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Aksaja stood trembling on the platform as one by one, more people were floated over. Some made it, others didn't . . . but after Sharra, he just felt . . . numb now. Arms wrapped about himself, the lightning dragon was quiet, eyes dull and almost lifeless in and of themselves. If there'd been something else to fight, or if they'd instantly moved on, he might have been all right.

But having to watch everyone else go through that death trap as well, seeing others die . . . even those he didn't know well. The FUTILITY of it all struck him, and it was all he could do to stay on his feet, leaning back against a wall with completely unnoticed and unashamed tears running down his cheeks. What was this . . . this death trap of an island? Why were they even here? What was the goddamn POINT?! Even if they saved someone else, or got out alive . . . did it really matter?

Jack, how was he going to tell Yaya . . . ?

The boy watched the carnage with a cool, stern look as he moved the students. "There traps in the air as well as the ground, I'm only decrease the chances of death, little ingrates." He paused a moment after placing another student on the platform, and scanned the walls and floor for any of the really obvious traps left. And there on the floor...were several pieces of paper. The students had dropped several of incomplete "maps." Immediately his hand shot out to bring them to him, "This...how do you have this..." Composure gone, he fumbled in his robes and produced...several pieces of his own. Turning his back to the situation for for several minutes, the boy pieced them all together ********. THAT GUY. WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?!" Conquest turned back to the student, completed paper in hand, scowling.

This time, he floated himself up those stairs, paper in hand, and shoved it at the nearest student, "Here, figure out the instructions for using this damn door while I finish carrying the rest over. There's a keypad on the portal door, so its probably a password or something..."

Malodore shook its hoof free from the trap, numbly, then cried out in surprise as it found itself moving. For one terrifying instant it feared it had been caught in a much worse trap, but then it was set down. Near the others.

The plague doctor fell to its hands and knees, shaking with relief.

((HP: 13! Sorry for the short posts, I'm on very slow mobile Internet.))

Riley looked up as Sheridan stumbled onto the platform, and she reached out to help keep him stable as best as she could, while still holding Arachne in her arms. She knew Mandy was right, and yelling wasn't going to help, but that probably wouldn't stop her if her anger got in her way again. As Arachne slipped out of her arms to go to Sepheran, she heard the roar of fire once more - this time, she looked. She had to know - her eyes closed as soon as the sight of pink flashed away. She barely felt the warmth of Jericho's arms before she crumpled up against them, burying her head in her hands.

Then she felt it.

She didn't know exactly how she felt it, but she knew. Her hands fell down to her lap as she looked down once more, and confirmed what she had been feeling - Malodore was being lifted. The traps went flying, and Riley's hands dug into the floor, leaving deep scratches where her nails found purchase. Some were too close for comfort. She felt sick at how close it had come to sharing the others fate.

But it didn't.

As soon as Malodore touched the platform, Riley was moved to action. She lunged forward and wrapped herself around it, shaking as a violent sob wrenched through her body.

But it was safe. Malodore was safe, and Jericho was safe. She could think again.

She spent another second just proving to herself that Malodore had made it over, by clutching it fiercely. Then.. she went to work.

Her hands callously pushed away the tears that had run down her face. She leaned her head down, and closed her eyes - sending Malodore what was probably the fiercest mental kiss she'd ever shared before - and then stood. Her body straightened to it's full height, and her eyes narrowed sharply.

Let me see the map.

She snatched it away from whoever had it at the moment, and took one look at it, before casting it to member. A legend, with numbers indicating letters. At first, it actually seemed simple to her. It was a simple method of transcribing, which her brain was practically made for. Her eyes unfocused as letters and numbers flew through her head, falling together until they formed the most random set of letters she had ever seen before.

ZDT SL SZ LOK LKCGDPK. What the hell..? That didn't even... it was complete nonsense.

But did the password have to make sense? Might as well try it.

Sheridan gratefully accepted Riley's help, leaning on her for a brief moment before his hand found the wall and he allowed himself to slump against the cold stone.

A soft whine, like a kicked puppy, filled with anguish and sorrow. It was all the voice he was able to muster, had he had the strength, surely he would have roared for his fallen comrades, a roar that would have shaken the building to its core, if only he'd had the voice. Why did so many had to perish? Why now, when they had come so far, how could they fall now? WHY?!

There had been a paper in his hand, thrust there by the figure who had at one point referred to himself as Conquest. What was he supposed to do with--hey! He had barely a moment to register what the paper was before someone else had taken it. Well okay, that was fine, he couldn't really see well at the moment anyway.

Hmm...maybe...

He reached out with one hand, pushing two numbers into the keypad: 42

Hey, it was worth a try right? 42 is the answer to everything. Okay, maybe not, but it was the only thing he could think of at that moment.

Riley took a step back when the portal noisily denied them all access. She looked up at Aksaja for a moment, mildly amused that his frustration had him punching their own method of escape, before she turned back to the keypad. As her eyes lowered, they grayed slightly and unfocused. Her mind began a mathematical equation, plucking numbers out and adding them together in clumps. She ended up with five strange numbers, which she immediately inputted though she had little hope that it would work. Still, her analytical mind saw everything as numbers, and she worked with them as best as she could. She inputted 204 114 90 128 284, before attempting the even worse guess of their numbers added together - 820.