No.4354[Last 50 Posts]
>Date: October 31st, 2017
>Location: The Hollows - Below Sanctuary City
>Time: 12:02am
>Below the dense city streets of Sanctuary lies a maze of tunnels, passages, and chambers. Some of these are simply maintenance tunnels, others parts of previous versions of the city, simply built on top of when the time came for something new, and others yet make up parts of secret routes that have been made, used, and abandoned over the years.
>Within this warren, an undercity has formed, across these tunnels, caves, and mazes, various pockets of people, whether it's those spurned by society, or those just simply seeking a life away from the surface, have formed groups, even settlements in some cases.
>Even further below the tunnels, and sometimes between them, lie the natural caves below Sanctuary City.
>Within one of these caves, a calm lake sits, a small hole within it providing a clear path to somewhere on the surface, outside of the actual city itself, through which the moon shines, a clear image of its lunar body being visible on lake's calm surface.
>At the edge of the lake, a young woman sits, humming a tune to herself, never opening her eyes as she does, a headpiece of crossing lines covering them. From the back of her head, a set of four white, feathered wings sprout, each pair perfectly synchronised, "balancing" the other pair out.
>As the woman hums to herself, another woman enters the cave, a pair of antlers sprouting from the top of her head, and stands behind the young woman, waiting.
>Without any prompting, the young woman stops singing.
"Ah. . . soon there will be visitors. . ."
————————————————————————————————-
>Further up in The Hollows
>Within a more built up area, a group of men stands around a table, at which a woman sits at the head, quietly tapping the side of her head and reacting as if she hears something.
>Narrowing her eyes, the woman leans forward.
"They're planning something, I want you to be ready."
————————————————————————————————-
>Elsewhere in The Hollows
>A redheaded woman climbs up a makeshift tunnel and stops, kicking the side of it to make some noise, getting the attention of a man outside.
"Hey, pass the package."
>The man walks over to a backpack across the room and carefully takes out a package from it, walking over to the tunnel and lifting up to the entrance, where the woman's legs wrap around it and she contorts her body to bring the package up to her hands.
"Thanks, only a few more of these to go. . ."
No.4355
>>4354>Date: October 31st, 2017>Location: Sanctuary City - Financial District
>Press teams gather outside of the entrance of a new building, herded into place by simple makeshift barriers. In the air above, several camera drones fly about, getting images and footage from different angles.
>At the head of the crowd, on a podium located by the main entrance of the building, a nervous looking woman in glasses stands, leaning just a little too far into the microphone."a-and I would like to thank our donors. . . without who we. . ."
>The woman shufles some papers, switching from one page to the next.". . .wouldn't have been able to build this. . ."
>The woman pauses for a moment, coughing."Our organization, w-which is to say, the. . . .the. . ."
>The woman goes silent again, gulping."Futures Foundation. . . thank you. . ."
>The woman says the last part quietly, the microphone barely being able to pick up the words despite it being too close, and steps off the stage, a more trained press officer taking over after her.". . .and that was our Scientist in Chief, Dr Hiram, I'll briefly be taking questions before we move onto the tour of our facilities. . ."
>Near the back of the crowd, Madeleine Cox, the blonde-haired telepath, stands, rubbing her temple as if fighting a headache, her focus moving away from the event itself as the questions begin to roll in.
>As Madeleine stands there, a woman with auburn hair walks over, coughing to get her attention."Not much of a public speaker, it seems."
"Hm?"
>Madeleine looks over at the newcomer."Dr Hiram. . ."
"Oh, right, I wouldn't say so."
>The woman offers out her hand for Madeleine to shake."Danielle, Danielle Hallowgate."
"Ah. . ."
>Madeleine takes Danielle's hand and shakes it."One of the other donors, head of Valkyrie Labs, I'm-"
"Ch- Madeleine Cox, yes, I know."
>Danielle pulls her hand away."They're always a bit too noisy, aren't they? These events."
>Madeleine doesn't respond immediately."They're not. . . sorry, I'm being rude, but I'm actually waiting for someone. . ."
No.4356
>>4355>Almost on cue, Orion suddenly comes up from behind, looking at something in the distance."Hey Maddie, sorry something came up on the way. You know how it is."
>Orion stops, and then turns around. His eyes shift towards Danielle."Oh. Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."
No.4357
>>4356>Madeleine shifts her attention from Danielle to Orion, relaxing slightly as he approaches, as if the mysterious headache she was suffering from earlier has lifted."Don't worry about it, they didn't give you any trouble getting out of work, did they? Did you use the excuse of wanting to look into a potential investment that I gave you?"
>Danielle doesn't seem offended by the interruption from Orion, and instead offers her hand out for him to shake."No need for apologies. My name's Danielle Hallowgate, by the way - and I'm guessing you're Orion Thompson."
>Still holding her hand out, Danielle half shrugs, pre-emptively addressing Orion's inevitable question."My cousin's met you before, her descriptions can be quite vivid, plus it's useful for me to know who's who sometimes. . ."
>Without skipping a beat, Danielle then adds:"So, how long have you two been a thing?"
>Madeleine almost goes pale at the question. No.4358
>>4357>Orion is taken aback for a moment, not having expected the question. He shakes Danielle's hand."Oh. Er…"
>He scratches the back of his head while he thinks."Well we've known each other for probably more than a year. But we've been a 'thing' for… seven months, I think?"
>Orion looks at Madeleine for confirmation. No.4359
>>4358>Madeleine coughs."It would be about seven months. . . yeah."
>Danielle lets out a snort at the two's reactions."Don't worry, I'm not going to go around telling people about what you get up to. . ."
>Danielle trails off for a moment."Oh, yes, I didn't mention my cousin's name. Lisa."
>Danielle holds up a hand just short of her height."About this high, red hair, always in a rush. . . Hangs around with your boss's sister sometimes. . ."
