What Lovely Specimens. PLOT

[Locke F. Herald]

She came with a friend? A Star? He'd heard that before....wasn't that the name of her godfather?

"All right, let's find him." Locke said standing up, any thought of Garion or the others gone from his mind. Kiri and her friends, they were the first priority to him.

"But how? Did any of the rats or things in here see him? How will we know?"

He paused and heard someone running up from behind him, and whirled around to shield Kiri. Whatever came around that corner, if it meant him harm, it'd soon regret it.

[eryk]

Eryk was lost. Too many smells, too many people, too much chaos. Find a hall, run down it, find a room try to get in it, which was hard on four paws. As he ran down one hallway he spotted something at the other end crawling. Anything crawling could not be an enemy, hopefully. Padding along he came up behind the crawling thing only to find a naked boy, one that reeked of fear.

Had to be one of the kids taken. He whined loudly trying to get the boy's attention. Lowering himself to the floor he did his best to look non-threatening with a wagging tail to boot. Eryk creeped forward going to nose the boy's arm. Come on lil' guy. You need to follow me. Dammit he' just a kid! He whined again creeping close to the blond boy. The boy that had been left alone by a scared little fae girl.

[Raelena St. John]

Rae smiled as Eve interposed herself between Cylo and Rae. Like anything would ever happen there. The redhead clearly stared at ax-girl, and Rae wouldn't even think once about someone armed with Cylo's equipment. Still, the semi-valiant action drove Rae to peck her girlfriend on the cheek. She remained there for a whispered conversation.

"I disnae like 'im either, Eve. Why do ye ken I put 'im in front? But we need tae use 'im as long as we can. Little psycho too," Rae grinned at Eve now, "lass's name is Kirien, by the by, an' she's got a nice body."

Yes, Rae would bring something like that up in during a battle scene. No one should be surprised by this.

"We need tae keep 'im from th' wee kiddies though," she agreed, jerking her head down the hallway, "which is why I told Eryk tae get ahead. Ye willnae find a softer hand, an' he can take care o' himself."

She turned, looking at Cylo. "Soon as laddie here's ready, we need tae look deeper. Karmine an' th' kiddies gotta be around somewhere."

[Karmine de Arcadia]

OOC: Gore. Weak of constitution should not read. You have been warned.

Karmine strolled into the elevator, reflecting on the last sixty seconds of his life, they'd been an interesting one that was for sure.

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"Hey!" He called, in his guard disguise, when the elevator opened. "We've got insurgents upstairs, we need to get up there!" And the guards seemed more then willing to take him at his word, except for one, who stopped and looked at him.

"Hey, who are you?" And in an instant, Karmine vanished. Well appeared to vanish. He actually just combined a glamor with shrinking, and it would be a moment before their eyes could adjust to that. He drew his sword and flew right up to the face of the man who questioned him, barely the size of his nose.

"Boo." He said with a downright evil grin, and shoved his sword into the softest point on his body. Gruesome and horrible, yes, but there was a reason why he sent Kiri and Starr ahead. To win he'd have to fight to kill, and he wasn't going to let them see that.

As the man fell down of the ground screaming, and clutching his eye which was now erupting with blood, the other soldiers crowded around him, as Karmine returned to proper size behind them. With a slash he cut into another guard's neck, and he crumpled to the ground, his blood making the corridor slick. One of the guards in heavier armor pushed to the front.

"Steel won't get through this, die!" he shouted lowering his gun to Karmine. Karmine ducked down and thrust up, his sword through the man's gut.

"Why." He said slowly. "Would I use anything as weak as steel?" He asked the man with a grin.

There were eight men when he started, and there was one left in sixty seconds. Karmine, shirtless and with his trousers coated in a thick layer of blood, strolled away from the scene into the elevator shaft. He hated to leave Kiri alone here, but he wasn't going to let her see him like this.

No, her godfather was a kind, loving and understanding man. He was not capable of such heartless murder.

[aaron]

Star was becoming hopelessly lost, inside and outside of his mind, when he caught a whiff of something. Something natural. Fur. Star looked up at the big, hulking wolf, but was anything but threatened. His wings started to move slightly as he inched towards the giant pile of muscle.

When he was finally close enough, Star looked directly into the wolf's eyes, willing it not to disappear.

[eryk]

Sighing in relief Eryk wagged his tail and gave a happy yip. He nodded toward the hallway he'd just come down and took a small step down it. Stopping he looked to the boy ushering his head for the scared fae to follow. He lopped his tongue out while wagging his tail trying his best to look like just a friendly pup trying to help.

Come on kid we don't have time. Now that he'd found one he wanted to find more. He took another step down the hallway and whined wanting the kid to follow him. Being a scrawny, grey wolf wasn't helping with the communicating factor. Wait, some of the kids new Rae. They knew she was a wolf right? He padded to the boy licked his hand then titled his head back and howled. The message in that howl was of hope nothing that would worry Rae. If anything it would be a happy message.

After that he headed down the hall again pausing frequently for the boy to follow. Even if people he didn't want to hear that howl found them they'd find a very angry wolf. One who liked pain, and wouldn't stop until his charge was safe.

[matt]

"Hey, Locke!" The young Cavanite called when he found Locke and Kiri, raising his hands in the air to show he meant them no harm. "Don't sweat, I'm a good guy." He gave the pair what was meant to be a reassuring grin, but as usual, it looked more awkward than anything.

"Come on, we need to get back to Morgan and Garion. We've got to stick together...and last I saw them some scientist was doing who-knows-what."

Matt looked a little confused at the appearance of Kiri. There were only supposed to be four captives, but if Locke was holding her like that, she was far from their enemy. Perhaps she was part of the Rescue Team? He smiled again at the thought, looking a little less awkward and more genuine this time. Things were starting to look up.

