Vanessa quickly discovered that the place they'd be meeting their partners for the first time was, in fact, not another whitewashed lecture hall, but apparently somewhere down past a staircase that descended into a inky darkness. Judging by the way she had heard the Doctor and the young albino speaking of this "Cove" she had definitely not expected it to be an actual cove. As she took the first steps, she noted the slight taste of salt on the breeze, which collided with the damp smell of the ocean and wherever these stairs led to.

Her hand braced the wall as she descended, and she was glad she'd been wearing combat boots when she'd signed up for all this. The traction on the bottom of the those shoes definitely helped keep the young woman from tumbling down into the unknown depths that had been placed before her. Vaguely she wondered if this was one of the places she'd died, after she had returned from her first death. Was this where she'd staked someone to death? She shook her head, reminding herself that she had never truly killed someone, that it had all been in those 'golems'. Still, the feeling was a tad foreboding as she took each step down into the darkness.

Her footsteps were the first sound she heard upon reaching the last step. Her eyes quickly took in the one torch, which made her eyebrow raise slightly, and then the walls. They seemed to be tiled with something, strange runic designs about the size of her hand. As she took the first step inside, her boot rang out into the silence, which echoed slightly around the room before fading. Then, just as the sound of the footstep was on the edge of fading, another sound seemed to ripple out in response, a soft whispering hum. Vanessa, wary still of this strange seemingly empty room, took a cautious step forward.

The sound bubbled up a bit more, pulling at her mind, tugging at her attention. It was more distinct now, less of an organic hum. Vanessa was, for lack of a better comparison, reminded of the sound of running electronics, like the hum one might hear if they walked into a room full of computers.

Vanessa moved to one wall, her head tipped slightly to listen to the faint humming as she analyzed one of the rune-covered tiles. It had a long broad edge to it, and reminded Vanessa faintly of a sword of some kind. Upon brushing it with a finger, she felt the distinct feeling of displeasure radiate through her, as if the tile did not want her there. The red-headed girl quickly retracted her finger, giving the tile a somewhat baffled look before stepping back and glancing around the room again. Were all the tiles like this, or did she just need to find the right one?

A step into the room caused the electrical humming to increase, if only slightly. Vanessa slipped a step to the side, noting that the sound reduced again. Ah, so it was like that silly children's game? Where you'd say 'hot' or 'cold' to direct someone into finding something? Memories of playing that game with Vivian flashed through her head, and Vanessa's mind returned to the task at hand. Right. She was hear to find her 'partner', so that she could protect her family from those monsters in the dark.

After some time of moving around the room, she found where the hum was loudest (which was actually not very loud at all, just a whispering electric sound), and faced the wall. She looked up and down at the runed tiles, analyzing the images in front of her, starting from the bottom. How would these lead her to her partner? Was there supposed to be some kind of secret message implanted in the back of one of the tiles, or something? Finally, her eyes rested on a tile a bit higher than eye level. It was peculiar looking, the runic design faintly suggesting a shape that looked like some kind of weapon that had not actually been discovered yet. It had a solid main part, but a long barrel-like end of it was latticed with lines, as if someone had combed down the tablet in that place, and only that place. Vanessa pushed a lock of her red hair from her face, looking at it a bit more carefully.

The young woman found herself reaching up to the tile, and as soon as her fingertips brushed the surface of the rune, she felt a shock run through her arm, as if she'd found a spark of static in the seemingly-rock tablet. The humming dimmed, for a moment, before returning, sounding louder than before, as if it was eager to feel her touch. Vanessa's mouth pulled into a determined line, and she found herself prying at the rock slab, pulling it out.

And then there was suddenly a voice in her head.

:: How much does a polar bear weight? ::

Vanessa blinked for a few moments, simply staring at the slab in her hands, for two reasons. Reason One: It was a rock. And it was talking to her. Rocks don't talk. Reason Two: It was asking her about polar bears. Why was it asking her about polar bears?

When Vanessa just continued to stare, she felt the distinct sense that the rock was waiting for her to answer. About how much polar bears weigh. Still in a bit of a shock (and slightly shocked from the static from the rock), she finally said, "Uhm...I don't know." Her voice was flat, and she felt the slight nudging in her brain that she needed to say more. "How much does a polar bear weigh, then?"

:: Why, enough to break the ice! ::

It was at this point that Vanessa looked from her runed slab to the wall, then back to the tablet. She clearly was trying to figure out if she could put the tile back into the wall, and just go sit down for a while and figure out if she was actually crazy. Rocks weren't supposed to talk, let alone try out pick-up lines on a person. As she stepped toward the wall to put the slab back, she heard it again sound off in her head.

:: No, no Vanessa wait, please wait! It was a joke! Don't put me back, I'm the only reason you're awake, I don't want to go back in the wall! ::

Vanessa paused, looking at the slab once again, some of her composure returning as the voice wailed in her head. "You are? And how do you know my name?" She asked, trying to puzzle all this together. "I'm supposed to be looking for my partner." She said, her tone taking on a slightly more no-nonsense level.

:: It's because I AM your partner, Vanessa! The name's Voltaire, although I prefer Volt. You'll see why in a second. Now, just don't drop me. ::

"What do you mean--" Vanessa was cut off as the tablet morphed, lighting up the room as if the runes had been struck with lightning. As Vanessa blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the glare from her eyes, she felt the square in her hand changing. When she could finally see again, she looked down--

And promptly almost dropped what had been the tablet. The thing had turned into something that looked like it might've come out of a shoot-em-up videogame, what with it's huge form and strange design. The barrel, she discovered, really was a lattice-work of metal, all pointing out from the strange, electrical chamber.

:: Shocking, isn't it?:: He paused before continuing, a slight static-like sound ringing in Vanessa's head :: Get why I like being called Volt? It's a pun! 8'D :: The sound of radio static erupted as Volt laughed at his own joke, and she could practically see the expression the giant-cannon thing was making in her head. After some time of Vanessa not replying, he continued with, ::Sorry Vanessa, I guess I just needed an outlet. Haha, get it? Outlet! It's funny since... ::

There was more to his explanation, but Vanessa was drowning it out face-palming and mock-head-walling. He was going on and on about why his jokes were funny, and Vanessa's face had yet to crack into a smile.

In fact, she was currently being mortified that this THING WAS IN HER HEAD and apparently wasn't going anywhere. Finally she asked, "What are you anyway?"

:: Me? I'm a Tesla Cannon. And I'm not going anywhere. Not without you anyway. I'm sure we'll be great friends soon! Closer than an electron pair! ::

Vanessa gave a sigh and shouldered the large, chatty weapon, her head starting to pound a little from the raw amount of lame jokes. As she started up the stairs, Volt continued on happily, his words ringing in her head.

::Yeah, I can just tell. We'll be such good friends that it hertz. Get it? Hertz? It's funny since... ::