Within their aged glass enclosures, alarm lights spin, and red casts flood into the main intersection of the facility. Klaxons blare a jarring drone, sharply echoing against the long concrete lined halls. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia gawk in sheer, utter horror, and SOMETHING watches on from behind the heavy, double security doors. Peering out the small gap between the failing doors, a chaotic display backlights the amorphous silhouette. Crimson cybernetic eyes upon magically inscribed platforms glide across the featureless surface of its huge, undulating form. With mechanical precision contrasting its warping mass, the creature's glares affix onto the team and study them within the brief lull of the surrounding chaos. Shifting closer to the gap, it pauses at the opening and waits. Slim, black appendages slick out, slipping through the divide, and lap the exterior face of the reinforced doors, flattening securely onto the metallic surface. Tentacles writhe in between the door gap, unnaturally coil up with purpose to bridge the divide, and brace against the edges. Slowly, the flexible limbs pulsate thicker with each second and press against the weakening door, overwhelming with sheer mass. With each surge of growth, hydraulic fluid blasts out in a torrent, flooding into a reflective pool on the floor, and the gap between the doors widens.

Pure fear suppresses Sotalia's urge to wretch. Aristespha's intellectual calm falls to pieces, gawking in frightful terror. Cideeda grits in teeth, drops her furry ears, and reflexively leans back, instinctually disturbed. Blinking in blank horror, Bach's jaw hangs open. Sebastian remains frozen in stunned fear. Dretphi's stoic exterior gives away to utter fright, gripping tight hold of her submachine gun. Snapping out of his stupor, Sebastian glances over to the group and shouts. "RUN FOR IT!"

Situational awareness slams the team back into the immediate, terrible reality. The group sprints off down the long main hallway. The sprays of hydraulic oil mixes with the din of alarms, and grinding shrieks of strained steel resonate loudly through the structure. The team flees down the lengthy corridor deep in the structure and frantically scramble around debris and other obstacles. A frightening, strange chorus of beast and machine roars out from the main intersection behind them, vibrating the light junk lying around. Powerful thuds shake the facility, rattling dust and rust off overhead supports.

The electronic announcement system crackles out a new series of phrases, barely cresting over the ambient noise. Sotalia briefly closes her golden eyes, sorting through the words in her mind between winces, and glances over to Aristespha, puzzling out loud. "Something about emergency containment measures? Being armed?!"

Nodding quickly, Aristespha navigates through a narrow passage between old storage containers, searching around fruitlessly for some kind of surrounding hint in the structure. "Yes? That's what it sounded like to me. I don't know what it could mean!"

Cideeda grits her teeth, keeping up pace with the group, and grimaces with worry. "I hope it doesn't mean that force field at the entry. Because that might not work anymore!"

Staring down the long corridor to the distant daylight, she yells out. "OR, it can! And we're on the wrong side of it!"

Fighting off the growing panic in his tone, Sebastian maintains a hover above the team, keeping an overwatch behind them. "OKAY! Once we're out of here, we head straight to the humvee AND run for it! I have no fucking clue what that thing is. AND, I don't want to find out right now. Especially not in this gods damned tunnel!"

The loud crashes against the overall structure halt and fade into the background of the klaxon drone. Paranoia driving him, Sebastian focuses his stare upon the distant intersection. squinting through the turbulent sea of red lights. From the far off side corridor, thick, black tentacles slap and stick upon the floors, walls, and ceiling. A huge bulbous, spherical mass slides out into the middle of the junction. Gliding upon its dark exterior skin, platforms of cybernetic eyes glare down the long main corridor, watching the team running further away. With pulses of brightness, red dots shine, and the mass undulates its warping form forward. From the featureless surface, slick tubes emerge, stretch forth, and thicken, reaching out into new tentacles. The contorting limbs spring out, splat upon the floors, deform upon the walls, and coil around the ceiling supports. Pulsating with frightening strength, the creature pulls its dark, fluctuating mass forward and quickly coasts towards the team. Tentacles from behind release their strangely dry, powerful adhesion, shrink to thin tendrils, and merge back into the shapeless, amorphous whole. New limbs grow out and continue the beast's smooth locomotion. The platforms of red, cybernetic eyes steadily concentrate their full focus upon the team, isolating themselves from all other motion.

Sebastian's ethereal form pales, abject horror overwhelming, and his fear sparks new motivation within him. "KEEP THE PACE UP EVERYONE! MOVE AS FAST YOU CAN!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Bach catches a glimpse of the fast moving entity and snaps his head forward. Blue eyes wide, he stares ahead with survival driven determination plainly visible. Drawing out his plasma pistol from the holster, he turns it on, and a high pitched, charging whine peaks over the alarm din echoing the hallway. Cideeda's furry ears flicks back and guide her quick gaze over at Bach, peeking behind her. Her emerald eyes snap ahead, and she deftly moves her hands to her sides, activating both her laser pistols without breaking stride.

The synthetic voice blares out over the announcement system again, and Sotalia darts her golden eyes around, searching for some point nearby and ahead. "Containment locks... Engaging?!"