>Danielle trails off again as she hears a sound in the distance."Ah, someone's after me. . . well, if you want to chat later I'm sure we'll have plenty of time, bye~"
>With a casual wave, Danielle walks off, disappearing into the crowd.
>With her gone, Madeleine relaxes slightly."It's not because I'm embarassed of you or anything, by the way, the question was just a bit sudden. Although I
would like to avoid questions about it if I can, I'm not great at those."
No.4360
>>4359>Orion watches Danielle disappear into the crowd."I don't exactly go around chatting about it either. Although my sister likes to ask about you a lot."
>He looks at Madeleine. "So has anything interesting happened or is it just a big crowd listening to some speech…?"
No.4361
>>4360"You should really organise a proper meeting between us some time. . ."
>Madeleine moves so that she's to Orion's side and pokes him with her elbow."Unless you're embarassed of me?"
>With a chuckle, Madeleine looks over at the press area."Just a few speeches from some of the important people, including an. . .
interesting one from the Scientist in Chief. You skipped the boring part, really, the interesting stuff is the tour they're going to run for us."
No.4362
>>4361>Orion smirks."Of course I'm embarassed of you. You're into the worst stuff."
>He follows Madeleine's gaze."Good. I hate sitting through speeches. Hopefully the tour has something interesting. Otherwise I want my money back."
>Orion says this, with an amused tone. No.4363
>>4362"I'm sure your sister's well aware of your terrible taste, so you don't need to worry about it. Plus, it's weird that I met your cousins before properly meeting her."
>Madeleine scoffs."Says the man who hasn't paid anything for this and is just enjoying a free ride from his girlfriend who's paid a
lot of money for this. . ."
>Madeleine gestures up at the building."Do have to admit it's a nice building, though."
No.4364
>>4363"Well then I want
your money back."
>He looks up at the building, and does a half shrug."It just looks like another big rectangle to me. But I'll take your word for it."
No.4368
>>4364"Yeah, it's a big rectangle, but it looks like a nicer big rectangle than the other ones around, I mean. . ."
>Madeleine points up at part of the tower."The other big rectangles here don't have the. . . uh. . . thing."
No.4378
>>4371"I think she means the isolation unit. . ."
>The woman who gave the speech earlier, Dr Hiram comes from behind the pair and points up at a break in the building's windows, roughly three quarters of the way up."Yeah, that's right, the isolation unit, it looks like it can do some cool sci-fi stuff. . ."
>Madeleine seems to notice who spoke up for the first time."Oh, sorry Dr Hiram, I didn't realise it was you."
"Oh. . . no. . . don't worry. . . I don't want to be an inconvenience to you. . . I'll just wait until you're finished with your conversation."
>Madeleine waves off the comment."It's fine, Dr Hiram, isn't that right, Orion?"
No.4380
>>4378"Isolation unit? For what?"
>Orion's mind seems to wander momentarily, until he snaps back into reality."Huh? Oh. Yeah, it's not a bother."
No.4382
>>4380>The doctor's demeanor seems to switch in an instant when Orion asks the question."To answer in a simple way, anything that needs isolating, but if you want a more complex answer, some experiments within the foundation may have dangerous side effects, so the unit is designed to, essentially cut the labs within the given area off from the outside world in as complete a way as possible by placing the isolation area slightly out of phase with the surroundings. Of course there are potential flaws with the system but-"
>Dr Hiram pauses as she needs to catch her breath, and her thoughts seem to catch up with the social situation."I. . . uh. . . mean. . . uh. . . it isolates things yeah. . ."
>With a smile, Madeleine looks at Orion."Dr Hiram is a brilliant scientist, when she can put her mind to it, what she lacks in social ability is more than matched by her scientific ability, that's why she was put in charge of the foundation."
"I. . . uh. . . thank you. . ."
No.4383
>>4382"That's… useful…"
>He seems to be wandering his mind again. "…Wouldn't want someone- something getting out…"
>His eyes move towards Madeleine, with his expression showing a hint of something more going on behind them."Well it's good that they've got her, huh? Wouldn't want anyone…"
>His eyes narrow slightly. Before he forces a smile back."Unethical in charge."
No.4384
>>4383>Orion feels a presence brush against his mind."{
It's ok, Orion, it's nothing like. . . that, it's for stopping, like, explosions and stuff so they don't hit the surrounding buildings.}"
>Dr Hiram shakes her head when she hears "someone"."We wouldn't try to trap any people in the building, in fact, there's a failsafe to allow anyone inside to escape from it safely if it activates with them inside. Any human experimentation has to be entirely consensual, and the foundation can only work on human trials that involve bettering quality of life - cures for diseases, regrowing limbs, things like that. Miss Cox was very insistent on that, as well as some of our other sponsors."
No.4385
>>4384>Orion relaxes a little."Sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. But I'm glad you guys are being ethical about this."
>He puts his hand on Madeleine's shoulder. He smiles, playfully."And it's good that you listen to Madeleine. Don't ask her about her interests though. They're very bad."
No.4387
>>4385>Madeleine jokingly slaps Orion's hand"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to win a silly argument."
>Dr Hiram watches the two awkwardly, clearly not used to dealing with couples."Ah. . . err. . . right. . . I'm going to talk to some of the other sponsors. . . the tour is about to begin soon. . ."
>Dr Hiram walks off with a small wave, leaving Orion and Madeleine to themselves again."So, what do you say to a tour? I promise we won't get locked in the building."
No.4389
>>4388>Madeleine links her arm around Orion's and indicates for him to head in a direction."I don't get to see weird sceince stuff often. . ."
>Madeleine lowers her voice to a grumble."
. . .and I got hooked on some sci-fi anime this season. .."
>With the aside finished, Madeleine returns to her usual volume.". . .plus all the stuff here's meant to help people. . . it's, like, cancer treatments for kids and stuff, so it's not like they're going to show us a load of horrible stuff either - I need a break from horrible stuff."
