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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Jul 21, 2019 21:09:41 GMT -5
Max charged through the hallways ahead of the boys with wild abandon, her focus squarely on retracing their steps and getting back to the jet. Her confiscated photon blaster was ever at the ready, and sure enough, when a duo of guards rounded a corner and blocked their path, while Max's first instinct was to yelp in surprise and stumble to a halt, her second was to open fire, generating a burst of white hot energy from the gun's barrel, the sphere fast and enormous enough to strike both men and knock them down, prone and twitching. After recovering from the recoil and the surprise from the sheer intensity of that blast, Max continued to sprint, leaping over the fallen guards with little issue.
She heard Ryan call her name, prompting a quick glance over her shoulder. Eyes forward again, Max responded, "I'm somewhat comprehensive when it comes to takeoffs and keeping it steady, but I don't trust myself to land it! I know we're hard-pressed for time, but if Lydia doesn't get us back, we all just might die!"
Speaking of, Will was talking to Lydia again, not only to convey the good news and the potentially problematic news, but also to confirm Max's fears to the letter. An anxious groan escaped her chest. So not only did Will have one of LunArc's parasites inside him, posing a much more direct threat to Lydia, but it also happened to be their most dangerous one.
"Just hang on a little longer, Lydia!" Max called out, pausing for a moment, checking around a corner, and blasting every person in the hallway before continuing in that direction. "We're on the home stretch!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Jul 21, 2019 22:05:35 GMT -5
Lydia exhaled a tremendous sigh of relief when Will responded, simply taking a moment to be happy that something was finally going right. And going a step further, Will actually had something positive to say now that they could hear each other again.
Somehow, in the midst of Lydia's radio silence, they managed to snag the microchip, and judging by her visual feed, the team was now free and making their way through the building and back to the jet. That alone got Lydia sitting up straight and pumping a fist. "ALRIGHT!!!"
Also, apparently, Dr. Michaels and her crew had gotten into some spot of trouble. Will's wording was vague and just as strange as she had come to expect from her host, but Lydia at least got the impression that they had endured some sort of transformation. "Alright...?"
And then the bad news. Someone else was in there with her. Specifically Mr. Stone. "All... WHAT??"
Lydia tensed up in her seat and started warily checking every monitor her pod had. So Mr. Stone had been miniaturized and injected into Will? It wasn't exactly hard to assume why, and it was freaking her out quite a bit to imagine a hostile confrontation while she was still inside Will, especially with the man who killed Jack. He could've been anywhere in there...
She could hear Max addressing her, prompting Lydia to buck up slightly. In spite of the approaching threat, she still had work to do. She was the only one who could guarantee the group a safe return to the island. "Okay... Okay, don't worry about me, Will! Just get yourselves back to the jet! I'm still hardwired into your brain for the puppet routine and it's a pain to set up and unhook, so I'm not leaving this spot until I get you guys home!"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Jul 22, 2019 11:35:00 GMT -5
"Okay, everyone! Run! Run as fast as you can! Every last second counts here, especially with what we're gonna have to do!" Keep it vague, just in case the creepy guy can hear what you're saying, don't wanna blow Lydia's location!
He examined the blaster in his hands, jumping a bit when it fired. Okay, guns and the like were not foreign to Will, but this kind definitely was! Suppressing a shudder, he kept the blaster low. "L-Lydia said she'll guide us! Ah, is that the exit?! I think that might be the exit! Only one way to find out!" And by "guide us" Will of course meant "Lydia is gonna bodyjack me and use me as a meat-puppet again."
And by find out, well, he actually meant find out.
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Post by ColArana on Aug 1, 2019 9:02:35 GMT -5
Ryan was surprised at how easily Max was handling her weapon as she dispatched the two guards. She had a serious fire and conviction in her that Ryan found himself a little envious of. Indeed when the guards confronted them, Ryan found himself hesitating for a split-second-- a split second in which Max opened fire and blasted the guards into next week. "G-geeze Max..." He murmured as he rushed onwards. Ryan began to accelerate now, pulling ahead of the group and rounding a corner, in the hopes of drawing fire towards himself instead of his more vulnerable colleagues. Keep it together Ryan. You're not going to kill anyone today... You know. Assuming that they hadn't killed Cora and the scientists back in the lab? ...Right?
