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Post by SlvrNight on Aug 6, 2017 13:52:53 GMT -5
Ah what a familiar feeling. Once again up against an enemy that was far beyond her own capabilities with the tools currently at her disposal, leaving Sasha to simply stand behind cover or her allies and allow them to deal with it. She had long accepted there would be times like this, but the feeling of uselessness was never easy to deal with. She saw Mars briefly look back at her as he defended her against the carnivorous plant and she sighed in response. The half-akma mercenary would have a harder time with having to constantly look after her instead of being able to put his full focus on killing the flora creature. If there was a safe location for her to head to, she would have done just that. Then Mars could go all out.
But that wasn't the case here. Their opponent would likely be able to bend and twist its way around any cover. Instead, Sasha put all her effort into thinking of a plan, anything she could do to help. SEEKER had said, and shown, that burning the creature was effective. In which case...
Sasha took her pistol out from its holster, her mind working in an attempt to figure something out. Ever since she went independent and left the agency she had to purchase most of her equipment with her own money, meaning that her ammunition wasn't exactly the highest quality. Firing her gun frequently gave off sparks, but would that be enough to really do anything? The detective then decided that if they survived this and solved the case, she'd use the payment from Norman Salm to buy a magitech pistol.
Seemed to be a pretty decent "if" at the moment though.
Sasha's emerald eyes looked around the area, trying to see what could give an advantage to them. Her eyes then stopped on the large pile of corpses that the floral creature sprouted beneath.
"One of you! Set the piles of corpses on fire!! That thing's practically wrapped around it!" As she said this she poked her head from behind Mars and fired a few shots from her pistol at the creature's mouths.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Aug 8, 2017 6:04:37 GMT -5
SEEKER immediately understood what Sasha was getting at.
Trusting Mars to cover him, he aimed his weapon at the pile of corpses and fired away. It was almost comically simple, and yet it produced effective results. Ray after ray of scorching light fried the corpses until the stems caught fire. With the fertilizer ablaze, the stems of the weed turned ashen. Otherworldy screeches and squeals resounded as the creature's death was sealed.
Their immediate threat was all but taken care of. Were it so easy...
As the flames continued to rise, its natural companion, smoke, spread out to fill the cavern's volume. It didn't take long for dark clouds to obstruct the vision and lungs of the two humanoids.
Remaining idle would all but ensure their deaths. They needed to leave. NOW.
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Post by SlvrNight on Aug 9, 2017 23:15:48 GMT -5
"Well, that would be the logical thing to happen next." Sasha muttered. At least the creature was dying. They dodged a bullet for the most part considering it didn't do as much as it could have if the fight had continued. The detective turned away from the burning flora, coughing once as the smoke started to get to her, and called out towards her allies.
"Alright you two! Let's get back topside! Before Mars and I start coughing up our own organs!"
Trusting both the mercenary and SEEKER would respond quickly, the detective began sprinting back towards the wire rope. Originally Sasha wanted to search the area a bit, maybe possibly pursue the Midnight Rose, but that was impossible now. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure if they would've been able to even track the dryad. Not like the redhead was an expert on the creatures. At the very least she'd be able to recognize her scent next time she was around. Which would happen eventually since Sasha highly doubted she would simply abandon her intentions to kill the three of them after this.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 10, 2017 22:43:18 GMT -5
"Alright you two! Let's get back topside! Before Mars and I start coughing up our own organs!"
Little more needed to be said as the mercenary sprinted after her, keeping a close distance behind his charge and keeping his head low. Covering his mouth, Mars spotted the metal line that they had anchored to the top of the opening. Gesturing for the detective to start climbing first, he waited a few seconds to make sure SEEKER had caught up before pausing abruptly.
Wait...
How the hell would the robot make it back up to the top? Would the rope be strong enough?
The smoke and flames were quickly catching up. There was no time to ponder. He started the ascent upwards, sparing a glance towards their robotic companion to see whether he had a plan.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Aug 12, 2017 8:31:53 GMT -5
SEEKER emitted a brief, bass heavy bellow; not unlike the bark of a dog filtered through a low-quality megaphone. It was the sound of startling. A moment of panic upon realizing that the humans were in grave danger.
Before SEEKER could turn around in attempt to lead them out, the humans were already on their way to the exit. He caught up with them quickly, making it to the entrance in record time.
He was glad that the wire was left there. It made the humans' ascension out of the cavern a non-issue. He knew that the wire wouldn't hold his own weight, but thankfully he didn't need it. His body had adapted to overcome obstacles like this.
He leapt high and fast against the walls of the cavern, immediately kicking off and against the stone surface opposite of it. He repeated the process, each kick propelling him further into the air. Gradually, his wall jumping took him closer to the surface. Upon his final launch out of the hole, he made a safe, if inelegant plop against the snow.
There was no time to lie down. SEEKER immediately pushed himself back up onto his feet and looked around for the humans. He could feel the gyros inside of him slowing to a relaxing pace as he spotted them, safe and sound.