No.4390
>>4389"I'm just not used to being in a lab that isn't doing something horrible."
>Orion thinks for a moment while walking with Madeleine. "Actually I take that back, I do remember being in a nice lab once. It.. er… didn't stay nice for long."
>Orion clears his throat. "Anyway yeah, I'd like a break too."
No.4391
>>4390"Let's try to break that record, then."
>Madeleine nudges Orion into a slightly different direction, sending him in the right direction for the tour.————————————————————————————————-
>The tour takes up most of the morning, taking the group (including Orion and Madeleine) up and down the building, with a selection of scientists with a mix of projects ranging from their early stages to being in their last push before completion providing brief talks for the group - many hoping to squeeze what extra sponsor money they can out of the crowd.
>Eventually, the tour takes the group to a larger room, with a circular device taking up a place of prominence within the centre, various cables and tubing run in and out of it.
>At a control panel, a scientist in full experimental gear gives the group a thumbs up before pulling the collar of their labcoat closer to speak into a microphone attached to it.". . .hi everyone, my name is Dr Twist. . ."
>The scientist pauses for a moment for the inevitable reaction to their name.". . .yeah yeah, what a Twist, right? Anyway, I'm presenting my work on this Quantum Tunnelling Generator. . ."
>The scientist indicates to the circular device."If you want to understand the science of my device, please direct your attention to the screens to your left, but, given you've had a long tour today, I would rather provide a demonstration."
>The scientist stops holding the microphone, causing some feedback in it, and beckons to a research assistant off to the side, who leaves the room and returns with another circular device."In layman's terms, the Quantum Tunnelling Generator is a portal device, able to connect to any other devices it's attuned to with a simple push of a lever."
>The scientist waits for the assistant to walk away, then pushes a lever on the control panel.
>As the machine charges up, the lights flicker for a moment and then the building shakes.
>At the control panel, the scientist speaks into the microphone, only for the speakers to not pick up its signal, meaning only those with more acute hearing can hear their words.". . .that wasn't the machine, was it?"
No.4396
>>4395"No."
>Omnius holds out his palm, and the red head is suddenly whisked forward through the air. She's stopped just a few feet in front of Omnius. "That was you who tried to invade my mind just a few moments ago, wasn't it? Why sink the building? Tell me."
No.4397
>>4396"Yeah. . ."
>The redhead nods along to Omnius's assumption.". . .I'm trying to steal the building because it's a nice building and have you seen what it's like down here?"
>The redhead indicates around to the surroundings with her head, presenting an image of cold stone and concrete - with no luxuries in sight."So, like, I want the building, and to ransom the people inside it for some money - but nothing outside of that, promise!"
>As the woman speaks, she quietly brings one of her legs behind her back, then suddenly kicks forward with it, causing a pair of scissors to fly from her to Omnius - barely missing but still, somehow, leaving damage on his armour as it scrapes by before thudding into ground behind him, albeit not before travelling through a few feet of stone before stopping."Really need to work on my aim. . ."
No.4398
>>4397>Omnius pushes the redhead away. "Okay first, I didn't know there even were underground tunnels here until today. Second, have you tried just not living underground?"
>He holds his palm out and then points it at the woman."Third, don't play with scissors."
>Her own scissors suddenly launch in her direction, blunt side first. No.4399
>>4398>The redhead flips in the air as she's thrown away, landing safely on her hands before standing up again."Pretty sure even daylighters know about
these tunnels, they're just water maintenance ones."
>The woman grabs onto the scissors and dives under them, grabbing several more from her belt and throwing them towards Omnius as she does - her initial reaction indicating that she has experience with telekinesis, even if she isn't using it herself."Also, like, people don't live in the Hollows because they can just become, like, daylighters like that. . ."
>The woman jumps to dodge the telekinetically controlled scissors again."We're kinda stuck down here, y'know, but god forbid we want to make it
nicer down here!"
>The woman throws another pair of scissors, not addressing Orion's third point. No.4400
>>4399"Daylighters…?"
>The new scissors stop just before they can touch Omnius's armor, falling to the floor. "Why do you need to collapse a building to make it nicer? What the hell even is the Hollows?"
>Omnius is shaking his head, clearly confused. No.4401
>>4400"It's not collapsing! We're bringing it down here!"
>The woman reaches to her belt, finding herself down to one set of scissors which she takes out, looking at it and then at Omnius."But I wouldn't expect a daylighter to get that, your heads are all up in the clouds, not got ground above your head to keep your thoughts in!"
>The woman starts charging at Omnius, going low and fast."So we gotta bring your stuff down into the Hollows to make it better-"
>Just before she hits halfway towards Omnius, the woman is yanked back as a multicoloured cord wraps around her, pulling her to the edge of the room where a woman stands.
>As soon as the redhead is within reach of her, the woman moves her free hand over her head, electrocuting her unconscious."We appreciate your initiative, but this is Tide territory, so you need our permission first before you do anything big."
>Dropping the redhead to the ground, the woman steps between her body and Omnius, adressing him as a pair of thugs walk up behind her to act as guards."Hello, Omnius, your reputation precedes you, but don't worry, there's no need to fight, you can just go your way and we'll go ours with our little stray here."
No.4403
>>4402>The woman indicates for one of her thugs to pick up the redhead."That's not something you need to worry about. . ."
>As if pre-empting Omnius's next move, she steps back slightly, putting a thug between herself and him.". . .and if you don't know, you don't have to worry about it, do you? So we'll all be happy, me because I dealt with an annoyance, and you because you'll be ignorant - and ignorance is bliss, right?"
No.4404
>>4403"I don't think leaving some homeless girl to a gang that's clearly irritated with her is a good idea, even if she did throw scissors at me."
>The entrance to the room is suddenly blocked off as a massive chunk of rock is ripped from the ground, sealing the doorway."Leave her here, and I'll let you leave this one time."