"Anything I can do to help with the takeoff let me know. Just like Will said, every second counts!" Ryan exclaimed. He was pretty sure they were going the right way. His brain had mapped out the building as they were brought in. He was reasonably certain he could navigate them back to their landing bay, where their escape craft would hopefully be. "Max and Will on pilot duty. I'll do anything I can to support." Worst came to worst, maybe Ryan could wire himself into the ship to give it a power boost.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Aug 2, 2019 18:53:50 GMT -5
"What??" Max asked somewhat demandingly, looking back at Ryan, genuinely confused by his reaction to her fighting grit. "They were gonna shoot at us!"
She continued to charge down the hallway, following Ryan as he took the lead, trusting that they were going the right way. She heard Will fire off a round from his gun, and the subsequent crunching sounds of a portion of the ceiling crashing down were certainly telling, but once Max was certain that Will and Lydia were still right there beside them, she thought little of the collateral damage. Whatever it took to ensure they weren't so easily followed.
Sure enough, the group reached a door at the end of the corridor, and kicking it open revealed the wide stretch of runway they had landed on and the jet that had brought them there.
"YES! LET'S GO!" One quick scan of their surroundings later, Max was off like a shot, racing towards the jet and sweet, sweet freedom.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Aug 2, 2019 20:36:43 GMT -5
Lydia let out a brief sigh of relief as the jet appeared in Will's eyes. They were almost there...
She looked to the monitor displaying a map of her present location. If anything in the environment changed, it would notify her. All she could do was pray that nothing came for her until she had landed the jet.
As the team on the outside approached their escape vehicle, as she readied her motor cortex override system for the hijacking process, the thought occurred to Lydia just much was on the line now. From the start, this whole mission had been focused on saving her. She had already expressed her guilt in putting Will, Max and Ryan in danger in the process. Now they were depending on her to get all of them back in one piece, and if push truly came to shove there in Will's head, it was either Lydia's life... or everyone's.
A feeling of dread welled up in Lydia's throat, but not for her own sake. She was a pilot. She was trained to anticipate danger. In that moment, all she cared about was her faultless ex-girlfriend, the innocent kid who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the man who got saddled with all of her problems through pure happenstance. She couldn't loose them too.
"Alright... Will?" Lydia took a deep breath. "Same thing as before. Just relax and I'll get you outta here. Just promise... no matter what happens to me... you guys keep yourselves safe. Okay?"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Aug 2, 2019 20:47:42 GMT -5
"Ahh! Freedom! I think we might actually be in the clear!"
Will's heart was pounding, and it wasn't just from the running. Was this it? Had their little stupid plan actually worked?? Were they... were they going to make it?? "Max, Ryan! Get in the metal flying contraption! Lydia'll get us to the ground!" They're gonna make it they're gonna make it they're gonna make it Lydia's gonna be fine everyone's mostly unscathed and Max might even get a good story out!!
The sound of foot on rock never sounded so good until now. It was relieving, really. "Go, go, go! Before the god of fate decides to screw us over with whatever!" Ah, good! Max and Ryan were in! Once he was sure of that, he took the pilot seat.
"Lydia! Time for liftoff! Let's ignite this firestorm!!"
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Post by ColArana on Aug 4, 2019 14:44:23 GMT -5
At Max's comment, Ryan gave a sheepish expression. "I mean yeah, but damn! That was instant! You've got killer instincts Max." And a reminder not to mess with her... Ryan thought, remembering that a pissed off Max had been a terror to behold. Trying to shove thoughts of how much danger Lydia was in, out of his mind.
Then Will said the cursed words.
Ryan glared at Will. "Don't you go saying that Will!" He exclaimed. "Do not jinx us!" Ryan scrambled in the back of the jet. "Start the takeoff Max." Ryan said, physically grabbing hold of the entry ramp and starting to manually pull it up. "Every second counts, so let's hurry up and get going!" Ryan's eyes darted around the interior of the jet, looking for something that could be an electrical panel. I can probably interface with it, worst comes to worst. He thought as he tried to secure the boarding ramp.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Aug 5, 2019 14:39:32 GMT -5
Max completed her mad sprint across the tarmac in what felt like no time at all, scrambling up the ramp and leaping into the jet like her life depended on it. She paused only briefly to catch her breath, switch on her weapon's safety, and watch to ensure that Will and Ryan boarded safely. Once everyone was inside, Max dove into the copilot's seat and, with surprisingly sharp memory, started the plane up and prepared it for takeoff. "Hang tight back there, Ryan!"
Will took the pilot's chair, giving Lydia leeway to take control of the jet through him. Apprehension crossed Max's face. Despite Lydia's awkward position, she did bring them to the moon base safely, and Max certainly trusted her to get them back home. It was just a matter of how long she had before either her low levels of oxygen or Mr. Stone caught up with her, and it was difficult to decide which was the worse fate.
