

[he is, of course, somewhat less unenthusiastic about the cave than she is, thanks to his species background, and he knows it, and that goes some way to informing his reply]

Point, point! Fuck – what is this thing?

[he asks that a lot, on missions – a lot of the time he honestly can't tell whether something is a heinous supervillain aberration or something that humans are all familiar with that just happens to be occurring within the context of heinous supervillain bullshit]

[She's glad he's taking point but she isn't actually super sure what clarification he is looking for here.]

It's a cave.

[she says flatly.]

[it is hard not to cuff her around the head as he climbs to the ground]

Go to hell, I know what a cave is, I was hatched in a god damn cave, I mean the fucking death tower!

Edited 2014-05-06 05:39 (UTC)

[She doesn't even flinch at having completely misunderstood the question, instead she just glances up at the tower.]

I don't know. I guess it's a death tower.

[BARK BARK HURRY UP]

[ROLLS HIS EYES] Wow, thanks for your insights, Mockingjay, what would I do without you and this mangy Earth animal. I feel like a real Earth teenager, about to solve a mystery with my Earth human teen friend and a loud Earth quadruped. Fine. Come on. Let's spelunk the shit out of this death tower hell cave.

[he unhooks his sickles and follows Ghost into the mouth of the tunnel.]

[Katniss follows him in.]

God, Reaphook. How is it that you know the word "spelunk" when you don't know what a cave is.

[She very pointedly doesn't laugh.]

[SCOWLS] Fuck you, Mockingjay, I bet you've never even seen a cave before. I bet this is your first cave. I bet you're losing your cave virginity plunging into this dank rocky crevice.

[It's a good thing this dog they're following is white and thus easy to follow in the increasingly low light of the tunnel; Karkat has better vision in the dark than a human does, but it takes a bit to adjust from the brightness of outside]

[Honestly her first big cave experience was hiding in one while trying to tend to Peeta as he slowly died due to an infection in his leg, but that train of thought is off topic and uncomfortable and so she decides to focus on the idea of heinous cyborgs and imminent death instead.]

[She loads and arrow just in case, the orange glow of it providing some lighting from behind.]

Have I mentioned that your words are like poetry to me.

Yeah, literally all of the time. We both know I constantly bowl you under with my melodious turn of phrase, it's a miracle you aren't incapacitated of constant swooning over my mastery in your lame human language.

[He picks up his pace a little, to draw level with the dog, frowning.] Hey furball, any idea how much more rock chute are we getting to trudge down, here?

[ghost looks up at karkat. how is he supposed to answer that question? he growls impatiently and pushes ahead.]

[her eyebrows go right up.]

I don't think the furball likes you.

Edited 2014-05-06 06:54 (UTC)

[huffs! MAYBE HE COULD HAVE BARKED ONCE FOR NOT VERY FAR AND TWICE FOR LIKE HELLA FAR OR SOMETHING!]

Well no shit, I don't like him either.

[he scowls ahead of them as they trudge onwards.]

...Is it just me or is it kind of... sticky in here.

[ghost doesn't...mind karkat, but he is impatient to get to jon!!! he pauses briefly by a puddle of tar and barks at them to keep up.]

I'm not sure, I'm still mostly thinking about how I'm following a dog into a mystery cave.

[She swallows.]

It sort of is though, yeah.

[It's kind of a mood killer.]

[Karkat's nose wrinkles as they pass the tar puddle]

What the hell is this crap, is this normal for Earth caves?

I think it's tar. It's not really normal, though. Not any more than running magma.

[ghost dashes ahead into a larger cave filled with strange organic machinery and more tar pits. some of the organic-looking metal protrusions resemble caves of some sort. he begins to bark continuously until karkat and katniss catch up with him.]

[Karkat runs to catch up as soon as Ghost launches into a new volley of barking, sickles at the ready just in case even though he fully expects the stupid dog has just found a new pit to yell at – he mutters something to that effect, but has to stop halfway through once he and Katniss draw level with Ghost.]

Holy shit. Holy shit.

[Caves he can handle, but this really starting to wig Karkat out. Of course, it gets abruptly wiggier when several unfortunately bipedal animals emerge to lurch towards them on mutilated, cybernetically 'enhanced' legs, raising weapons against the intruders. To his credit, Karkat only wastes a split second grimacing in horror before he lunges sickles first for the monstrosities.]

[This is one of those moments where Katniss is SO, SO glad she fights at a range.]

