Michael Hayes - Just after using the Teleport Platform under the warehouse.
We arrive in the Teleport Platform underneath the Institute, the Teleport Platform is the same as usual except that instead of a tunnel leading to a sewer system or even a short tunnel there is a Hoist right in front of us.
We quickly enter it and move up a floor. Upon arriving, the foyer for this research area is in disarray, large gashes cover the walls, floor, research stations and more with all sorts of Powered attacks. Ice spikes in the floor shattered on the ground, burnt walls and door. Even furniture did not seem to be safe, though some may have been used as weapons, as we walk through the foyer to another hoist we see some furniture in odd positions, almost like they were walking.
“Great, they have Powers to make furniture into mimics… Number 2 you can look into that.”
“Ugh” is all Number 2’s reply, it’s kinda an ongoing joke that anything new goes to Number 2 to research. We all help when we can but it is kinda fun to joke around a bit, helps keep my mind off of the upcoming, possibly dangerous fight against this Falgus fellow.
He also sends me a message that he’s having some of the Kage peel off to grab loot from this research area. Stuff like notes, documentation and stuff like that. Stealing may be wrong don’t get me wrong so let’s think of this as payment for damages rendered ok?
The foyer is completely empty, and it’s just helping to get me on my nerves about this fight, I’m getting kinda nervous to be honest. “Do you think that Masters Carson and Naaf have”
BANG! I am interrupted as a fight spills out into the foyer, the room filling with sound due to the open doors that banged open which must have some noise cancellation, several people in the fight are easily identified as Guards while the rest must be Institute, some ran past them and towards us but quickly slowdown as Adoazze and her team pull swords a little and turn to them.
They start to lie down as the fight comes to an end, a quick set of temporary Luminous Shackles keeps them detained while the Guardsmen who have arrived sort things out. Some jog up to us to detain these now protesting Institute members while one peels off to talk to Adoazze.
“Ma’am, Masters Carson and Naaf went up to Sir Falgus’ room on the top floor, I have a map here that you can use.”
“Excellent, thank you Guard, any word from them?” Asks Adoazze passing the paper map to Milrich who studies it with us.
“Nothing yet, but it’s only been about ten minutes so far.”
“Understood, how’s it going?” she asks, nodding toward the now captive Institute members.
“We’re getting there, as it was at night most we’re in bed so we got quick access, but many more must have been waiting for us. We had more resistance than we had expected, but about as much confusion as we thought.”
“Upper floors?”
“Mostly cleared, you should have limited contact if any.”
“Thank you”
Nodding the Guardsmen turns and starts walking back with his new captives, Adoazze turns back to us and silently we get ready to move up. Up a maze of hoists we end up on the same level as Falgus’ office, silently and with weapons ready we sneak down the hallway ready and waiting for any ambushes or surprises.
We pass one door, two, three when a loud bang is heard behind us. Spinning around we see a door had burst opened and two people in Institute garb are running out of a room with massive tomes of documents and files stacked in their arms, they don’t even see us as they sprint for the Hoist but do not get very far as a set of Luminous Shackles appears once again to grab them.
Falling to the floor I know 2 has sent some Kage to grab those documents and in the meanwhile we kick the tomes out of the way as we approach. “W, wait! I’m Sir Falgus’ personal aide, I can help!”
The other Institute member is silent, he looks young and absolutely terrified. “Where is Falgus and Masters Carson and Naaf?” asks Adoazze calmly.
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“We ran past them earlier, they broke into Falgus’ office and then we heard a loud sound. Nothing else I swear!”
“And these?” Milrich says, kicking one of the tomes to the side, bumping them against the wall.
“Research notes! Nothing more, you can check!” he yells panicked, almost going into shock from the looks of things.
Imi, who does a ton of research for the Guardsmen has a quick look. “Yeap, just notes.”
“Chuck them in the Hoist and send a message to HQ, have them come and pick them up?” I suggest, turning to the poor Institute guys, I say “After all, you’ll not make any trouble for yourselves right?”
