Welcome to Gaia! ::

Leda nursed the heat-seared wounds she sustained from their prior encounter with the flames as the elevator descended. Some of her outfit sported charred, black soot stains as well as melted holes from the heat, where the fabric wore away. It burned constantly, her face hurt, her whole body itched from being trapped in this claustrophobic furnace they called a lift. Yet she noticed immediately when they descended deeper, as the temperature dropped dramatically to a more relieving, more tolerable level.

And then the gates opened.

Tsui emerged almost immediately, calling out her attack and rushing forth to assault a Negaverse officer. Ganymede followed behind, though she made a beeline for a wrapped pallet that sported an image of cookware on its side. Leda found her idea most desirable, and followed after her once she was certain that her legs might hold her weight. Surely enough, in the midst of the set, a smaller cast iron pot with a sturdy handle gleamed upward toward her. She withdrew the makeshift weapon readily and gripped the stainless steel handle firmly before wielding it in a similar manner as Ganymede.

Scanning their cramped battlefield, Leda saw Tsui being approached by a blonde general, and a redheaded corrupted senshi standing alongside Ganymede. She didn't understand the logistics of the situation, but they weren't attacking each other. Deeper in, she spotted a whip-wielding general that she recognized form the first portion of the Negverse's antics.

And then her breath left her body.

Persephone meant nothing in comparison - her treachery to those who joined her cause and those once-allies that she now attacked paled in comparison. She recognized the smugness in his stance, the silly hat, the weapon (changed though it was). She recognized the lilting, theatrical tones in his voice. She recognized the brilliant red hair.

And she recognized the thick pool of blood staining snow in those red eyes.

Leda lowered the cast iron pot as a plan slowly brewed in her mind. "Leda Swirling Steam!" She called out, raising her hand far above her head as water vapor spiraled up her form. Once the steam arced off her fingertips, aimed at the general himself, Leda grasped the pot in her weary hands and forced her legs to charge through the fray, directly for the target that she'd sought for weeks prior.

Megrez is on the bottom floor!

Megrez hadn't stuck around to wait for Astarte; she did feel bad about it, since she'd said that they should stick together, but that floor was where the fire was. She couldn't possibly stay there, or she would be softboiled for sure.

When she emerged from the stairwell on the bottom floor, she saw a scuffle with some senshi and Negaversers that she couldn't quite make out... and nearly got clocked bya certain Lieutenant's (Pirisite's) fist. She managed to duck just in time with a "Whoa!", nearly falling over in the process. She spun around to face him and swung her fist without restraint; it was kind of a wild swing, but if it hit the guy, it would hurt.

Carnelian is attached to Serpentine like roadkill on a highway in Florida in July.

None of this was what he had hoped for.

Carnelian, despite being a Corrupted Senshi, had high hopes and dreams for himself and his beloved Euclase. Tagging along with General Serpentine had only been out of necessity (and partially due to orders and such) but he had never expected anything like this. Not like this. He didn't want to take part in any more large-scale operations, Carnelian had no desire to maim or kill anyone. Even the senshi. With Tsui charging in (who was his worst nightmare anyway), the senshi of pain had to fight every urge to teleport away and never look back.

He wasn't a made destined for the battlefield. The dark energy pulsing through his form seemed so foreign now, like an invader, like parasites crawling through his flesh. Hearing Malicious and Bischofite speak of a second Rift, a place where no one like a human could survive sealed the deal for him. If this lunatic was something the Negaverse endorsed, Carnelian no longer wanted any part of it.

Raising his hands to feign and attack, Carnelian leaned in close to his General, desperate to keep the fear from his own shaky voice. "General... please tell me this isn't true. We can't let this happen... Let's get out of here, before this psycho kills all of us in the name of some twisted 'greater good.'"

Carnelian had had enough. "Please."

********* is at the first floor... OUTSIDE IN FACT

They might have been lagging a bit. However, ********* only found Irene after a bit of running around.

Yes, the different auras were gathering at this location rather quickly. However, that didn't mean they weren't a block or two behind the others.

Before the even saw the place they were going, the smell of smoke was rather evident. The kitty's nose knew best!

However, rather suddenly the manx seemed to perk up. "...hmmm... seems like I have a text message..." she mused aloud (which might have seemed out of place considering she was a cat).

Squirming a bit, the cat rather suddenly dropped out of the Super Senshi's hold, landing to the ground. With a quicky backflip, a phone in a color that seemed to match ********* collar landed to the ground. The tailless cat immediately clamored to the object, poking a button or two with her paw as she looked at the screen.

"Well... I guess Iris was thinking about us?"

There was a pause before the manx read aloud what had been sent.

"Negaverse set the place on fire, be careful!"

Another pause.

"Everyone is gathering on the bottom floor, and there seem to be working elevators... head towards the elevators when you show up!"

The cat went to look up to her senshi companion.

"...Do you think you'll be okay, Irene?" she asked with legitimate concern.

Persephone has teleported with Leto to the 3rd floor!

Persephone pulled Leto close, heart pounding in her chest, and for a moment, her eyes locked with the unfamiliar Dark Mirror (Canopus.)

"I promise, I'll do everything in my power to keep Leto safe." She said, and then she jerked her head, indicating the Dark Mirror sohuld get while the getting was good. The idea of a baby Chaos senshi dying because of a Negaverse operation made her physically ill, but if Canopus wasn't going to accept the offer of a teleport to safety, there wasn't much she could do.

She withdrew her hand when it was clear that Gunn wasn't going to accept her little gift, and let out a soft curse, but that wasn't her goal anyway. Instead, she gave the redheaded Eternal the most simpering smile she could manage, and vanished, carrying Leto to the first floor - just in time to hear Serpentine's call over the communicator crystals.