They seemed well, which he was thankful for. He briefly pondered if he should have offered to go into that hole alone. He could hardly bare the thought of them losing their lives down there....
...That was his sentimentality speaking. He had to remember that these creatures were capable of making their own decisions and taking their own risks. The guardian in him protested, but he yielded to his sense of logic.
Once they were able to calm down, the humans noticed that Sasha's holophone was ringing.
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Post by SlvrNight on Aug 12, 2017 8:41:32 GMT -5
"Wish I could do that." Sasha thought to herself as she saw SEEKER jump up the walls of the caver, making his way out. Regardless, both she and Mars got out safely and she couldn't help but release a sigh of relief once back on the surface. Even if it was still covered in snow and still horrifically cold.
"Well, good job you two. I say that was a pretty big step in-" Her holophone then began ringing, interrupting her. Sasha raised an eyebrow, perplexed by the impeccable timing, then quickly answered. She assumed it was Norman. She hoped it was Norman. After all, she had a lot to tell him.
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Post by Jisui on Aug 12, 2017 22:46:07 GMT -5
Taking a few moments to catch a breath after reaching the surface, Mars looked with slight relief upon seeing their robotic companion leap up the walls to safety after them. Even if they hadn't known him for very long, he had offered to help them at virtually no cost. It would have left a bad taste in his mouth if they had lost him down there.
...A bad taste, huh?
Good job, was it? It certainly didn't feel thay way, Mars thought quietly, his mind flashing back to the site of the burning pile of decayed corpses. A step too late it seemed. As a mercenary, he was no stranger to the sight of bodies, but it was never a sight to get used to. Especially that of innocent people.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Aug 14, 2017 19:07:58 GMT -5
The man projected by the phone had his thin lips curled downward. Norman was composed, but notably concerned.
"I lost your CPS signal. I've been trying to contact you for the past ten minutes. Did something happen?"
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Post by Jisui on Aug 14, 2017 20:33:09 GMT -5
"Wait." Mars suddenly interrupted, glancing around the perimeter tersely. "Its not safe here. Its possible that... she might still be around."
"Let's debrief while looking for a new base camp. The more distance we get from here, the better."
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Post by SlvrNight on Aug 18, 2017 11:00:34 GMT -5
Sasha paused for a moment, taking in Mars's suggestion. He was right, it was very possible the Midnight Rose was still around somewhere. While she would be able to smell her scent, it was possible the dryad was deep underground, which would make it significantly harder to catch her scent. In the end, the sooner they got away from here the better. At the very least she had his and SEEKER's eyes to look for a new suitable camp location while she focused on bringing Norman up to speed.
"Good idea, Mars. You wanna take point and keep an eye out for a good spot while we move?"
The detective then brought her attention back to Mr. Salm, waiting for Mars to take the lead and ready to follow him.
"Alright, sorry about that Norman. A lot has happened since we last spoke."
Sasha paused for a moment, getting her thoughts together.
"Well, I have both good news and bad news. We managed to find where all the missing people went, as well as who was responsible for taking them. A type of dryad who called herself the Midnight Rose. We found her, confronted her, but she escaped us by leaving a large man-eating plant in our way. But at least we now know the culprit...however..." The redhead stopped, sighed, then continued.
"Beyond that, I failed you. Like I said, we found where the missing people went. But...they're all dead. They were a pile of corpses in the Midnight Rose's den. I couldn't detect any survivors. I'm sorry Norman."
The weight of her guilt was clear in her tone. She would never be used to failing to save innocent lives, even if there was nothing she could have done differently to prevent it. It came down to Sasha simply being too hard on herself, which others had told her numerous times, but it changed nothing. She had failed to save those people, to save a single one. She did her best to push those thoughts aside. She would have time to deal with them and drown herself later on her own.
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Post by Tokrochiru on Aug 19, 2017 2:52:51 GMT -5
Norman shook his head as he heard the news. It was an awfully large number of people. Too many families that whose hearts would be broken. It was up to Norman to deliver that news to them, albeit indirectly. Sasha could practically feel crushing dread of the tasks ahead of Norman.
"Sasha, that's..."
Norman was usually a well spoken man. Usually, it only took him a moment to formulate a response. That wasn't the case this time.
The hologram depicted the man grabbing a glass from a nearby surface and downing its contents slowly.
"People who come here are supposed to be aware of the risks. The weather, the toil. Every time I hire someone, they trust my organization and I to be upfront about all the hardships they'll be undertaking. But fey kidnappings weren't part of the plan. How could we have prepared for this...this kind of murder?"
Norman sighed and set the glass down.
"We're lucky we found them at all. Fey are exceptionally gifted at hiding. I imagine the Eight Hour War made that fact truer by a factor of ten. You didn't fail. Regardless of how terrible the discovery was, this is still progress. I want you, Mars, and your machine friend to return to Agria. We can talk about what to do next after we meet again in person."
One by one, the specks of light forming the simulated image of Norman dimmed.
They had to get back to Agria. Luckily for them, they had a way of getting that task done quickly.
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