Cideeda's furry ears flick forward, and she cringes with a muffled explosion ahead and the dull rush of water sounds out. On both sides of the hallway, two side panels fall open into a dwindling flow of orange brown, stagnant water, and the edges of a pair of rust coated, sliding doors grind out of their resting place. The massive, water soaked steel plates creep slowly together under a whining mechanical strain, flakes of rust and sparks springing out from the friction. Cideeda cringes and covers her nose, coughing. "Fucking great! The containment doors are junk!"

Glancing back, Sebastian spots the incoming beast and motions the team's attention ahead. "Doesn't matter! Maybe they'll slow that fucking thing down! Focus on getting through the gap before it closes!"

He gazes ahead, judges the speed of the closure, and commands out to the team. "Single file, everyone! Sprint through!"

The team lines up into one column, aligning to the closing gap between the massive, rusted doors, and rush on through, clearing the divide. Seconds later, the edges of the rusty steel doors meet solidly. Within the surrounding archway, mechanisms strain to come to life. Interlock systems resonate metallic groans, and a muffled snap abruptly halts them into silence. The team slows their pace briefly, attempting to catch their breaths, and stare behind, hopeful, wary. With a rattling crash, a powerful mass impacts the doors. Large sheets of rust pop off the surface of the heavy metal and shatter upon the hard ground. The team slows to a brisk walk, watching expectantly. Another series of massive slams pound unrelentingly upon the doors, punctuating the shrill unnatural roar of the... Thing... on the other side. Each crash flakes off rust and frees corroded metal on the team's side of the barrier. A slight warping of the steel grows into a visible bulge. The assault stops. No noise emerges from the other side. A brief spark of hope ignites in the eyes of the group, vanishing quickly when thin oily tendrils seep through the irregular, rust chiseled gaps between doors. They pulsate into larger tentacles and begin prying the containment shutters slowly open. Dretphi leads the team's curses of frustration with a grath phrase, and the group launches into another sprint down the long corridor.

Hurrying through the concrete tunnel, Sebastian, Aristespha, Sotalia, Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi keep up the strenuous pace, heading towards the distant daylight at the end of the long corridor. Each occasionally glances back, checking behind them, mechanical strain erupting out over the constant drone of klaxons and alarm chimes. The automated base announcement system blurts out a partially garbled, barely comprehensible phrase, leaving Sotalia perplexed. Aristespha searches her mind, pieces the parts together between flicks of her violet eyes, and widens her gaze forward. "Layer two containment engaging?! Another set of containment doors!?"

Loud explosions boom out from the section of hallway ahead. Covering their ears and shielding themselves from bright flashes of light, the team staggers and slows their process forward. A pair of armored side panels from the walls violently crash clear of closing tracked doors and land meters away from the team, leaving deep gouges in the reinforced floor. Wincing through the sudden confusion, Sotalia shakes her mind out of the stunned haze and refocuses ahead. From the newly opened compartments, two massive, steel doors launch out, quickly sliding towards the middle of the corridor. Sotalia grits her teeth, tears off in a sprint, gesturing out an incantation, and shouts out. "NOT FUCKING TODAY!"

A surge of magical flow erupts from her body and swirls into an energetic spiral towards her hands. Throwing her arms forward, she unleashes a blast towards the closing gap between the door. A translucent, billowing mass of magical energy expands out onto the edges of the heavy steel and stiffly envelops them. Mechanical strain groans out from either side of the hallway, and the massive, reinforced doors slow down to crawl. The magical energies blockading the containment barrier fluctuates. Staggering to slow plod, Sotalia summons another surge of energy and deadlocks the doors, seizing a narrow gap between the imposing steel edges. Bach and Dretphi support Sotalia at her sides and escort her towards the gateway divide. Stopping at the doors, Sebastian hovers above and stares down the red alarm strobe illuminated hallway, fright hunting through the shadows swirling between the rotating lights. Aristespha slips through the space between the doors. Turning around, Aristespha swiftly gestures out a similar incantation to Sotalia's and flings out a similar wave of energy upon the powerful doors. "I can stabilize it for a while..."

She gasps in a breath and strains. "But... HURRY! Please!"

Summoning her strength, Sotalia maintains her contribution to the prying effort and speeds up to a fast walk towards the gap between shuddering containment doors. Cideeda deftly maneuvers to the other side and frantically searches the compartments near the door housings. Digging her claws into the gaps of a vented panel, she yanks it open with a few full body pulls. "Gods dammit! Where the hell are the controls for these things?! There's GOT to be an override, or SOMETHING!"

Her emerald green eyes scour the mess of ancient wiring and maze of piping, and she growls out. "Who the fuck designed this GARBAGE?!"

