epidemiology | EVENT ★ LABYRINTH III: THE ESCAPE

Entry tags:

EVENT ★ LABYRINTH III: THE ESCAPE

LABYRINTH III

The correct passageway to the inner ring of the maze is hidden behind a thick wall of vines. After cutting through the plants, the structure of the maze is noticeably different: the overgrown plants continue creeping up the walls, but the walls are no longer brick and stone, composed instead of some sort of blue metal with holes and divots carved elaborately into the surface. From some holes gush forth pure, clean water; from others, acidic liquid. The air is cool and crisp, the plants creating a lush, dim environment lit by eerie blue lights spread throughout this section.

The lizards, rats, and other monstrous creatures seem to be absent from this area of the maze, replaced instead by rhinoceros-sized beetles. The beetles each have a single horn protruding from the head, and their hard carapaces make them difficult to kill -- a better method might be to simply climb somewhere high and wait for the beetle to get bored. But unlike the other monsters encountered in the maze, the beetles seem to have something else on their mind beyond wanton violence: they can sometimes be found rolling massive balls of dung throughout the corridors of the labyrinth. (This might explain why the plants are so lush closer to the center.)

There is little time to explore this section of the labyrinth before there's a flicker of light all around and more ALASTAIR recruits suddenly appear, most dressed in a freshly pressed uniform and carrying extra food and supplies. They have been told that the cloaking surrounding Asterion Labyrinth is so strong and complex that Oska was only able to send in a handful of recruits at once for a relief effort.

In order to leave, they'll have to locate the escape mechanism that lies deep within the labyrinth; the remaining Asterion Prison correctional officers know its general location, but not precisely what it entails. All they know is that it will require technological cunning to operate and that it's heavily guarded.

After five days, the portal room is found.

THE PORTAL ROOM

The center of the labyrinth is a large, circular room with a raised platform in the middle. On this platform rests a circle of computer consoles surrounding another platform, on which sits an empty circular frame 2.5m (8') in diameter. This is the dormant portal, and it is now Audentes's task to turn it on and find their way back to Oska.

Because the portal is not made for interdimensional travel, it must be overclocked, which will cause it to burn out and explode once it is used. In order to override the safety protocols in place to prevent such dangerous tampering, the control panels must be unlocked -- and unfortunately, the locks are all complicated puzzles, ranging from the numerical to sliding pieces into place to complete a pattern. There are many of these puzzled scattered around the portal room, and once they are all unlocked, it's a simple matter of flipping the power override switches. Ignore the dangerous humming sound and the way the frame suddenly fills with violent purple energy. That's probably normal.

The new recruits have the correct coordinates to locate Oska, which has temporarily lowered its cloaking shield to allow Audentes to return. So there is a bit of a time crunch.

Adding more to the difficulty of the situation is the presence of a monster lumbering around the circular portal room. Six meters (20') high, the beast is best described as a minotaur, but perhaps not in the traditional sense: while it resembles a bipedal bull, it is an amalgamation of flesh and machine with its body covered in pistons and glowing lights. One of its hands is an enormous axe and it belches fire and acid. Despite its head resembling an herbivore, the piles of desiccated bones scattered throughout the portal room tell a different story.

Upon seeing the group, the minotaur charges. Mavahari, the Zymandis recruit, rushes to meet it with her sword drawn. Inmates and correctional officers do their best to fight it as well, but something becomes quickly apparent: it cannot be harmed by projectile weapons. The machinery of the beast keeps it protected from most attacks, though electricity will stun it and acid will corrode its metal. But in order to injure the minotaur, it must be stabbed between the metal plates where its vulnerable flesh remains.

During the battle, the minotaur fights viciously and without regard for its own safety. The first casualty comes early: the minotaur swings its axe toward Mavahari, who is pushed out of the way by George. The axe connects with him solidly, sending him flying into the wall with a shuddering impact. George lies there still, but there's no time to mourn. The beast continues its rampage.