No.4407
>Futures Tower, several minutes earlier
>The people remaining in the tower after Orion's quick exit have gathered several floors above where the last demonstration was taking place - having been guided to a safe room, a series of thick metal bunker walls surrounding them.
>As the minutes go by, a steady stream of people enter the room, having been guided there by the tower's security - an effort that's made easier by the low number of people compared to the increased level of security staff for the building's opening.
>As the last few stragglers make their way to the room, one of the security guards suddenly snaps to action, having spotted something, and slams his fist against the control panel to the bunker's doors - causing it to slam shut dramatically.
>Still keeping relatively calm, Madeleine makes her way across the room to the star of the day, Dr Hiram.
". . .do you have any sort of escape route?"
>The doctor nervously shakes her head then looks over at the sealed door.
"I-I'm sure it'll be fine. . . those doors could take the force of a nuclear bomb. . ."
>As her voice trails off, a loud bang fills the room and the doors shake, the metal straining under the force. Then another one rings out, then another. . .
>After the third one, silence descends on the room again.
". . .see?"
>As if to prove the doctor wrong, the doors suddenly wrench from their hinges with a horrific scraping sound, flying into the room over everyone within's heads and smashing against the back wall with a louder bang than any of the previous ones.
>With the doors gone, a cloud of dust starts floating into the bunker, within which a pair of glowing red eyes suddenly become visible.
>Still on high alert, the remaining security within the bunker slowly approach the dust, taking out what little weapons they have to prepare for a fight - only to stop just short of it as their limbs suddenly bend in unnatural ways, their bones snapping audibly, causing them to fall to the ground in pain.
>With security dispatched, the dust bursts out in all directions, spreading out to only a small layer hovering above the ground, and the owner of the red eyes steps forward - a smartly dressed woman holding an umbrella, which she casually spins around as she walks forward.
No.4408
>>4407>With a certain air of grace and sophistication to her, the woman walks forward, each step she makes being measured and precise, her eyes carefully going over the crowd as it parts around her - a sly grin crossing her face when she spots what she's looking for."Ah~"
>With the same level of consideration as her steps, the woman points over at Dr Hiram, then beckons, the doctor suddenly lifting up in the air and hurtling towards the woman, stopping just short of the woman, who reaches over to her and gently grabs Dr Hiram's chin, moving her head from side to side before letting go - causing Dr Hiram to drop to the ground."it's been so long, doctor. . . do you even recognize me?"
>Dr Hiram looks up from the ground, a pained look on her face from the sudden fall.". . .Jo?"
"So you do~. . . I thought-"
>The woman's sentence is interrupted as her face twitches, reacting to an unseen force to most in the room, albeit one that most psions would be familiar with - an attempted telepathic intrusion.
>Narrowing her eyes, the woman scans the room, trying to find the source of it, until her eyes lock onto Madeleine.". . .two. . . how. . . rare."
>Struggling, the woman suddenly jumps forward, shooting past Madeleine and ending up behind her."Why don't we make you useful?"
>Reacting to the sudden presence, madeleine stops her attempt and tries to swing at the woman, only for her to grab Madeleine's arm casually."
Just telepathy? I can work with that~"
>Still holding onto Madeleine's arm, the woman pulls her in closer, her smile widening to reveal a set of fanged teeth, the suddenly bites down into Madeleine's arm. . . No.4409
>>4408>As the woman finishes her bite, she lets Madeleine go, causing her to stumble and trip from the blood loss.
>Kneeling down, the woman gives Madeleine a pat on the head."Don't worry~ it's nothing permanent, it just makes you a bit more. . . suggestible to what I ask~"
>>4406>As Orion's message comes in, the woman twitches again, feeling the shift in psionic energy."Oh~ Why don't we try it out?"
>Still kneeling down, the woman cusps Madeleine's face with her hand."Why don't you tell your friend everything's alright, ok~?"
>Madeleine looks at the woman with anger in her eyes, but still sends a reply anyway.{"Got it, I'll try to get everyone out as soon as possible."}
>With another smile, the woman gives Madeleine a tap on her cheek and lets her go, standing back up."Good girl~"
————————————————————————————————-
>>4406>Several layers below the one they initially escaped from Omnius on, the Crimson Tide group stops for a moment, their leader looking up and down the tunnel, then to the thug managing the earth."How close are we?"
>The thug kneels down and touches the ground, closing his eyes as he feels out, then nods."A couple of layers still."
"Good, we'll head that way and then try to drop him in it. . ."
No.4413
>>4412>The woman looks down the tunnel, then at the thug, who nods, then back to Omnius."We can't outrun you, it seems. . . So we'll have to do this instead!"
>Taking a vial out of her pocket, the woman throws it in Omnius's direction, only for it to go wide and shatter behind him, a familiar red liquid spilling out onto the floor."Now!"
>Making sure the redhead is on the ground, the two thugs charge forward at Omnius. . . No.4414
>>4413>Omnius cocks his head slightly, staring at the liquid. He puts his arm out to the side, and casually pushes the thugs backwards and onto their backsides. "Blood? Why are-"
>He stops, gleaming insight from the woman's mind. "You're attracting something."
>He remotely picks up one of the thugs before they're able to pick themself off the ground. He quickly tosses them behind him, causing them to slide across the floor and into the small puddle of blood. No.4415
>>4414>The woman looks annoyed at Omnius's insight, then shrugs."Attracted. Just needed you distracted long enough for the blood in the water, and these things have
very good smell. . ."
>Summoning the wire from before, the woman lashes at the roof of the tunnel where both her group and Omnius entered through, causing it to crash down between her and him. While the debris is not enough to fully block the tunnel, it remains enough to complete block her from Omnius's sight, a least temporarily."It's a heavy cost, but two men is worth escaping you, I think!"