Bach and Dretphi remain at Sotalia's sides, and she moves towards the opening. Bach stares watchfully down the red and dark swirling corridor with plasma pistol, and Dretphi glares through the reflections on her full face visor with sub machine gun drawn. A chorus of destructive noises burst out from deeper within the compound. A rolling series of forceful, heavy splats peak over the background drone of alarms, increasing in ferocity and volume with each passing second. From the fluctuating crimson illuminated hallway, a black spherical mass appears distantly into view from around the corridor's gentle curve. It flies down the tunnel upon a chaotic swarm of adhesive tentacles. Multiple red, pinpoint cybernetic eyes lock onto the team, coasting independently of all other movement. Overhead support beams break loose under the short, thick coils torquing them free. Wall coverings flex against the hard pulls of thin appendages. And, chunks of old floor loosen under the twisting, undulating tentacles. Bach and Dretphi exchange glances, nod in silent agreement, and pivot in step. Slipping an arm underneath Sotalia's shoulders, they hoist her up and jog her over to the narrowing doorway, surprising her. The trio reach the closing gap. Bach and Dretphi usher the tiring Sotalia through and turn around, aiming their weapons at the approaching beast. Cideeda reaches through the divide and helps guide Sotalia along.

The entity arrives meters away from Bach and Dretphi, multiple eyes affixing upon them. Bach and Dretphi simultaneously flip the safeties off. Supporting itself in the middle of the air, front protrusions emerge from the featureless, slick skin of the creature and lash out towards their targets. Bach and Dretphi open fire. A rapid volley of plasma bolts pelt the black mass, impacts rippling out across the oily surface of the monster. Dretphi unleashes burst after burst submachine gun fire, sending rounds into the bulbous body of the amorphous entity. Upon the support of its tentacles attached high and low, the monster swings its form around and warps its shape, avoiding many of the attacks. A few plasma bolts and submachine rounds bounce off briefly opaque energy fields protecting its many shifting eyes. Emitting an omnipresent, unnatural roar into the area, the monstrosity flings out its tentacles in wide swipes towards Bach and Dretphi. Dretphi maneuvers her tall, imposing self around, expertly avoiding strike after strike. Bach frantically avoids each attack, moving unusually fast and wildly shifting his balance into dodge rolls upon the floor. Getting Sotalia to the other side of the narrow door gap, Cideeda spins around, drawing her laser pistols, and reaches through the divide. Two beams of bright blue light up against swirling red ambient casts and drag across the slick surface of the monstrous thing ineffectively. A beam crosses a red cybernetic eye, and the red pinpoint blinks out, the eye platform sparking violently. The eye jets frantically away from the beam along the exterior of the beast.

A pained bellow rattles the vicinity, and the creature momentarily loses its focus. Snapping back to their senses, Bach and Dretphi quickly retreat towards the gap between shaking containment doors. Sebastian zips out in a chaotic flight path around and in front of the monster. Many eyes track Sebastian. One red eye creeps out from hiding behind the massive, dark orb, spots Dretphi lining up her approach through the narrow gap. Three thin, quick tentacles eject out from the black, undulating mass. One wraps around Dretphi's helmet, one slaps firmly attached upon her chest plate, and another splats upon a shin guard. Each sticks firmly upon glinting golden surfaces millimeters away from the armor plating.

Terror overwhelming, Bach spots the limb around Dretphi's helm pulsating thick, the coil tightening with each moment. Surrounding Dretphi's helmet, a golden barrier pulses into visibility and buffers the crushing forces upon it. Bach notices the familiar golden barrier, shakes out of the stupor with determined grit of his teeth, and pivots towards the monster. Putting his hands together, Bach surges a flow of energy, manifesting an orb forms between. Layers upon layers of chaotically spinning rings build up in mere fractions of second to a ten centimeter ball of disintegrating power. Charging forth, Bach thrusts his hand containing the destructive ball right into the pulsating tentacle gripping Dretphi. Orb impacting, a fine black mist erupts, and the slick surface disrupts into a thick spray of ichor. The spherical blob vibrates out in some kind of pain response and shudders, frantically reeling back from the attack. In the flurry of survival instinct, Dretphi frees her head from her helmet. The tentacle yanks back and drags the helm off. Balancing herself against the pull of the adhered tendrils, Dretphi deftly slides her hands underneath her chest plate and tears through the hook and loop fasteners in a loud fabric release. With a final lift of her leg, she rips off the fastening straps holding the shin guard and kicks it away with the tentacle.

Grabbing hold of Dretphi's shoulder, Bach shoves her through the gradually narrowing door gap, firing his plasma pistol wildly towards the monster. Cideeda snags hold of Dretphi's arm and yanks her through with all her might. Dretphi clears through the space and reflexively grips onto Bach's arm, bracing herself upon the other side of the door. Tensing her imposing form, she pulls Bach through with her raw strength, dragging Bach through the snug gap. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi clear away from the opening, and a flurry of tentacles whip out through the gap, lashing out wildly. Witnessing the horror reaching from the other side, Sotalia immediately releases her spell.

The containment door slams shut hard upon the writhing mass. The flailing appendages quickly slack, hanging limply from the join between the doors. Unnatural moans of pain and misery reverberate through the thick containment door. The team swiftly distances themselves from the doorway, warily watching, expectant. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi and Sotalia muster their strength and catch their breaths in the lull of activity, the constant drone of klaxons still filling the air. Sebastian quickly phases through the door and lands next to the team. "IS EVERYONE OKAY?!"

