Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20190205035159/@comment-5999656-20190703034632

Lustra had only just gotten to her knees when a young woman seized her by the arm and roughly pulled her to her feet, and then virtually dragged Lustra with her in some unknown direction. Still recovering from her fall, and the emotional haze of the looming Apathy, Lustra numbly noticed the mechanical spine extending down the young woman's back as they rushed together through the dimly lit, echoing hold. The very ground beneath them was unsteady as the massive shipping containers on either side screeched from side to side in slow halts, threatening to crush them with the first strong lurch in one direction.

As she ran, however, she could feel her senses returning to her, and with them, her ability to reason.

"Hey... where are you going?"

Lustra stopped, breaking free of Jett's grasp. She could still feel the sharp edges of the Dust crystals pressing into her closed fist. The chittering of the rats could be heard all around them, the noise bouncing off the walls and ceiling, while the silhouettes of the Apathy became more defined as they drew near. Lustra ignored them both, however, as her upheld fist began to glow a bright orange and brown.

"The only way out is up... you know."

The small Fire crystal and Earth crystal in her hand began vibrating fiercely, to the point where her fist and arm were trembling just trying to contain the energy potential. When the elements had mixed into a volatile blend, Lustra splayed her hand, palm facing upwards, and a great red explosion burst forth and upwards, like a miniature volcanic eruption. The nearest rats were incinerated in an instant, and with an ear-popping crack the ceiling a few feet before the duo blew open as the light from above beamed downwards into the hold, illuminating the skullish faces of the Apathy just a few paces away.

Lustra violently shook her hand, trying to fling off the last bits of burning ash. But they didn't have time to waste; the Apathy would be stunned only momentarily at best. Lustra grabbed Jett's clothing and pulled her close.

"You've got to jump. You can make it, right?"

Without waiting for a verbal response, Lustra let go and took a running leap and in one bound, cleared the distance between the ground of the hold and the ground of the facility. She cast around. Nozomi was nowhere to be seen. In fact, it seemed this room of the facility had been abandoned by human and Grimm alike, occupied only by the smoldering wreckage of a Bullhead lying across the vacant space. Across from her, however, was a gaping jagged hole in the wall, revealing a bay with a single boat suspended in the center. And by it, she glimpsed a motley crew of people, one of whom was the swan-masked adversary she'd faced down not ten minutes earlier. A sizable horde of rats pressed against the hole, which was rapidly being blocked by a continuous jet of ice from one of the individuals within. But Lustra still had a decent amount of Dust left. Chances were, given the preexisting cracks spread through the concrete, she could bust on through with a hole of her own.

There was a sounding of beating rotors, and Lustra cast upwards to see the army of copters one by one pulling up, up, away, some with bay doors still open and people still clinging to the long dangling ropes. It seemed that, with the increasingly chaotic status of the facility and the loss of one aircraft already, the pilots had decided letting more people onboard would only endanger the lives of those already inside. Faced with the choice of saving a few versus saving none, the pilots had made the most professional, cold decision. And in doing so, left dozens of good servicemen to die.

Lustra, for her part, knew it would be futile to try and cross the distance between this venue and the next before the last of the Bullheads pulled away. But there, right there was another option. The boat, that was their best second chance.

"Come on!" Lustra shouted, bending down and extending a hand to her newfound ally. Whether she was criminal or cop mattered not to Lustra in this moment. They were in the same boat. All the girl needed to do was make a leap of faith.

______________________________

Maris jumped back and forth, gun still held tightly in ready position. The group's entrance into the shipping bay, and prompt sealing off of their entryway courtesy of Trago, had offered them a much-needed brief respite from the bloodbath of encroaching rats on the outside. Still, the facility continued to rock back and forth as the sound of countless people screaming pierced through the walls.

Diaboli had set off fixing the boat, something neither she nor Sorrel had any experience with. The agents exchanged glances through their featureless visors. As long as each of these individuals needed each other, they would not turn on each other. But the moment it seemed like things were beginning to clear, it was going to be every man for themselves.

Well, every man and his allies.

Enough of this. The Bluthardts could be trusted. Diaboli was at least making himself useful, which was an indication enough of his desire to create a way out. It was the masked woman who was a total fraud. It didn't even take five minutes for her to drop the facade of possessing a "prisoner". If there was going to be someone who turned on the rest of them first, it was going to be her.

"See if you can figure out how to disconnect the chains," Sorrel said loudly, enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear. The Syndicate, for the time being, would play along. Maris nodded and the pair split up, one one each side of the boat as they searched for a means of removing the heavy chains fixing the yacht in place. A few moments of searching, and they found it. The placement was quite simple - the large hoops at the end of the chains were slung over the protruding concave metal docks, and could be easily lifted off by anyone with the slightest bit of Aura.

"White-haired man!" Alyxia shouted. "When you're ready, give us a signal. We'll set the boat free!"