Once the minotaur is defeated, you'll have to quickly decide what to do with the correctional officers and inmates who have followed Audentes through the Asterion Labyrinth. The overclocked portal won't hold forever, and the longer Oska leaves its cloak down, the better chance they have of being found by their enemies.

OOC NOTES

This log will last for six IC days: five days for exploration and one day at the center of the maze. We have also recently altered the calendar this month, so make sure you review it!

IMPORTANT: Participation in the solution poll is mandatory for August AC. Failure to participate will result in an automatic strike. The only exception is for those who are exempt from August AC. The poll will close on 11 August 23:59 UTC.

If you have any questions about the labyrinth that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier.

Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

the maze, A.:

_{[He's seen enough sci-f movies to know where all this is heading. Find the civilians, blast a few monster-things, boom-chakalaka— save the day and take all of the glory, maybe head out with a babe or two on your shoulder. His expectations are far from reality, honestly, when it comes to literally everything. You're stuck up in a tree, actually thinking about how to hide from this giant bug-- sit up here and tire it out.

Your peaceful wait is about to be obnoxious interrupted.

The sound of gunfire echoes through the maze, a single bullet whizzing through the air and hitting the beetle right on. Right when it was just about to get bored, it looks like this guy has aggravated again. Nice going.]}

Hahaha-haha! You don't gotta worry, I'm here to protect you!
_{[We see here a fellow who appears he couldn't possibly be over 20 years old, spinning a handgun in his hand. His smile is a bit too goofy given the circumstance, blue eyes framed by a pair of glasses which should make him look intelligent.. but alas.]}

You keep your ass up there and holla' at me if you need me, dude! I'm gonna take this sucker out! HERE COMES THE THUNDER!
_{[He's not predicted how tough this thing is, but looks like he's barrelling towards it at full speed, readying to fire his gun again.]}

the maze, B.:

_{[Either you both survived the beetle attack or you're somebody who is just tagging along with him, but now we're simply walking-- walking and wandering. Time for some small chit-chat, right?]}

So uh, bro. Like.. we're not gonna find some other spooky stuff in here, right? You know, nothing like ghosts or anything?
_{[he sounds legit scared for a moment, but nevertheless, he's taking the lead and walking ahead of you.]}

Edited 2017-08-07 00:59 (UTC)

[The question is not one that Nyuu was expecting. She blinks up at the fresh face before shaking her head and offering an assuring smile.

It's troublesome that her speech is still messed up from eating the fruit in the maze, but Nyuu's been able to get by with text. Except she doesn't know the name of this person, so she doesn't know what name to search for in the username directory in order to send a one-on-one text.

So, she slowly mouths:]

What. Is. Your. Name?

[She just hopes that he understand her.]

_{[ Unfortunately, America just thinks she's a really soft speaker. Like that one guy.. that one guy that, uh, lives above him.. somewhere in the Great White North, he thinks. No matter, he'll just dominate the conversation as always. ]}

Ri-iight. Look, I know all of this is leaving you wordless and everything, but if we're gonna talk, you're gonna have to use your words. Don't be shy! I'm here to help you! And you're here to be saved, which is totes what I'm doin' right now. Trust me.

[Nyuu shakes her head while patting her throat.]

Nyuu. [Again.] Nyuu.

[She's quite embarrassed. To think that was the only thing she could say at some point. It must have been very confusing for Kouta and Yuka when they first took her in.

She then points a finger in America's direction, tilting her head to the side as she continues to try for his name.]

Whaa? You've got a sore throat or something? Is that why you can't really talk? Here, uh.. I have a better idea! Why don't you talk to me over text? I know what a real bummer is to lose your voice 'cause you're too loud! Haha!
_{[ not the reason why, but you know. ]}

Send me a message! My user name is FUCKYEAH!

[Even though that isn't the reason she lost her ability to speak, she's just happy that she got the message across--even if it didn't go as she expected. But she smiles nonetheless and nods her head.]

un: diclonius

Thank you! Sorry the for the confusion earlier, strange things have happened to me ever since I ate the fruit that was growing in another part of the maze.

[Although her hindered speech came after the temporary blindness.]