Dretphi combs her gauntlet-covered hand through her platinum blonde braids, slows her panting to calmer, longer breaths, and nods to Sebastian. "Yes. Missing plating. Fine otherwise."

Bracing himself up with his hands on his knees, Bach glances up briefly and makes eye contact with his brother, giving a shaky thumbs up. "OH... Yeah... Whew... Wow... That mini D-ball took a little out of me... But I should be fine in a minute or two. Still can move. So, we're good."

Aristespha wipes a bit of sweat off her brow, supporting Sotalia up, and sighs. "I am... Fine, Sebastian. A bit taxing, but I should be fine."

Sotalia pops open a pouch on her belt, pulls out a large vial, and quaffs the potion down in one swift motion. Exhales a mix of relief and exhaustion, she blinks her golden, graying sclera eyes and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "I'll be fine. This potion should kick in soon and keep me moving."

Shaking her head, Cideeda drags her clawed fingers through her short multicolored hair and calms her breathing for speech. "Oh gods... THAT was too fucking close. I'm okay..."

Sotalia passes Aristespha and Bach similar potions from her belt of pouches. Sebastian smiles his relief and gazes in a mix of paranoia and unease towards the closed containment barrier. "Good. VERY good. Okay..."

He swallows hard and draws in a long ethereal breath. "NOW... The next question is... Will THAT hold... IT... Back?"

The team's attention settles upon the limp tentacles hanging out from between the doors. A minute passes. They watch. Faint pulses of life pump into the slack limbs, and thin tendrils ooze out through the joint between the pair of steel barriers. Dread looms over the group, visible anger and fear erupting. Bach winces away and groans out. "FUCK."

Baring her teeth, Cideeda growls, walking away. "OH! To hell with this... THING!"

Sotalia clenches her fists, shakes her head, and turns away, stomping her boots. "GODS FUCKING DAMMIT! Who the fuck thought THIS was a good thing to make?! Well..."

She narrows her golden and gray glare towards the daylight end of the passage. "Let's not hang out here any longer."

With a contemptuous sneer of her upper lip, Dretphi grimaces and glares. Her ire boils up to her tan face, and she scowls, concentrating her anger upon the limbs of the entity. With a swift breath in, she spits on the ground in front of the doors, checks her submachine gun, and joins Sotalia in the march towards the exit. Aristespha gathers her composure, checks her equipment, and catches up to the group. Sebastian and Bach follow along behind the recovering team. Both glance back at the growing black, slick vines gradually prying the doors apart. Moments of inner thoughts later, Bach gazes over at Sebastian. "Damn. Man... That door isn't going to hold it for long. It's making a lot of progress on getting it open."

Drifting alongside, Sebastian slowly nods in agreement and peers distantly into his mind, seeking some solution. "I know, bro. But... I don't know what the hell we are supposed to do against something like... THAT."

Glancing ahead at the portal of daylight at the end of tunnel, he shakes his head uncertainly. "I mean... Once we catch our breaths... The only thing I can think of to do is to head to the humvee, get as far away from this place as possible, and send an alert to the guild to send a military emergency containment force."

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Bach picks up the pace with the team, regaining their strength. Moments later, a terrifying thought crosses Bach's mind, and he stares at his brother. "Brother... It'll probably get out before they can do anything about it."

Sebastian turns to face Bach, blinking. Visibly processing the situation, he releases a long, ethereal sigh of dread. "Ah... Shit... I know..."

He glances ahead towards Cideeda and calls out to her. "Cideeda? Do you see anything ahead that looks like another set of containment doors?"

Checking over her shoulder briefly, Cideeda thinks a moment and squints her emerald green eyes down the corridor leading outside. Seconds later, her eyes widen in surprise, and she directs her concerned tone back over her shoulder. "Actually... No. I don't see another set of those panels anywhere..."

Dretphi's awareness returns to her surroundings. Bouncing her steely gray eyes around the structures ahead, the anger fades from Dretphi's face, worry replacing it. "Those doors may be the last means to seal it."

Grumbling, Sotalia rolls the frustration out of her shoulders and grits her teeth. "A lot of good those gods damned things did! It's going to use the same fucking trick to get through those, soon enough."

Horror washes over Aristespha, and she stares ahead into the daylight, her ivory face paling slightly. "And... It will escape... Outside."

The group shares a pseudo moment of silence within the drone of alarms long filtered out unconsciously. They quietly deliberate their options, traveling closer to the exit. Hovering along with everyone else, Sebastian speaks up. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Cideeda's furry ears perk up, and she musters up a reserved grin. "We could try to collapse the entrance. It might not be enough to stop it from digging itself out... BUT, I bet it'd slow it down a lot. I've got a powerful concussive round for my shotgun that might rattle enough of these old supports to drop them down."

Aristespha, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia judge Cideeda's option between themselves. Furrowing his brow, Bach gazes to the team determined. "A barrier."