[She's immediately concerned for Karkat's safety here, though, and so instead of cutting out a path of her own she decides to support his melee combat instead - firing arrows into monsters he's fighting in the hope of putting them down more quickly while occasionally launching a more explosive missile into the horde. The whole scene is freaking her out more than she's like. Those horrific animals faces remind her too much of other things...]

[She ducks down, dodging a laser shot while loading another arrow.]

I have your back, Reaphook.

[ghost leaps at a mutilated dog creature, sinking his teeth into the soft parts of its neck. it's unnaturally strong, and, flailing, lands a couple heavy blows on ghost before he manages to tear the dead tissue from its cybernetic enhancements. he scratches at them, not quite satisfied that the creature is down for the count.]

[jon stands with his back flat against the wall of the cave, inasmuch as such a thing is possible. he scarcely notices the rocky outcrops digging into his back, however, with all of his attention fixated on the horde (pack?) of mutilated animals. in his right hand he holds a piece of rebar he sawed off of his cage, and his left sports a full company of claws. he watches the animals as they appear to converge on a point some few yards away, looking for weaknesses to exploit.

suddenly a series of explosions sends the pack/horde scattering, and a flash of white makes his breath catch. he dashes away from his hiding place, thrusts his makeshift weapon through the torso of an unsuspecting straggler, barely bothering to call back over his shoulder to anya as he springs into action.]

Shit, my teammates. Now's our chance.

[ghost picks his away across the carnage to jon, who lowers himself into a wary crouch at ghost's approach.]

Fucking hell.

[he ruffles ghost's neck fur as best as he can without letting go of his weapons. ghost, for his part, butts his nose against jon's cheek and gives it one careful lick.]

I missed you, boy.

[ghost barks once and launches himself at the creatures coming up behind jon, who straightens, settling back into a fighting stance. he finally nods at karkat and katniss.]

Reaphook, Mockingjay.

[they might have noticed that jon is shirtless and covered in dried blood, with the odd bone fragment or muscle fiber clinging to his skin. he dives back into the fray, slamming the piece of his cage through the throat of another animal creature and grimacing as he struggles to free it.]

I hope one of you brought a sword.

[Anya is glad, in this moment, that she already had her exo up. It's not like Jon can't tell them all about what she looks like, but it makes her feel a little better.

She darts out after Jon, taking down a couple of the cyborgs herself.

He says hi to his teammates, she uses her webbing to yank a smaller one away from them, using her right hand to punch its face in before laughing, her voice buzzing thanks to the exo's changes.]

Really, Garra? A sword?

We didn't, and you can't borrow one of my sickles. Fucking hell, Longclaw, what the hell happened to you –? [abruptly he's accosted by a towering, snoutless, bipedal horse and has to redirect his attention to sickling it to death before it can crush him]

[he nods to Anya as soon as he has a moment, yanking his sickle out of the belly of the unfortunate creature] – and who the hell is this?

[Katniss barely spares Jon a look at the moment - in part because she's fighting, and in part because she doesn't want to get too caught up in whatever travesties have been occurring here before she has a safe place to freak out. Jon is shirtless, though, and that's...weird.]

We come all this way and you're out of your cage already.

[She shoots the horse Karkat just stabbed in the head for good measure.]

[he briefly shoots anya a look.]

An extra bow, something--I don't know what happened to me, I woke up like this.

[he has an idea it involved limb removal, but he doesn't really want to get into it. instead he punches his bit of cage through the stomach of one of the creatures.]

Ghost shouldn't be here. They've been killing people's dogs.

[he gestures at the many dogs among the mutilated animal horde.]

Ghost didn't give us much choice. I never knew your dog was so pushy.

Someone who wants to get out of this shithole more than you! [is Araña's response to Karkat's question. She jumps straight up and flips, to land on the head of one of the creatures, and snaps its neck, which slows it down at least.]

Can we just get us and Lassie out of here as quickly as possible instead of sticking around and talking?

Seriously, your animal is a fucking menace.

[he scowls, hooking his sickle around a large dog's neck, his ears flicking towards Araña]

Who else is here?

[ghost briefly pauses mauling a coyote beast to give karkat a frank look. jon grabs another one by the neck in order to stab it through the eyeball.]

No one we could find. We were the only prisoners. [he nods at anya.] She's right, we should fall back. We need reinforcements and I need a better weapon.

[he wrenches his rebar from the creature's skull with a sickening noise, as if to make a point. he glances back behind karkat and katniss.]

It's just you two? Where's Wildcat?

[he would've thought she'd be here, at least.]