"Lydia?" Max strapped herself in but kept her eyes on Will. "Don't back yourself into a corner in there. Stay safe."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Aug 6, 2019 13:48:54 GMT -5
They were on the jet. The island was practically within their reach. Any thoughts of Mr. Stone were briefly expelled from Lydia's mind as she placed all focus on the singular task of getting her team home and back to the lab in a timely fashion.
She lowered her visual feed headset and slipped her arms into the motion control gear. "Engaging motor cortex override."
"MOTOR CORTEX OVERRIDE INITIATED."
"Let's do this!"
Lydia reached forward, commanding Will's arms in turn, booting up every last instrument she needed before taking the controls. Then, from Will's right, she heard Max's firm but genuine request that Lydia look out for herself. As much as she appreciated the concern, she still couldn't help but respond with a sigh. "Easier said than done, Max."
As she steered the plane across the landing pad, angling it for takeoff, Lydia took another deep breath and opted to take back her words, even if Max couldn't hear them directly. "You too."
The jet sped down the runway. The turbines in the wings roared to life. The jet ascended at a steady angle, lifting into the void, carrying its passengers on a straight shot away from LunArc and towards the island. They were almost there. Smooth sailing awaited them for as long as circumstances would permit, and even still, things could only improve from here, right?
---------------------------
"Hello?! Is anybody out there?! We're in testing Room 1! Can anyone hear me?!"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Aug 6, 2019 14:39:41 GMT -5
As Lydia took control of his body to get them the fuck outta here, Will retreated into his own mind.
William Siegfried Lowe, he thought. For the first time in your life, you just might have done the right thing.
He couldn't help but crack a small grin. Look at you. Kid that was found sleeping next to a bunch of corpses who couldn't even remember his own name. Might have even made those corpses. Mom raised you right, even if this is probably the only time you're actually doing the heroic thing. Even if it was forced on him, even if he wasn't the type to actively seek adventure... it felt nice.
"... Just between you and me, guys," Will said out loud. "This honestly feels like the best thing I've ever done in my life."
---
...
"... Nrgh..."
Liderc pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head? What had happened? Oh, right. He accidentally touched the muckraker's electrical stick, and then his species' accursed vulnerability did the rest. Looking up, he scowled at the empty room. Clearly, the captives had escaped. "Well, that's going to be a problem in getting my ship back, isn't it?"
His auditory channels were picking up a voice. Sighing, he got to his walky fronds and began pacing towards the source of the sound. "Okay, I don't know what happened," he muttered. "But let's just hope there was a third party. Would be rather embarrassing if a bunch of children did that."
Opening the door, Liderc blinked, not quite sure what to make of what he was seeing. But startled certainly wasn't what he was feeling.
"... Having a little trouble, doctor? I can safely say this is only the twenty-eighth strangest thing I've ever seen in a laboratory."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Aug 6, 2019 15:15:36 GMT -5
From beneath the metal grate that kept the chamber in the lab floor sealed shut, there came a tiny sigh of relief. Dr. Michaels's voice fallowed, still recognizable despite it sounding she was huffing helium. "Mr. Serapis, thank goodness..."
"Unbelievable. Look what you've done to us, Cora." Someone else in the chamber was suffering from a similarly squeaky voice.
"Quit your fussing. We're still alive. Mr. Serapis, press the green button on the control panel!"
"He'll never be able to figure it out."
"The man has a basic grasp on spoken language. I think he can very well push a button."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Aug 6, 2019 16:27:25 GMT -5
"I know what colour is what, thanks, despite your language having only twenty-six symbols plus whatever punctuation you have," Liderc muttered in response to the technician's quip. "And besides, the ones we have are a bit more... complicated, more sophisticated than just a bunch of buttons."
There were signs of violence on the panel. Apparently, someone thought brute strength was the best option. Sighing at that, Liderc pressed the green button, watching as he was greeted to...
...
...
Liderc blinked at what was under the grate. "I assume you were not intending to turn yourself into peregrines? No, wait, they still sound normal and aren't, well..."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Aug 8, 2019 14:17:15 GMT -5
"Thank you, Mr. Serapis, but now is not the time for casual observation," Dr. Michaels insisted, her tone deadly serious despite the high pitch of her voice. "I need your help to gather a ground team and ready a ship for immediate departure. We need those chips now more than ever."
"Uh... How are we getting out of this pit first?"
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