I think this is only temporary, though, so I'll be speaking again soon enough.

[At least, she hopes. If this is anything like the blindness, it should go away in a couple of days.]

Edited 2017-08-22 07:11 (UTC)

[ He hadn’t needed a rescue. Not really. There’s no way that a bug could really cause any lasting damage to him, but rather unexpectedly, Sebastian s quite patient for a demon. If he were completely alone, he would have ripped it apart easily, but alas, he knows he’s not. He has to keep up appearances, since even if him being a demon wouldn’t be that remarkable, he’s still careful. It’s a habit at this point. Though even so, he had been getting bored of waiting here, and had nearly decided to throw caution to the wind and simply take care of the thing. However, someone beats him to it.

The ring of the shot surprises him slightly, though it doesn’t come with anything more than a light raise of his eyebrows. He watches as America barrels in, and his first thought is naturally just how inelegant it is. This is only heightened as he starts to yell about it, and Sebastian can only sigh. ]

You may draw more attention acting like that, though…

[ He’s speaking largely to himself here, since he doubts the man is even paying attention enough to listen. But with that brash entrance, it’s at least excuse enough for him to leave his perch. Sebastian jumps out of the tree as America readies another shot. The way he speaks is extremely polite and formal, and also exceedingly British. ]

I hardly need protecting, but since you are here, we may as well take care of this thing!

_{[ Bang! Bang! Bang! He's firing one after another after another right when Sebastian lands to his feet near him. His speech gets him to perk up and look over at him, brightening to see him here to help him, or something. ]}

Uh, great! Here's the first thing you can do, man. You can ab-so-lutely just move your ass over there, waaaaaaaay the fuck over there, and don't do anything! That'll help me out a lot!

_{[ There's a brash slap on the shoulder, looks like we're buddy-buddy already. ]}

Can ya do that solid for me, broski?
_{[ basically he wants to take care of it himself? but you know, it's kind of impossible. ]}

[ There’s a lot to immediately take in here, because it’s clear that this man is a personality to put it very nicely. From his accent, he believes that he’s… American, isn’t it? His ventures have been so limited to Europe that he can’t be completely sure, but if he’s right, he’s also quite surprised. He had heard that Americans were quite straightforward people, but this is to a degree that’s almost startling.

His own reaction unintentionally ends up being quite fitting of the stereotypical, stuffy English butler, because his mouth sets in a frown, and when he’s pat on the back, he looks at his hand as if it had done something quite rude. ]

I— [ He does take a half step away, but that’s just to avoid getting pat on the back again, honestly. ] Well, I do not wish to insult your skills, but really, I insis—

[ Of course, his being polite does take time, and that’s time they may not completely have. One of their new friends charges towards both of them, since now they’re conveniently located together. ]

That's nice, man!
_{[ He sounds more irritated than he does happy, so it's obvious the words are insincere. ]}

This isn't really the right time to be all soops _{[ "super" ]} stuffy and all British up in my grill— I gotta take these guys out!
_{[ Notice how he left out we.
Anyway, it's just about that time he has to reload, the beetle begins to charge at them. America braces himself but doesn't exactly move. He looks a little perplexed as to why this things hasn't killed over from being blown to oblivion, but maybe the hard shell has something to do with it. He remembers back before France & England were fighting over him, he played with the bugs a lot.. they're pretty tough guys! ]}

Maybe you should just run away!
_{[ He says, while he shows no signs of budging himself. That whole throw them to another place plan? That's what he's going for next. ]}

[ This is mildly irritating, if only because Sebastian has rather strict standards for himself by now on when and when not to show hints of his actual abilities. He tends to prefer the "not" side, because having the element of surprise can be quite useful. Technically speaking, he probably shouldn't think of it in such a way if they're supposed to be teammates, but, well, he's not exactly a trusting creature.