The rest of the group shift their attention upon Bach and await an explanation. Bach draws in a long breath and ponders out loud. "Okay... Listen, I can craft a barrier to try to seal the damned thing in. I mean, so far, the only way it has been getting through is if it can pry open the doors and force them apart. Maybe..."

Wrestling an uncertain frown, he grimaces. "Just maybe... If I make a really slick matrix and seal off the gaps, it won't be able to use that trick, and it'll be trapped behind it."

He pauses, gauging reactions, and pleads in a worried tone. "It's risky... But... I mean..."

Staring back towards the dark corridor behind them, he stiffens his upper lip and straightens his posture. "Something NEEDS to be done. It's going to crack those doors open soon enough. As much as I would like to run to the humvee and get away, it'll get loose and probably go on a killing spree. OR WORSE, disappear into the woods and terrorize the whole area for who knows how long?!"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia jog closer to the archway exit, and the team individually ponder quietly. Seconds later, Sotalia nods in agreement and glances over to Bach with an encouraging grin. "I'm willing to give it a shot, if you are."

Firmly gripping Bach's shoulder, Dretphi smiles warmly with determination in her voice. "IT can NOT leave here."

Giving a clawed thumbs up, Cideeda winks back to Bach with a toothy grin. "Sounds good to me. And, it might work to our advantage! If you can get it sealed away, that'll give me plenty of time to set up some real explosives, and we'll see if we can collapse this whole entrance."

Aristespha nods to Bach simply with an appreciative tone. "I think we all will sleep far better if it never leaves here. And..."

Narrowing her violet gaze, she frowns slightly. "This place is too close to a town to just leave it alone."

Sebastian grins proudly toward his brother and nods. "Okay. So, where do you want to set this thing up, bro?"

Blinking slightly surprised, Bach motions roughly ahead. "Um, maybe ten or fifteen meters away from the mouth of the entrance? Far away from those doors, but down from the entrance enough to have a good section of tunnel to collapse?"

With a single nod, Sebastian smirks in agreement and points out a spot ahead. "Let's do it there, then."

Gathering his determination, Bach glances briefly over to Sebastian and studies the floor section before them. "Okay. I'll try to put up the best damn barrier I can, then..."

He blows out a tense exhale and rolls out his shoulders. "I just hope this is the better option..."

Laughing against a surge of nervous energy, Sebastian slowly shakes his head, flying next to Bach, and grits his teeth. "Don't worry about that, bro. I think we'd all rather risk containing it, than risk have to face that fucking thing out in the open woods while we rush back to our ride. And, then, hope it doesn't chase us down while we're trying to drive away."

He gazes into his brother's blue eyes resolutely. "Do what you can, and we'll do the same. This is the best plan we've got at the moment. Thanks for giving it to us."

Drawing a slow breath in, Bach cracks a hopeful smile and nods. With Sebastian hovering nearby, Bach positions himself in the middle of the long corridor, fifteen meters short of the exit archway, and raises his hands up in front of him. "Okay... Looks like this spot will work. Seems structural, and there's no obvious panels."

Rolling his shoulders, he flexes his fingers. "Gods... Here we go."

Closing his eyes slowly, Bach exhales long, relaxing his upper body briefly. His eyes reopen to a bright glowing blue. Fine streams of magical flow swirl around his body, condensing into a billowing haze in front of his hands. Thin wisps of energy travel rigidly along straight paths to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the hallway, collecting upon growing magical structures. Seconds later, a translucent golden lattice of large hexagons form and solidify with the constant output of magic. The stabilized energy support beams layer out in growing diameters, anchor points root deep into the very structure of the facility, and smaller hexagon lattice work emerges within the larger cells. The demanding process continues. Sebastian maintains a careful watch down the tunnel into the red, cyclically illuminated void and catches glimpses of the emergency lighting glinting off the distant, gradually opening containment doors.

Cideeda perks her furry ears and trains her emerald eyes upon the architecture of the facility's entrance. Pointing to various locations near structural intersections and support girders, she mentally calculates, narrowing a destructive glare upon the targets. Dretphi walks over near Bach, stretching her body out, and readies her sub machine gun. Raising the barrel, she tosses her platinum blonde braided hair back and levels her aim down the corridor. Sotalia stands near the other side of Bach, rolling the tension out of her shoulders into a casting stance, and stares fiercely down the chaotically lit tunnel. Standing at the mouth of the entrance, Aristespha holds her aetherphone out and slowly moves it around, searching for a signal.

With each surge of magical flow radiating across, the golden barrier shimmers brighter. Hexagonal patterns within hexagonal patterns shrink the largest openings gradually. Bach fully focuses upon the sealing structure in front of him, fighting off the emerging traces of fatigue. Sotalia studies the wall of golden energy in front of her, grinning eagerly. "There's NO WAY it'll get through this!"

Bach smiles briefly and breathes carefully, continuing the intense work. "Yeah... I hope so... But... These gaps are taking FOREVER to close up properly..."

A loud metallic pop echoes out from the distant containment door. Cideeda's furry ears flick over, and her eyes widen in fear. "Something blew loose in the door's hydraulics! I hear fluid spraying!"