>From behind Omnius, a smell suddenly crashes down from the tunnel, a mix of blood and rotten flesh, and the wall behind the now blood-soaked thug bursts open as something emerges from a (newly dug) intersecting tunnel, grabbing onto the man and pulling him into it as he kicks and screams, begging for mercy the entire time.
>Not wanting to join their friend, the other thug scrambles towards the debris, fruitlessly trying to climb it.
>From within the tunnel, a second creature jumps out, sniffing the air and slowly turning to face Omnius - its features becoming more and more visible with each action. Walking with a hunched posture, the creature is humanoid, albeit with canine features, in particular on its head. Despite these features, however, the creature's skin is rubbery in nature, as if in some mockery of human skin. As it turns, its eyes linger on Omnius, and it lets out a growl, followed by a howl - the sound of which causes a cacophony of howls to resound from down the tunnel. No.4416
>>4415"What the fuck…?"
>The debris behind Omnius explodes into dust, clearing the way for the scrambling thug. He turns his head slightly to look over his shoulder."Go. And don't let me see you again or I'll beat your ass."
>Omnius turns his head to face the creature directly. "Shouldn't of done that, wolfman."
>The air ignites in front of Omnius, suddenly shooting a searing flame towards the creature and down the tunnel. The flames illuminate the tunnels, scorching the rocky surface as it travels forward. No.4417
>>4416>The creature cocks its head at Omnius's words, very clearly understanding them in some form, then jumps in surprise as the flames scorch the ground nearing it, very narrowly becoming ash in the process.
>As the flame travels down the tunnel, the creature lets out another howl and the tunnel fills with the sound of scratching and scrambling as the walls, and floor, begin to break apart as long, clawed hands start to break through them, accompanied by gibbering sounds.
>From down in the direction the howls came from, the smell of burnt flesh starts to waft down the tunnel.
>With reinforcements called, the creature makes a leap for the thug as they try to run away. . . No.4422
>>4421"That's enough of this."
>Omnius suddenly stops, and sends out a shockwave of psychokinetic force - blasting away the beasts in all directions to gain some personal space.
>He reaches out with his mind, entangling the entirety of the wave with his mind. In an instant, every creature seizes up and is crushed, being reduced to nothing more than wet sacks of flesh and bone coating the tunnel's floors, ceiling and walls.{"Disgusting."}
>Omnius turns around and begins to head back down the tunnel in the direction of the surviving thug. Along the way he grabs the thug by the back of his clothes and pulls him up into the air while he continues to glide forward."Alright, where's she going?"
>The blood and viscera coating Omnius's armor slides off while he flies, leaving his suit to appear perfectly clean. No.4423
>>4422>The thugs shakes his head frantically."I-I don't know. . . it'd be one of the safehouses but she doesn't tell us where they all are. . . I swear! I swear!"
>A quick scan of the thug's mind reveals he's telling the truth."Also. . . also. . . there'll be more! I'm not lying! They don't stop!"
>As the man squirms and panics, a silvery light shines on his face from behind Omnius, and a woman steps up through the viscera, being careful to avoid stepping into it as much as she can, the source of the light floating just in front of her."Ah. . . a visitor, I suppose this is your handiwork?"
No.4424
>>4423>Omnius stops, and then drops the thug. He turns to face the woman. "It is."
>His eyes study the woman and her behavior. "And you are…?"
No.4425
>>4424>The woman does a gesture, causing the light to die down and float closer to ground level."You can call me. . . Dahut, I mean you know harm, I just heard the ghūls moving and wanted to see what was happening. . . see if anyone needed help."
>The woman stops walking closer."Are you looking for someone? I heard you asking your companion about where someone was going, if so, I know someone who could help."
No.4427
>>4426>The intrusion into the woman's mind does not seem to bother her, although it does reveal that, from her perspective at least, she isn't speaking English - and neither is Omnius."Neither, I am the last scion of Ys. . ."
>The woman waits to see if the name gets recognition, then continues as normal when it's clear Omnius doesn't.". . .it doesn't matter, what matters is I am with neither of those groups, and wish to offer you some sanctuary, and potentially answers, on behalf of my mistress."
No.4428
>>4427>Omnius narrows his brow, and studies the woman in silence for a few moments."Give me a second."
>He turns around, and then "throws" his mind in the direction the gang woman had ran earlier, sending her brain the command to go to sleep. Afterwards he turns back around to face the mysterious woman."Alright, sure."
>The thug Orion dropped a few moments ago is suddenly dragged off in the same direction as his boss, being put to sleep himself. No.4430
>>4428"Mm"
>The woman makes no attempt to interrupt Omnius as he does his task, only speaking again when he's done."Now, if you could, please focus on the light."
>The woman makes a gesture, causing the light source to hover upwards and increase in intensity, to an almost blinding level. The light from it washing out all of the details in the tunnel around the pair before it fades away, revealing they now stand in a cave elsewhere underground on the shore of a lake, the light source disappearing completely as the light of the moon reflected within it lights up the area enough for a clear level of visibility even without any aids.
>At the edge of the lake, sitting on a ledge, a young woman sways her legs, her feet barely skimming across the surface of the water.
>Noticing the presence of Omnius, the woman looks over at him, not opening her eyes."Oh, hello, please take a seat."
No.4432
>>4431"An eyebrows raised, yet none can see."
>The young woman turns her head the other woman, who nods and steps away."Magic. . ."
>The woman goes silent for a few moments, still swaying her feet.". . .some, yes, but not all, Kenson. But not for your sister."
No.4433
>>4432>Omnius gets ready to snap at the woman, before holding his tongue. He takes a moment to calm down."Don't call me that. Who the hell are you?"
>He pauses for a moment to think."And why do you know anything about me?"
No.4434
>>4433>The woman tilts her head."That is what you are, are you not?"