So he sighs, and as America reloads his gun, Sebastian approaches less timidly. ]

We—

[ He corrects, especially since this man is even more brash than he thought? The fact that he doesn't move at all either speaks to endurance like he himself has or... Simply stupidity. He knows which one he's personally guessing. He dashes forward as the beetle starts to lower its horn, but Sebastian simply grabs it. It takes both hands and does send him back a foot or two, but as he bears down to push against the beetle, it seems that he's strong enough to stop it, much against his appearance. ]

Now, if you would shoot it somewhere tender, that would be appreciated!

[ are you fucking kidding him, please. dude. p l e a s e. ]

Oh my god, don't face it head on, man, it's gonna trample you to death!

[ gun or no gun, Stiles is pretty sure this guy is toast, or at least preparing for some very painfully cracked ribs after the beetle makes it to him — which is why he lifts his hands and raises the shields he's been keeping up to stop the beetle from knocking down the tree, only this time he raises them not close to him but close to this weird, probably-suicidal stranger. ]

There's shields around you, they'll hold it for a minute! So if you were waiting for the moment to pump it full of lead, this is so that moment.

Nothing can trample me, I'm invincible! If I can't blow it up, I'll just throw it somewhere else!
_{[ Throw it.. somewhere else. He doesn't do very well with planning, does he? Good news is that America absolutely believes there's shields around him without question from this otherwise average looking guy. The best thing that Stiles could do in this situation is exactly that, because now he feels encouraged that he has some assistance.
His gun loads and he waits until he's closer to the beetle to fire and let loose, shot after shot.

The beetle makes some noises as if its injured, but it isn't down. He backs off from America for just a minute, but by the look of its posture, it's probably about to charge right for him.

At least Stiles isn't its target anymore. ]}

That's not — [ how it works, jesus christ??

except apparently, it does. work, that is, at least somewhat... the shield holds, and he has to hand it to the guy, at least he looks comfortable handling a gun and facing down a giant beetle; confident enough that despite himself, some of Stiles' skepticism fades. maybe he's actually pulling this off, maybe they're actually, you know, making it out of this without any injuries or anything.

except the beetle is one tough bastard, or so it seems. ]

Hey! If it charges right at you, there's nothing I can do to stop it! I don't know what your deal is, but you don't look invincible to me, so —

[ shit, shit, the beetle is maybe one second away from its charge, and Stiles is not going to let this stranger get hurt trying to defeat it. which is why he's promptly abandoning his place in the tree and jumping down. ] Okay, okay, with two of us there's better chances of, you know, both of us getting out of this alive.

_{[ America prepares to reload again, but Stiles is moving from his perch and he dramatically throw out a hand in Stiles' direction. ]}

Easy there, broseph! I can't let you die on my watch, my man. If this thing's gonna try and get me, I'll wrestle it!
_{[ It looks like he's putting away his gun for now and steadying his footing. His hands are straight out, ready to grab onto any limbs that this giant bug has. Sure enough, it charges right for him.

If Stiles doesn't do anything, they'll collide, and well... we'll see how it goes. ]}

Nobody is going to die on anyone's watch!?

[ he means it to come out as a statement, but it ends up sounding more like a half-question, because, seriously?? but the beetle is charging, and Stiles has no time to do anything, nothing but hope they can somehow stop the beetle close enough for him to reach the electro-staff he'd dropped, earlier, to maybe use it for what Anakin gave it to him for —

but for now? good luck, America, here's hoping the beetle doesn't trample you to death!! ]

(no subject)

herocomplex - 2017-08-18 15:24 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

figureitout - 2017-08-22 17:39 (UTC) - Expand

[ Chatty blonds are his specialty. Or at least attracting them, so he doesn't really mind the talking. Anything is better than the sounds of the maze being... well, a maze. Which is innately spooky and mysterious. ]

Ghosts would probably be the least of our problems.

[ Hey, he's just being honest here. There's probably an unpleasant odor coming from Noctis that the poor guy is now exposed to, and he has an unpleasant rash on the side of his face that looks telling enough of the situation. ]

Ghosts can't bite you. Everything else here can.