Glancing into the facility tunnel, she yells out. "Nothing is stopping it now!"

Squinting down the fluctuating crimson lighted hallway, Sebastian watches the huge, reinforced containment doors open faster, a misty spray of hydraulic oil obscuring the view. He shouts down below to Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Bach, keep doing what you can! But, EVERYONE! Get ready to RUN FOR IT!"

Bach grits his teeth angrily, determination surging up within him. "FffffUCK! NO-No-No... You ARE NOT GETTING THROUGH! NOT... TODAY!"

A wave of prismatic energy pulses out from the surface of Bach's body, gravitating towards his hands, and weaves into the flows merging with the golden hexagonal barrier. Core structural components ignite into a bright glow and radiate out towards the rest of the magical mesh work. Wincing his eyes closed, Bach strains further, power rushing into the sealing structure, and mutters. "Come on... close the gaps... close the gaps..."

A structure shaking snap reverberates through the facility. A loud, bright explosion of fire erupts, the hydraulic fluid igniting into a plume of flame. The distant containment doors slam wide open, crashing into their frames, and a black orb mass launches out the gate in a shadowy blur through the roaring inferno. A chaotic cacophony of tentacles smashing onto floor plates, ripping off wall panels, and yanking apart ceiling supports bursts forth. With unnatural speed, the spherical black, amorphous form ripples through the corridor, keeping all of its brilliantly bright, red eyes focused on the group. Sebastian pales in wide eyed terror and shouts. "INCOMING! RUN!"

Bach remains upon his task, his awareness lost within his work. Readying herself, Sotalia glances expectantly over to Bach. Dretphi sharply and firmly grasps hold of Bach's shoulder and shakes him back to the immediate. Blinking out of his haze, Bach snaps his gaze over. With a commanding tone, Dretphi speaks firmly . "WE GO NOW."

With Bach regaining his awareness of the present, Sotalia snatches hold of his arm and rushes off towards the entrance. Dretphi pushes Bach forward along. They all escape towards the outside beyond the archway. Senses returning, Bach soon drives the pace forward with a rush of fright. The creature jets down the hallway and slams its full weight into the golden barrier. Its form deforms upon the barrier from the thunderous impact, and the shock ripples across its featureless, black exterior, eye platforms drifting aimlessly in the confusion. The golden structure glints with strain, gradually flexing with the crash force, and quickly settles back to unmoved stability. Glancing back, Bach watches the monstrosity frantically feeling around the partially constructed barrier and grins triumphantly with a fitting hand gesture. "HA HA! Try that out you wretched shit! Have fun in there FOREVER!"

A synthetic voice blares out a message over the facility's speaker system. Sotalia searches her mind, puzzling in the moment, and yells out. "The hell is it saying now?!"

Passing the threshold of the entrance to the outside air with a sigh of relief, she slows her sprint down. Bach follows shortly behind, exhaustion creeping into his gait. Dretphi maintains her rear guard over Bach, checking on him. Second later, she pants out, relaxing her body, and slowly shakes her head. The late afternoon sun casts a calming light upon the moment of peace near the entrance.

Three thin, long black tendrils shatter the tranquility and swiftly wrap around Dretphi's waist and legs. The dark flexing limbs yank her to the ground and pull her across the entryway threshold. Hearing Dretphi fall onto the ground, Bach watches her slide inside and reflexively dives after her outstretched arm. Both secure a grip onto each other's forearms, and Bach tugs back against the thinly stretched tentacles. Sliding along the dirt, Bach manages to wrap his free arm around the archway structure, maintaining his hold. Dretphi tightens her grip and grimaces under the strain, the competing forces lifting her off the ground.

Starting deep within the facility, a cascade of electrical junctions loudly switch on, and a loud hum resonates nearby. Cideeda quickly grabs hold of Dretphi's free hand, digging her claws into the ground, and pulls with all her small frame can manage. Sotalia rushes over, immediately takes aim, and unleashes a power bolt of energy towards the tentacles. The bolt solidly impacts and sends ripples along the limb's slim form, shaking it violently. Dretphi's plated boot loosens itself free. The tentacle snaps harshly back along with the armor, slicking back through a small gap in the golden magical barrier. Aristespha quickly gestures out an incantation, pointing towards the remaining two tentacles, and unleashes a bright beam. The ray drags across the general path of the slick, black lines searing the beast's limbs. The stretched appendages thrash about against Dretphi, tearing a thigh plate free. The limb snaps back, and one tentacle remains around Dretphi. It pulsates thicker, tightening its grasp around her waist.

Sparks of life flicker within the archway. The ambient hum grows louder, and an energy haze begins to fill the plane encapsulated by the ancient force field generator. Gritting her teeth, Cideeda struggles with her grip on Dretphi's arm and winces. The energies building within the space of the archway electrocute Cideeda away in a powerful arcing burst. Bach maintains his grip, the field thickening against his arm. Sparks crackle against his burning duster, wisps of smoke spurting out. The dark beast pulls upon Dretphi, and she tenses her body, buffering the tension growing. Feeling the strain, Bach grits his teeth with determination and focuses his glowing blue eyes. Flows of magical energy glide along his body, seeping into arms and back. With a powerful draw of breath, new levels of muscle definition emerge in Bach's arms, and he pulls hard, pulling Dretphi closer to the developing force field and further away from the monster.