>Not answering the next question for a few moments, the woman instead "looks" out across the lake, the place where her gaze would rest firmly being on the centre of the moon's reflection."Equinox, that is what they call me now, so you may use it too. I know of many things, I know of the spheres and their rotations, I know that the flowers wish to talk to your sister, I know you wish of many things. . ."
>Equinox stops swaying her feet."I know I wish for my corpus back. But I do not know what you wish for most."
No.4435
>>4434"Well right now I wish you would stop being so cryptic."
>Omnius hovers a little closer to the woman to get a better look of her."Okay, so you're some kind of wizard…? You seem like the type. What is it you want?"
No.4436
>>4435>Equinox tilts her head again."Were you not comfortable? You may sit here if you wish."
>The woman indicates to a space on the ledge next to her, then "gazes" out at the lake again."If you could, what would you do to bring back your mother? How many would you sacrifice? A person? A group? A city?"
No.4438
>>4437>The woman looks up at Omnius, then opens her eyes for a brief moment, looking at and through him at the same time, the visual of her eyes being open somehow looking to Orion like they're open, closed, present, and not present all at the same time, sometimes "glitching", while also somehow looking normal."It sits there, even if pained."
>Equinox closes her eyes again, the act returning everything to normal."I offer nothing, I simply wanted to know your answer."
No.4439
>>4438>Omnius feels his stomach drop. He floats backwards a bit, unnerved. "…You're actually not human."
>His eyes dart around the room, as he tries to think. After a while, his gaze returns to the woman, albeit reluctantly. "I don't know. I have no answer."
No.4440
>>4439>Equinox is silent again, then "looks" out across the lake at the moon's reflection."It is beautiful, is it not? I was there when it came into existence. . ."
>Equinox goes silent for a few moments."Others are not as unsure as you, they would sacrifice as many as it takes to see family. Your sister cannot stop them, that beauty will be scarred. . . you will make a choice before the silver gate. . ."
>Equinox holds a hand up in the air, "reaching" up to the moon above."I have seen it and it has been said, so it will be true, the scales have been tipped. . ."
>Equinox's "gaze" moves over to Omnius again."Your sister really should say hello to the flowers."
No.4441
>>4440"…You brought me here to make some kind of prophecy?"
>His feet now touch the ground, he ignores the flowers comment. "What happens now? Are we enemies?"
No.4442
>>4441"Do you wish to be enemies?"
>Equinox tilts her head."Would you not be more concerned with the one in the building you left? She threatens the one close to you."
>Not standing up, Equinox brings her hand down."I could fight you though, if that is what you wish."
No.4443
>>4442"Er… no. I'm not interested in a fight- Wait, what?"
>His eyes widen. "How do I get out of here? I need to go back!"
>Orion begins looking around frantically, searching for an exit. No.4444
>>4443"Ah, so you were unaware. . ."
>Equinox stands up, her feet not touching the ground, and walks over to Omnius."I can tip the scales, just this once. . ."
>Holding two fingers up, Equinox taps his helmet where his forehead would be."Consider it payment, for conversation. . ."
>The world spins around Omnius, fading away as if he's falling asleep, before going completely to black.
>Moments later, Omnius "wakes" up on the floor of the room in Futures Tower that he and Madeleine were in before the attack began, now finding it empty and without any power, the circular form of the gateway looming above him, dead and silhoeutted in the darkness. No.4445
>>4444>Omnius picks himself off the floor, and stares up at the gateway. "Madeleine!"
>Omnius shouts, while looking around the room. "Where are you!?"
>Omnius begins reaching out, searching for Madeleine's mind. No.4448
>>4447>Within the safe room, the red-eyed woman sighs and waves her hand, causing Madeleine to drop from being suspended in the air.". . .you try to work with them and they give you nothing."
>Moving her hand over to the opposite side of the room, the woman causes the doors to fly across and slam into their frame, locking them shut."What did you say, they could survive a nuclear blast?"
>The woman directs the questionat Dr Hiram."I should probably reinforce them a little."
>The entire building shakes as it starts to fall faster than before as some of the psionic force holding it up is shifted away, instead wrapping itself around the safe room to form a protective layer.
>As she does this, the woman grits her teeth a little.". . .admittedly a little harder than what I had planned, but nothing I can't handle~."
No.4450
>>4449>The woman flinches as the doors explode, but soon recovers, bringing her umbrella around over her head."That's an impressive show of strength, but
I have all the cards~"
>The woman jerks her head over to Madeleine."Dear, would you be so kind as to come here~"
>Madeleine resists for a moment, then steps over to stand by the woman's side."You may be a powerful psion, but two heads are better than one. Besides, if you hit me too hard, well. . ."
>The woman dramatically gestures around at the crowd."You and I might survive the fall, but would everyone? It's still a good drop left."
>Her own eyes glowing as if to counter the purple glow from Omnius's helmet, the woman points to him."So, why don't you do as I asked? Just let me bring the building down, and no one will get hurt whats. so. ever~"
No.4453
>>4452{"Bit you? So she's venomous?"}
>He thinks for a moment. ''{"Remember when my cousin pulled us into the Astral Plane? If I could just do the same, the state of your body shouldn't affect your mind…"}
>Omnius focuses his attention on the woman once more."I don't negotiate with bitches."
>Reality melts away, as the light itself seems to shatter all across the room inside and out. Swirling vortexes of lights in all colors real and unreal swallow the room, as it now floats about in the endless sea of the Astral Plane.
>Omnius lunges forward, and then plants his boot on the woman's torso, throwing her back and across the room. No.4454
>>4453"Now-"
>The woman doesn't have time to finish her sentence as reality melts away, flying back from the force but managing to right herself easily with a slight amount of psionic force."Where did you. . ."
>The woman looks around, her eyes a much more natural blue as she does.". . .I feel. . . good. . . wait. . . no!"
>The woman snaps her head in Madeleine's direction."Dear~ why don't you provide me a distraction?"