We think she was taken, too. Almost everyone was.

[She shoots another arrow at an approaching mutant. The path is mostly cleared for now, but...]

I'm sure the dog can show you the way out. We need to keep looking.

Not to mention I'm kind of running on fumes and adrenaline, so I'm not gonna be much use for very much longer!

[Araña falls back into the tunnel the two Trailblazers had entered.]

Wildcat's the girl who turns into cats, right? She and some girl named Flourish were in the facility they took me when I got grabbed downtown.

[the news hits jon like a punch to the gut. he squares his jaw and tightens his grip on the piece of his cage.]

Then that's where we're headed.

[jon joins anya in the tunnel. ghost sets down the dog corpse he'd been shaking to follow him.]

You can shower and get something to eat at our place if you want. Someone should have clean clothes that would fit you.

Edited 2014-05-08 21:46 (UTC)

You really think I want to go to a CONDOR facility after this?

[It's a little wry, and not like, disgusted or anything, just matter-of-fact.

Though it WOULD be easier to shower there than have to get into the shower at the Y without anyone noticing the blood and grime...]

[Karkat perks up visibly – very visibly, his ears pricking straight up in relief - at news of Nessa and Cynthia]

Okay – okay, shit, Longclaw, you get buglord here somewhere safe and me and Mockingjay will check out the other tower –

[Katniss casts a lingering glance into the tower, wondering if they're going to end up missing anyone. After a few moments, though, she decides that Nessa and Cynthia are more important.]

[There are super heroes besides them, anyway.]

Let's go.

[Her voice is crisp as he heads back down the tunnel.]

[there's no way jon is not participating in the rescue of nessa and cynthia.]

I'm coming with you. Let me just get my gear.

[ This is not Araña's fight. She doesn't have to stick around. She's injured and tired and covered in flakey dried blood that came from HER body.

She huffs a little ]

I'll come too. I can keep a lookout and help you locate them, if nothing else.

[Through good timing and economic use of powerful magic bolts, Miriel has made it into the larger subterranean cave where the unusual metallic substance she tested covers all surfaces. She wanders the cave and its network of tunnels, looking for captives, allies, or the mastermind behind this.

When cyborgs attack, she is quick to dispatch them in the simplest and least draining manner possible. It sure would stink to be stuck without magic down here, but Miriel is willing to take that risk. To be honest, her scientific curiosity is getting the better of her in this situation. She wants to use this opportunity to find out what's really going on.]

[Nilin had found her way into the tunnels mostly by avoiding direct conflict. She can take a few of the weaker monsters at once, but if she wants to get to the bottom of this she can't get stuck taking down every single monster she comes across. She's only been down here a short while but Nilin already feels a foreboding sense that she's going to get lost.]

[She sees Miriel up ahead just as she's starting to suspect that she's already been down this passageway. She keeps her voice low when she calls out to her, but it's loud enough that it carries.]

Miriel!

[Miriel whips around to face the source of the voice. Hearing her name while she's not dressed in civilian clothing makes her stomach clench instinctively; someone has discovered the link between her identities. The rational side of her – which is most of her – says that this must be someone who already knows who she is, and that this person simply did not see the need to use her alias.

Upon seeing Nilin, Miriel curses her own carelessness. Nilin had gotten her real name through the cell phone contact, and Miriel had completely forgotten to mention the name/alias distinction to Nilin amidst the cyborg business. At least this is happening in a weird underground tunnel, where nobody can overhear.]

Nilin! [She goes back down the tunnel toward Nilin, lowering her voice as she nears her.] Are you well?

Few scratches, nothing I can't handle.

[She looks behind her, keeping an ear out for any of the monsters that might be lurking down the pathways.]

What about you? Not having any trouble, I hope.

[She speaks casually, but her tone and body language makes it obvious that she's on edge. She doesn't want to be caught in a corner against one of the bigger creatures, but something as simple as fear isn't enough to make her turn back.]

[The core here is a stationary one. Far down a maze of underground passageways and tar stained caverns, there is a larger space carved out of dirt and stone, entirely filled with thronging black metal and multi-hued lights.

Sharp mechanical talons flail at any that attempt to enter, the light of many robotic eyes lingering and paranoid. It has no way to move itself. This is its last line of defense.]

Fi_lth! FILTH! GET OUT ^{GET OUT _{GET OUT} of ME ^GET OUT!}

Edited 2014-05-13 23:34 (UTC)

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SCARY TOWER SIEGE #3

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THE HEART OF THE MACHINE