Aristespha and Sotalia hurry over, quickly casting spells, and work together, repulsing the field energy away from Bach. The two gradually widen a hole in the archway barrier around his arm. The monster roars out in an unnatural, shrill scream, contorting its form. The pull of the tentacle around Dretphi surges. The force travels through her and yanks Bach's helmet first into the translucent force field. In a spray of sparks and arcs, Bach holds his grip against the repeated impacts upon the crackling field, the golden barriers on his helm fracturing. Getting back on to her feet, Cideeda frantically searches the archway, her eyes darting between modules and nodes in vain. Sebastian darts off towards the monster, desperately trying to distract it. Many of the abomination's cybernetic, red eyes watch Sebastian. One maintains watch upon Dretphi.

Staring, Dretphi watches as Aristespha and Sotalia focus their energies and keep the force field from collapsing upon Bach's arm, smoke fuming off his burnt duster. She glances into Sotalia's gold on black eyes and the struggle apparent on her face. Her steely gray eyes follow Cideeda in a panic, trying to find something she can override on the archway. She listens to Sebastian spewing forth taunts and insults behind her, attempting to distract the beast. Her gaze settles upon Bach's flickering blue eyes behind his visor. Through a shattered golden barrier, she watches the steel of Bach's helmet heat up against the constant contact with the force field wall. Trembles sneak into Bach's grip. His muscles tense into strange definition and spasm from the unnatural magical augmentation. Smiling warmly to Bach, Dretphi grips hold her submachine gun with her free hand and closes her steely gray eyes sadly.

A chorus of mental terror blasts forth throughout Bach's mind. With blood chilling horror, he watches the scene about to play out. Gritting teeth, he unleashes a torrent of emotion from within and mutters loudly. "Gods. Damn. You. Isaac."

Opening her eyes towards the black mass monstrosity, Dretphi aims her submachine gun, dons a grimly stoic stare, and lets go of Bach's arm.

She doesn't move.

Stunned bewilderment snaps her glance back towards the outside world.

"FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED."

Noticing the renewed, powerful grip upon her gauntlet covered arm, Dretphi gazes into the brilliantly glowing white eyes of Bach. She immediately snatches her grasp firmly back upon Bach's forearm. Flows white energy protectively coat around Bach and wisps sink into his body. Struggling with each word, Bach glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia and commands. "Save your strength... Will need... Your help to open the field for Dretphi... Wait for it..."

From Bach's powerfully clamped hand, threads of elder energy weave down Dretphi's arm, spreading out across her shoulders, and travel between her and the tightly wrapped, pulsating tentacle, enveloping her legs. Seconds later, Dretphi blinks in surprise, the tension upon her body fading, and eases out a relieved breath. A white matrix of energy flickers across her under armor suit and absorbs the pulling and crushing forces from the tentacle. Mustering a smirk, Bach slides his hand from the outer edge of the archway and presses his elder energy coated forearm against the barrier. Pushing against the arcing and crackling energy field with his elbow, he releases the straps of helmet, tears it off, and flings it clear. The helm rolls along the dirt, wisps of smoke trailing behind from a faintly orange-red glowing spot and flaking shards of golden magical energy. Supported sideways by the constant pull of the monster's tentacle, Bach slips up each of his elder energy coated knees up onto the powerful field, sparks and arcs erupting out with the sustained forceful contact.

Gazing at Dretphi, Bach braces himself against the force field, pulls his free arm back, and concentrates a surge of white energy in his hand. In a fountain of sparks, flames, and plasma, he drills his arm through the barrier. Opening his hand, Bach reaches for Dretphi's other arm, and Dretphi immediately grabs hold tight. Against the tugs and yanks of the enraged beast, Bach and Dretphi coordinate their grips, readying themselves. Sliding his knees up relatively underneath him, Bach positions his feet between him and the archway energy barrier. A massive surge of energy erupts throughout Bach's body, and he calls out. "OPEN IT NOW!"

Aristespha and Sotalia simultaneously cast their spell into the barrier, piercing a widening hole between Bach's arms. With muscle definition highlighted by magical energy flow, Bach dead lifts himself towards a standing position. Crackles of energy spew forth from the pressing contact between his boots and the fully powered energy barrier. Splatters of magically infused plasma rain upon the ground, sizzling upon the dirt and burning the grass. Bach stands up straighter, and Dretphi emerges from the widening hole. Putting forth all her strength, she climbs up Bach, both coordinating and changing grips help hoist her clear. Clearing the barrier, Dretphi curls her legs away, and Aristespha and Sotalia immediately release their spell.