[ And probably will. Noctis has had enough creepy alien bugs gnawing on him to attest to that, and one would think with all the giant lizards around, the bug population would be controlled at least somewhat. ]

_{[ Yeah, spooky and mysterious! Like some horror movie. America doesn't like it. He's already a person who is put on edge, so put him in a scenario like this and he just gets extra jumpy. Anyway, on he goes, his voice getting louder by the second.. a specialty of his. ]}

That's exactly the problem though, man! I can obliterate anything! But ghosts, you know, they're all transparent-y and not very solid-y so there's really nothing you can do about it!
_{[ He sniffs the air, his nose scrunching soon after. ]}

.. Dude, did you just rip one and not give me a heads up? What kinda bro are you, fo' serious?!

[ Noctis reacts to the accusation like a bird getting all its feathers simultaneously ruffled, and his embarrassment levels surge upwards, wondering if it's that bad. It's true he hasn't had a bath in a long while -not after being attacked by the lizardpocalypse in the water and just about everywhere else imaginable.

Besides, whoever smelt it, dealt it. That rule still applies even thousands of miles away from home. ]

No way, that wasn't me!

[ Which doesn't stop him from discreetly smelling himself and wincing at the odor. Okay, it was probably him, but not in the way this guy is thinking. ]

Lay off, it's not like there's a shower anywhere here.

[ And the water is very much full of things trying to eat him, need he remind all present parties here. ]

_{[ Because he doesn't trust Noctis' words, America is just gonna lean over and take a hesitant whiff of his new back up. Yeah, that's right. You're "back up" now. ]}

Holy freaking shit dude, it's totes you! It's okay if you smell really bad, but at least admit it! What did you do? Fall into a toilet?
_{[ because this place looks like it would have toilets, right. Then, his voice lowers: ]}

Or, hey, I know you're probably nervous and I won't tell anyone that you probably just sharted in your pants, you just gotta let me know. 'Cause I might have some spare Fruit of the Loom in here somewhere.
_{[ He did come with reinforcements, at least. ]}

[ Can the ground just kindly swallow him up right now? Wait, why is this guy offering him fruit? How did it come to this?

He lifts his hands quickly, unable to hide his annoyance in his almost belligerent response- ]

No, I didn't-! you know... I didn't do that.

[ Because he's a prince (most of the time), and princes don't talk about sharting. At least, not with strangers. ]

I told you, I just haven't showered in a while. My pants are fine.

[ They're covered in dirt and mud, but he didn't mess them up in other ways. Granted, he was almost tempted to a few times lizards happened to jump at him and catch him off-guard. ]

How did you manage to stay so clean in the jungle?

[ Did he literally just sit in one spot and not move the entire time? Something feels off here. ]

If it's ghosts, I can handle it! [She says, but she's also afraid of ghosts... despite being a spirit medium]

[how weird] I'm a spirit medium... in training! Skeletons and giant acid lizards are more what we have to worry about, though.

[she sounds perfectly cheerful as she says it, though]

_{[ Woah there, lady. You're jumping to assumptions.. (even though you're right..) ]}
Hey, I didn't say I couldn't handle it.. I just said.. it's nothing we gotta worry about, right!? They're a pain in the ass!
_{[ And then: ]}

Skeletons and giant acid lizards? That sounds like... a piece of cake, honestly!
_{[ why the hesitance, then.. ]}

I've eaten marmite before, so I think I can handle anything!
_{[ ??? ]}

[So convincing, America...] If you say so.

[She tilts her head, though, pretty much letting him slide.... except for one detail]

What's marmite? Is it marmalade for termites?

[Because, if so, that would be impressive]

Dude, probably. It's like.. probably marmalade made out of termites!
_{[ Honestly, he has no idea. ]}

Britain has some funny foods, but I can't blame him. He has awful taste in everything else!
_{[ Here we go, referring countries to people. ]}

I'm not really scared of anything besides his cooking and I don't think we've got that around here, so we're safe! Safe from weirdo British food!

EVENT ★ LABYRINTH III: THE ESCAPE

U.S.A | ota, new arrival

B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

a

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

a;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

B.

no subject

no subject

no subject

i need to stop laughing long enough to actually write a response

maze

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)