>Madeleine stands still for a moment, then shakes her head."You
bit me, so. . . no."
>The woman is silent for a moment, surprised, then breaks out into a frenzied laugh.". . .why can't
anything ever work out like it's meant to!"
>As the woman says the word "anything", a wave of force bursts out from her, causing Madeleine to have to bring up her arm to block it, still not moving."
Fine, I tried to be nice, but I'll just have to go
through you instead."
>The woman looks up at Omnius and Madeleine, hatred in her eyes as they transition to red again. No.4456
>>4455>As the woman flies towards her, Madeleine moves her hand up, pointing two fingers upwards as she holds it out in front of the woman's trajectory, causing a tangle of vines and thorns to burst out of the ground and wrap around her, constricting her tightly within them."I've never done anything like this before, but that's how you do it, right?"
>Madeleine points at the mess of vines."Do you think they're cool, I got the idea off Brutasuba. . . you know, General DeSadius?"
>The vines twist and tight again, then start ot crumble apart as they turn grey and wither, with the woman bursting out of the top of them, having gained a pair of bat-like wings somewhere in the process.
>As she hovers above the pair, the dust from the vines flies up around her, turning into a reddish-purple energy that gathers above her, the "walls" of the room and the traps soon following it. As this process happens, the woman pants slightly, exhausted yet still looking at the pair with anger in her eyes."Will you. . . shut up! How can I be
losing to the likes of you?! You're. . . idiots! Losers! Talking about your inane references and refusing to even
consider a deal!"
>The ball of energy above the woman finishes collecting what remains of the constructs around, she looks over her shoulder at it."This. . . though, is useful, I wouldn't be able to do anything like this normally, that was a good trick that you pulled off, I'll have to try and learn it later. . ."
>The woman gives a tired wave, causing the ball of energy to start crashing down towards Madeleine and Omnius."I won't be able to learn it off you, after all."
No.4457
>>4456"That was great Maddie, you're a natural."
>Omnius turns his attention towards the woman and her massive orb of energy. He watches as it begins to crash towards him."You're powerful, one of the strongest I've seen. But I've fought better."
>Omnius holds his palm palm forward, psychic energy crackling around his fingertips."Check this one out. I don't care much for the series, but I thought this was cool."
>The energy erupts from Omnius's fingertips, twirling and spinning around each other before converging into a massive drill. It smashes into the ball of energy, halting it's progress as it begins to drill into it. No.4458
>>4457>As the two energies clash, a wave of force is sent out in all directions, nearly knocking Madeleine aside before she holds out a hand to protect herself.
>The energy from the woman holds for a moment, pushing against Omnius's with a renewed force for a moment before faltering, pausing its advance, then breaking apart into several streams of energy as its fully pierced and broken apart.
>Seeing this, the woman puts one of her hands forward."No!"
>Omnius's energy collides with the woman's hand, travelling around her like a torrent of water breaking against a rock.
>Once it dies down, however, the woman pants for a few moments, then suddenly plummets "down" like a rock, "colliding" with the "floor" that Omnius and Madeleine are standing on before trying to pick herself up, only managing to half stand-up as she holds the arm she used to shield herself."I. . . I. . . have to. . . win. . ."
No.4460
>>4459>The woman stumbles slightly, but still remains standing."No!"
>Pulling herself up, the woman points her "injured" arm forward, attempting to pull out more energy from the surroundings, only managing to get a few faint sparks of red lightning before her arm falls down again.". . .I. . . can't. . . I have to. . ."
>The woman falls down to her knees, unable to hold her own weight anymore.". . .I need to win. . . I need it. . ."
>The woman looks up at Omnius. No.4463
>>4462"You're welcome."
>The room begins to move upwards. Omnius turns to face Dr. Hiram."Sorry that your grand opening got ruined."
>After several more moments the room shakes a little as it's placed down on firm ground back on the surface. He looks at Madeleine."Is there anything you can do to get that venom out of her quickly? I'm not sure if it's your area of expertise or not but better you than me."
No.4464
>>4463"O-oh. . . yeah. . . and we'll have to arrange handling the building being moved or reinforced. . ."
>Dr Hiram's tone indicates that the comment isn't a hint of any sort to Omnius, just a simple ". . .we could take a look at her, but without a clear idea on what the venom is, there's little we can do outside of just waiting for her to naturally recover - it could be dangerous to flush it out without knowing what it does exactly."
>As Dr Hiram talks, a few members of building staff make their way over to Madeleine, carefully checking her over. No.4466
>>4465>Orion is given a few moments before he's shooed away from the impromptu first aid station as more people are brought to the doctors, including the security personnel knocked out by the woman's entry into the room.
>Some time later, several MRD officers enter the room, having entered the room from the outside, and collect the woman's unconscious body, a few remaining to ask questions of the people in the room, hoping to gain a further understanding of the events of the day.
>As the remaining MRD officers ask their questions, one of the doctors approaches Orion."Hi, you were watching us as we looked over the blonde woman, right? She said you know her. I just wanted to say that she's going to be fine, the venom should all be out of her system now. In fact, the more concerning thing was the bite point, she lost a fair amount of blood from it. . ."
>The doctor coughs.". . .anyway, it should be fine if she leaves now, assuming the MRD doesn't want to ask you any questions."
No.4470
>>4469>Despite some lingering blood thanks to a lack of medical supplies for the situation at hand, Madeleine's arm seems generally fine, with an expertly done dressing sitting over the place where she was bitten. A slight wince from Madeleine when Orion grabs the arm is enough to indicate that some pain still remains.". . .a little out of it, but it's fine. . . it's fine. . ."
>Madeleine looks down at her arm, then at Orion."You can let go of it now."
No.4471
>>4470>Orion seems distracted, still carefully examining her arm. "Huh? Oh. Sorry."