The opening slams shut on the stretched, black tentacle. Still holding onto Dretphi, the thicken tendril powerfully wrenches against Bach and Dretphi and harshly yanks the two back towards the field. Bach grits teeth in a pained wince and stabilizes his foothold against the barrier upon flows of elder energy. Watching Bach struggling and Dretphi trying her best to get free, Cideeda bares her sharp canines and marches towards the force field. She pulls her shotgun into her hands, reaches into a large pocket on her vest, and retrieves a long metal shell with a sharp, pointy tip. Deftly loading it into the under-barrel of her shotgun, she calls out to Aristespha and Sotalia, motioning to a section of force field. "GIVE ME AN OPENING!"

Aristespha and Sotalia quickly exchange glances, summon their magical energies, and pry open a portal in the archway barrier. Cideeda quickly thrusts her shotgun through, leveling her aim towards the beast, and searches for the opportunity. In the fractions of a second, Cideeda studies the monster, the surroundings, and the small gaps in Bach's golden magical barrier. Many eyes pay attention to the distracting antics of Sebastian. Cideeda notices one lone cybernetic eye fully focused on Bach and Dretphi. Snarling her upper lip, she narrows her emerald eyed glare and shouts to Sebastian. "SEBASTIAN! Go for the eye at the bottom!"

Sebastian halts a moment, glances down to the solitary eye, and zips right in front of it. Summoning his fury, he unleashes a fiery radiance around his ethereal form. All of the beast's eyes pay attention to him. Cideeda pulls the trigger. The projectile launches forth from the under-barrel and rockets through the hallway. Slipping through a gap in the golden barrier, the heavy round flies straight underneath the center mass of the monster. It sticks perfectly into a floor tile. Cideeda yanks Aristespha and Sotalia down to the ground with her, yelling. "GET DOWN!"

A concussive wave of flame bursts out. The shockwave concentrates beneath the amorphous blob, launches its warping form up into the air, and slams the twisting mass in a thunderous splat against the ceiling plating. Cybernetic eye platforms scramble in chaotic orbits around the body, crashing into each other, and drift aimlessly across the featureless, dark surface. Tentacles reflexively deflate and retreat to the stunned center blob. The wave of concussive force vents through the many small gaps in the golden magical barrier, and the outer archway force field bulges slightly."

Bounced away, Dretphi and Bach free fall down to the ground.

An eerie silence floods the clearing. Second later, the sounds of nature return with the faint, muffled background din of a large mass quickly retreating, fading away. Dretphi stirs, blinking back to conscious thought. From her prone perspective, her steely gray eyes search the area in a confused daze. Lifting her head up slightly, she brushes her platinum blonde braids clear of her tan face and notices the strange, awkward gawks from Sebastian, Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia. In her mental haze, she searches around for a missing team member. A strange sensation distracts her. Feeling a warm, moist flow of air alternating with a cooler draw of air upon the middle of her chest, he tilts her head downwards. She recognizes the familiar brown, white streaked hair on top of Bach's head, her under armored suited figure smothering his face entirely.

Blushing brightly, Dretphi swiftly pushes herself up off of Bach and immediately swings over to the side, granting him some room to breathe. With Aristespha rushing over, Dretphi quickly checks on him and awkwardly states fact. "He is... Breathing."

Aristespha maintains a professional demeanor and evaluates Bach's vitals. "Yes. I do believe he passed out from the strain and halting the flow of energy suddenly. He should wake up soon."

Minutes of investigations later, Bach stirs back to consciousness and groggily opens his eyes. Gazing out to the gathered team, he lifts his head up slowly, catches a glimpse of the archway, and immediately backpedals along the ground away from the entrance in a fearful reflex. The team shifts with him and settles back down, resting a bit. Flopping out upon the ground, Cideeda stares up at the clouds overhead and vents out all her stress into a wavering laugh. "Oh gods... I think that explosive round sent it... packing."

With hints of hope, Sebastian nervously chuckles. "Yeah. I think it did. The damned thing took off in the other direction after that hit. Hope it STAYS deep in that damned hole."

Propping himself up, Bach sniffs sharply through his nose and rubs the bridge out to the tip. Aristespha perks her brow curiously, inquiring. "Is there something wrong with your nose?"

Bach contorts his face, working out the perplexing discomfort, and ponders out loud. "I, uh... Not really? I mean, it's not broken or anything. Just feels a bit off... or something."

Glancing around to the rest of the team, he pulls on his nose. "Like it got pushed to the side... By something... Soft? I don't know how to describe it. But, I think I'll be fine."

He gazes over to Dretphi and smiles apologetically. "I guess I must have bumped into you, Dretphi, when we fell down? You okay?"

Dretphi blinks briefly, presents a tight smile, averting her gaze, and nods quickly. "Oh. Uh. Yes."

Aristespha maintains her professional exterior, eyeing Sebastian into silence. Sotalia pivots away covering her mouth, suppresses the chuckling snort fighting to escape, and narrows her humored gold on black eyes at Dretphi. Concentrating a stoic glare firmly upon Sotalia, Dretphi fails to hide the embarrassment slipping through into her slightly red cheeks.