He shivered when he heard something that sounded like a howl. What exactly was going on?!

"L-let's go!" He urged, a wave of fear coursing through him. Being eaten by something that made that noise didn't appeal to him.

[Admin]

By now the various workers of the corporation were fleeing faster then rats in a sinking ship. They scurried for whatever exit they could find. Some were even opting for simply sealing themselves off and waiting for it all to end.

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Niplik had scurried away quite quickly, and nearly collided with the Director. The imposing leader simply stared down at his subordinate, arching his brows. Of course, this earned a flurry of stutters and hand flailing. Nothing substantial, of course.

"We're leaving," the Director explained, oddly succinct. He nodded and began striding down the hall with purpose.

Niplik followed along, looking like nothing so much as an overeager puppy.


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Stephens was making good time as he plowed through the halls. such good time that he almost didn't see the gathering. But he nearly stumbled into Locke and Kiri, so he couldn't very well avoid them.

"Children," he rumbled, pausing to look at them. There were only three, one was a girl, and none of them looked armed or particularly dangerous. Perhaps he should consider apprehending them, and getting something of worth from this whole event. He reached for Kiri's hair, wanting to grab onto something substantial.

[aaron]

Star just followed the wolf on his hands and knees. He knew that if he lost sight of it, he would die.

Or worse.

Star took in the look of the wolf with hungry eyes, trying to soak up as much of it as possible. A glamor around him shifted, giving him the exact appearance as the wolf that had come to save him.

In the back of Aaron's feral mind, his sanity started to build up, bit by bit.

Star even replicated Eryk's howl, albeit quieter and not quite as fearsome. The wolf would let him get above ground! In the air! In the sunlight! That was all that mattered. The girl that left him behind, the girl he left behind, the school he could never return to, all that was pushed into the little corner of his mind to keep his sanity company.

[morg]

OoC:Since Rob didn't say anything, I'm going to assume that Morgan took out the poor scientist... or I'm overlooking something (wouldn't be the first time.) Regardless, I don't want Morgan to get abandoned.

The scientist didn't have anything overly useful on him, so Morgan left the body. She hurried away, and barely noticed Garion.

"Garion?" she paused, looking at the boy and blinking. "You got caught too?" She grinned. "Looks like they underestimated us, huh? C'mon, let's blow this joint."

She waved and hurried down the corridor, actually heading in the right direction. As she walked, she made certain to scan the walls, knowing her freakish memory was taking in everything.

"Who else is free, and what's with all the noise?" she asked Garion, not turning to look at him.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke was about to zap Matt when he recognized him, and lowered his guard.

"Right, let's go." He said nodding, holding on to Kiri.

And the the big man from the school came around the corner as well, Locke's eyes went large as he saw the mountain of a man, and he reached for Kiri.

Locke had a mind that remembered everything.

Locke had a body that remembered everything.

Locke could control electricity.

And Locke had been tazed before. He remembered it, the current, the voltage and amperage, and now as the man reached for Kiri he pulled all of that information as he reached out his hand as if to grab the mountain's face.

"Get AWAY from her!" He screamed, his voice horse, and his fingers crackling like miniature Tesla coils. The lights in the hallway went out, coating them in darkness. The only light came from the electricity arcing from Locke's hand.

[Kiri Honeywater]

Kiri let out a blood curdling scream as the man yanked her hair. She reached back with her hands her nails going for any skin she could find. Screaming words only heard before by other, older people. Her calls brought rats, spiders, and other things that lived in the dark and would listen.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Kiri pulled and reached back with her hands trying to get away. No where near strong enough she cried out from the pain of her hair getting yanked like a rope.

The rats only a dozen or so came out at him looking for flesh. Their claws ready to help the little fae girl, their sharp teeth bared in hisses.

[Admin]

So Stephens had apparently underestimated the small children. He could accept that by now. Grunting, he just pulled until he got a few hairs loose, then edged away. He barely missed being tazed, unless Locke was aiming quite well and/or intent on doing so. Even then, Stephens was counting on his large body mass to absorb enough of it to keep upright.

Once he was on the other side of the children, Stephens would take off, hair clutched in a massive fist. This simply wasn't worth it, and Stephens knew far too much to be waste here.

Not to mention how embarrassing it would be to have to explain it to someone that he'd been beaten by a little cat boy, eaten by rats, and kicked to death by a small blonde child.

Stephens shook off rats as he moved, and attempted to kick a few away, wishing he'd agreed to take the "more dangerous" job of guarding that African dictator.

[Garion DeLuse]

Garion trudged along Morgan, who seemed to be taking everything in stride. Just like her.

"Um... Locke and some pyro are wandering around.... Locke ran off in the opposite direction, and I sent the pyro to follow him. Um... do you know where we're going?" Garion stared at the girl who was confidently walking, as if she'd built this place and designed the map.

Morgan was acting strangely cold, but Garion decided not to purse the matter.

[scythe]

He tossed his last little toy against the wall with a sickening crack before turning to stare at the noncombatants. Two were whispering while staring in his direction. Grinning he put a finger in his mouth to suck off the blood. Lick, ingest, remove. Then he turned back around and headed deeper inside.

The war dragon didn't need orders all the time. He knew why they'd come and what needed to be done. The smartest thing was for the muscle bound man to go first. Front, ahead, before. Any trouble he was sure to handle and if the ohers wanted to follow they could. With a little wave he left the others behind.

If the left without him he was sure to find his own way out. Even if that way was changing into a raging dragon. Reptile, lizard, monster. It was quick, it was easy, and damn if it wasn't fun as hell.