Quick head nods and stammered “Yes Sirs” follow as we put a pair of manacles on them that Milrich has in an Inventory-like Power and they are quickly sent on their way, tomes left forgotten.
“If there has been no sounds after that, then where are they?” asks Lock, turning back towards the office, we can see that the doors are off their hinges a bit from our angle but nothing much else.
“Could the fighting have fallen out into other rooms or outside?” I say.
“Possibly other rooms, but outside not, there would be an update then… Let's move inside the office, beware of traps.” says Adoazze.
We slowly move into the office, the doors blasted off their hinges like a tank round had hit them. The office floor is stone or concrete type with some wood shavings on the floor, an almost comically sized window is behind a large desk on the left of the room. The rest of it is filled with bookshelves and lab tables filled with notes, weird tools, glass boxes with gloved hand holes and a bunch of Shae-Eq vials. Other than that, nothing is out of the ordinary, no broken windows, no burnt floors, nothing aside from wood chips.
“Emergency Lighting is on, don’t touch anything, we have no clue if anything is trapped.” Says Milrich reinforcing Adoazze's command.
Number 2 has a sad field day looking at the notebooks already opened on the tables. “I have no clue what these say… And it's all in base twelve math too dammit.”
“What's base twelve?” asks Imi, “You know how in your maths you mainly use one through twelve? Yea on earth we use one through ten.”
Everyone except for myself and my clones turn to look at 2 like he grew a set of massive pink fluffy arms before shaking their heads saying to themselves a mixture of “That’s so weird”, “That sounds fake” and “Why ten?”
After searching around some more we find nothing, no secret exits, entrances, mechanisms, nothing. Milrich used his Footstep Mapping Power to see what movements were made but aside from Falgus moving towards a lab desk containing only note books and Shae-Eq and another set with the Masters entering, there is nothing else… Looks like they didn’t even leave.
“Where in the depths of the sea did they end up?” says Milrich annoyed, “It’s not like they just upped and disappeared?”
“Looks like that's exactly what happened though. If they fly, would that get tracked with the Footsteps thingy?” I ask.
“Yes, it would appear as lines in the air…”
Adoazze turns around from a desk and addresses the group. “Lets move out of here, Michael can those shadows talk to you with silent communication?”
“Yeap, got clear comms for about 35 feet.”
“Alright, let’s head back to the corridor, we’ll leave the shadows there, if anyone comes back they’ll let us know. Meanwhile I’ll contact HQ, see if there is someone they can send down here or locate them.”
We all head back into the corridor and further back down nearer to the Hoist, some chairs are grabbed from the other rooms and we place them against the walls. We chill for a few minutes just waiting.
I ask Adoazze who’s sitting in a chair opposite me, “So if they cannot find them out here, what do we do?”
“Just secure the area, which we are already doing.”
I turn to Lock and share a shrug while we wait some more, about five more minutes pass before Number 5 suddenly jumps up. “Their back!” he whispers.
We all jumped up with him and quickly make our way back toward the office, the air getting colder and colder with vapour flowing out of the door. Moving around the corner we find Masters Carson and Naaf in a bad way on the floor out cold with Falgus in some kinda ice armour at a lab table, back turned to us messing with some vials.
Dr Roselin squats down next to them as her hands light up, motioning to us we silently drag them out of the room for Roselin to attend to them. The slight sounds we were making must have alerted him as he turned around, the pale blue ice covering everything but is clear around his face. Smiling a manic smile he sees us and slowly walks towards us.
“Well, well, the OutWolder and his Duplicates. I would say well met but…” he says shrugging.
I feel my heart beat a mile a minute, Carson and Naaf are incredibly good, high ranked and everything. What has Falgus been doing?
Adoazze suddenly steps forward, taking the main position in our group. “Falgus, you are under arrest. Please deactivate your Powers and surrender.”