"Bischofite," she growled, loud enough that Leto would undeniably hear. "Of course he's scheming something absolutely ******** insane."

Thraen is on the 3rd floor!


There is no time.

It repeated again and again with the rapid staccato of the stone boots against the concrete stairs. If wishes were pennies, he'd have been a millionaire the moment the panoply of the final floor unfolded. Beyond some wall of a lieutenant(Titan) and captain(Jarosite), another knight(Falias) and senshi that he bolted past at full clip- there were too many Negaverse agents and the gathered generals.

And sure enough, as he vaulted onto a shipment of Emerson microwaves, he could hear the mastermind of it all declaiming the world to that whip wielder and others- " Bischofite!"

That which plants bitter the madness of the Unsung into the hearts of the wholesome for no other reason that to hope all rots and prove to himself that he is not alone. Folly. Thraen didn't stop, flipping off the stack and landing in a sprint. He knew enough from experience what Bischofite's hand anywhere near a chest meant. The general had that cat that had upgraded him. On rapid approach his mind couldn't analyze a good killshot attempt of the angles or payout with the hand so positioned.

The next best thing was just separating them entirely- maybe the man from immediate possession of his weapons, of the Mauvian, of his lungs of oxygen, via a body check.










Captain Schörl is on the bottom floor, elevator side near the ceiling

I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with a T. Target acquired.

The party may be in front, but no one ever looks up. Barbary can drop down next if there's still more in this damned elevator to make sure I'm not completely without recourse.


As good a target, by way of meaning out of her league of rank and therefore entertaining, as the captain could have asked for. Schörl tapped Barbary's paw, signalling the youma to unhinged his paws, and silently she dropped down on the bright eternal ( Iris ) as an attacking 'death from above'.

Irene is in the elevator, heading to the bottom floor!

Irene didn't enter the elevator so much as she fell into it, clutching at her chest. The air in there was a bit better, but she was still coughing hard, trying to clear her throat. Once she realized she could see, she groped for her bag, and for the medication inside it.

She was vaguely aware that ********* was in there with her. That vague awareness changed to total clarity when ********* shifted into her humanoid form. It made sense, she thought dimly. The smoke would be easier to process in that body, but it also meant they would be broadcasting their arrival to everyone in the area.

Then ********* changed again, this time into a form she never had never seen before. Irene stopped coughing abruptly and stared, trying to figure out what was going on. Since when could ********* do this? What had happened? And why hadn't anyone told her?

Her lungs, cut off from what little oxygen they were receiving, protested. Irene began to cough again and fumbled for her inhaler. It took a couple of tries for her to get any of the medication, but she could feel her coughing subside into a heavy wheeze. One more puff, and she could almost sort of pretend she could breathe properly.

It was enough for her to rasp out one word: "How?"

Then her focus was back on her breathing, which she was trying to get under control by the time the elevator arrived at its destination.

Avalon is on the 3rd floor!

Avalon waved to Kerberos when he arrived on the third floor, but her attention was drawn to the group now spilling out of the stairwell. Babylon. She ached to grab him, thrust her hand into his chest, make him hers in every way that counted, but there was a larger problem than Babylon's continuing existence as an Order aura on her mental map. That was a loose tooth.

Bischofite was a ******** root canal, an inoperable abscess. The wave of rage and impotent hatred that washed over her was like nothing she had ever experienced, not in her entire life, not even in the moments just after she had awoken to find Spinel and Babylon gone. It rooted her feet to the floor as if she'd grown there, like a tree from an apple. A second Rift? A second Rift! Like hell would she ever allow that. This world, the human world, this was where Babylon and Valhalla lived, where the people whom she desperately needed to save spent their days. If the living world became a dead one like the Rift, she would--she would lose them, permanently. Right now, they were like objects on a shelf just too high to reach: if she was dedicated, and proud, and strong, she could bring them over to her. Back to her side.

If they were eaten by youma, that dream would be over. Forever.

A second Rift would result in all their allied senshi dying, because the youma still wanted to eat them. It would result in the deaths of the Dark Mirror Court, which was against the will of their leaders. And furthermore, Metallia--as far as Avalon knew--did not want to rule a second Rift. She wanted to rule the <******** that, Serpentine," Avalon yelled. Into her communications crystal, she snapped, "All Lieutenants and first level senshi, get out of here. It is not your responsibility to die for this. Get out and fight another day, we'll take care of the situation here." If she saw any of them stay--well, she'd protect their asses, but find them later and b***h them out for not obeying a superior's direct order.

The first thing she wanted to do was grab Valhalla and take his starseed for later corruption, but priority had to go to protecting the Lieutenants--because youma ******** killed them too--and to stopping Bischofite's harebrained scheme. She sent the Order party spilling out of the elevator and stairwell an ice-cold look, promising herself that once Bischofite and his youma were out of the way she would take care of them, and turned her attention towards her so-called teammate. He was distracted by the guardian cat in his hands, which was just fine. Avalon was confident in her ability to take him--he was crazy, crazier than the usual Negaverse General, and he was not thinking clearly, and he was distracted too by the necessity to defend Malicious. Maybe directing her attention towards the youma would be better, but youma were stupid creatures that only followed orders.

Bischofite had to have come up with this plan all by his damn self.

She stormed towards him and threw a punch at his side, about where she thought his kidneys would be. Saving the guardian cat had nothing to do with it, she didn't care about it at all. But the offense he'd caused, the danger he was putting his own side in, Avalon did not want to die at the hands of a <******** youma, that was a worthwhile danger. She spat, "You a*****e," because she could think of nothing better to say, nothing more coherent. "You utter, unbelievable a*****e!" Avalon threw another punch, this one aimed right for his smug face.




[Quoting everyone for addendum to Serpentine's orders!! OF COURSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN.]