>He lets go of her."Sorry I'm just glad you're okay. I wasn't sure if I did the right thing or not just letting you return to your body so soon…"
No.4472
>>4471"It didn't hurt. . ."
>Madeleine gives Orion a look as if to say "really"."I mean it. . . it was just weird because I'd think one thing and then she'd tell me to do something else and then I'd
really want to do it. . ."
>Madeleine shrugs.". . .it only started hurting after the thing wore off, so I guess it had some kind of painkiller in or something? Just very weird."
————————————————————————————————-
>Some time later.
>An MRD prisoner car drives across the city, holding a single prisoner - the woman who attacked the tower. As it turns and heads into a tunnel heading towards the spire, the woman opens her eyes, their red glow more obvious thanks to the dim conditions inside the vehicle. Cracking her neck, the woman pauses as the MRD officers within the prisoner area point their weapons at her in response.". . .lovely."
>Finishing her stretch, the woman looks over at the nearest officer."Do you want to know an interesting fact about Meta-Human dampening techniques?"
>The officer is silent, not engaging with her."I'll tell you anyway~"
>The woman's right arm snaps forward, breaking the bonds around her arm and grabbing the officer."They don't work on powers that aren't derived from the Meta-Gene~"
>The woman slams the officer into the side of the vehicle with a noticeable crack, causing his helmet to fall apart as the man himself goes limp.
>Reacting as quickly as their training allows, the rest of the officers let out a volley into the woman, their bullets ripping into her skin with enough force to kill a regular person.
>Looking down at the bullet holes, the woman sighs."Do you know how hard it is to maintain this~?"
>The sound of falling bullets takes over the vehicle for a moment as the woman's wounds heal themselves, the bullets dropping uselessly to the ground.
>As the woman's wounds finish healing, her head tilts."Oh, it's flushed, good."
>With another flex from the woman the vehicle explodes around her, sending the components in every direction across the tunnel, the passengers soon following them.
>Floating down to the ground, the woman looks around at the carnage caused by her actions, then sighs."Not what I wanted, but at least I'll fight another day~. . ."
————————————————————————————————-
>Location: Orion's House - Sanctuary City
>With a long day completed, Madeleine collapses onto one of her additions to Orion's home - a bean bag that sits alongside the other couches and chairs in his lounge.
>Looking at her now-cleaned arm, Madeleine sighs."You know what I'd like, us to have some kind of event or trip without something happening. . ."
>Looking over at Orion, Madeleine shrugs."Just for a change, you know? Before that, though, do you think you should tell your sister about the weird stuff you ran into?"
"I mean. . . weird dog creatures, cryptic ladies talking about choices and all that. . . seems like her kind of thing?"
>Madeleine coughs awkwardly, mumbling to herself:"Plus it would be nice to see her without weird drama hanging over the meeting as well. . ."
No.4473
>>4472"Oh yeah. I should probably let the MRD know about those dog things."
>Orion slouches in a chair near Madeleine's bean bag. "And yeah I can ask my sister to come visit when she's not busy. I haven't talked to her that much lately though."
No.4474
>>4473"Would the MRD be the right people? I mean, they handle Meta-Human things, right? Dog people sounds like. . ."
>Madeleine thinks for a moment.". . .the army? Pest control? The EPA? I really don't know who would deal with that kind of thing. . ."
>Madeleine sighs and shrugs.". . .and that just means you should do it even more, you should try to hold onto the good family you have, it's important to have people who can support you."
No.4475
>>4474"Yeah, you're right. I'll try and give her a call tomorrow then. And for the… dog… things… I dunno, maybe I'll just have to go back down there myself. I'd probably have an easier time rooting them out than most people anyway."
>Omnius thinks about the tunnels and the caverns. "Did you know people were living under the city the entire time? I mean, I'm not surprised that maybe a couple homeless people would be living in some kind of sewer drain or something. But I didn't know there was basically a little underground civilization there."
No.4476
>>4475"Just try to be safe if you do - sometimes things have hidden sides to them."
>Madeleine's voice seems to have a genuine tone of concern."I mean, I'd heard rumours that there were some people down there, but I thought it was the same as you, just a few people down on thier luck, maybe a few people using the sewers for trafficking and the like. . ."
". . .nothing like what you've found out today."
No.4477
>>4476"Well someone has to look out for the people down there. So I guess I better add it to the list."
>He thinks. "I wonder where those things came from. There were enough to literally flood the tunnel, and there's definitely more of them in hiding…"
No.4478
>>4477"Maybe they have someone for that already? It could be a good idea to reach out to them and speak to them in less. . . tense circumstances."
>Nodding along to Orion's thoughts, Madeleine adds:"That might be something your sister knows, or something someone she knows knows. . . what I'm more worried about is
why they're down there, you mentioned they took the one man away, what if they're planning some kind of attack?"
No.4479
>>4478"There's gotta be a reason, and someone or something's behind it. I'll ask my sister what she thinks if I can get a hold of her tomorrow."
>Orion looks at Madeleine."By the way… I was thinking… if you wanted some time we could go back to the Astral Plane, and maybe we could… practice. It could be fun."
No.4480
>>4479"We could. . ."
>Madeleine looks down at her bandaged arm, then sighs - a long tired sigh."Not today though, today's been too long. . . today. . ."
>Madeline looks over at Orion's TV.". . .today I just want to sit back and watch some crappy seasonal anime that we can rip apart."
No.4481
>>4480"Yeah not today."
>The TV remote hovers over to Orion's hand. He casually tosses it over to Madeleine."I'll be nice and let you have the first pick, since you've been through so much today. But you owe me later."
>Orion smiles playfully, then sinks back further in his seat. No.4482
>>4481"What if I pick something you want to tear apart too? What happens then? Do I still owe you?"
>Madeleine flicks through the options on the TV with the remote before settling on one."Oh, Maoumusume has a new season, let's go for that. . ."
[The End]