5532/System Tower - Floor 85: Five More Hours at Patty's

System Tower - Floor 85: Five More Hours at Patty's
Date of Scene:	25 October 2017
Location:	The System <TS>
Synopsis:	Monsters roam these halls but they're not robots
Cast of Characters:	Lexicon, Rebecca Chambers, 1103, Yomi Isayama, 1132, 1137

---

Lexicon has posed:
    Britannica. Snowy mountain landscape with the city itself in a valley below the peaks. It's rather alpine, like European countryside, which matches the architecture. The System's characteristic resource lines, however, are barely visible. Instead of the constant white glow, the lines are dark, and only pulse every few seconds. The lights in the city respond similarly, homes and businesses dim and only brightening every few seconds.

    The Tower itself appeared near the town but not inside it, this time. A dull black spire punched through the landscape of the Drive and reaching to the sky. The label 85 gleams on placards to either side of the doors. Three distinct sets of footprints track through the snow right to the closed doors, and a fourth set being made by the red-clad oracle Stylono, hot on following them.

    A white streak, meanwhile, erupts from the System Bus and screams through the sky like a comet, trailing mist and flecks of ice. Lexicon, in the form of Silver Soul, slams into the Tower's side with her feet, using that to brake herself (and work some frustration out). Only then does she right herself and descend, bristling with fury.

    "Stylono, bring them in. Everyone you can reach. Before I find out whoever build this fuckin' thing, break it off, and shove it up their stupid ass!"

    "--Er," The Oracle comes to a stop, panting. Straightening, she nods once, "Of course, Lady Silver Soul."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Snowy mountains mean coldness. Meaning Rebecca's wearing a green jacket over her usual attire. Other than that, it's the same Rebecca everyone knows and loves. (OK, the last part might be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the general idea!)

Unlike Lexicon, who arrives in the form of a comet or something similar, Rebecca arrives via a warpgate, and upon arriving she looks around for the others. When she spots Lexicon, she can sense that she's pretty peeved, which is why Rebecca hopes when she salutes Lexicon, she'll know it's a sign of respect and not an attempt to be funny or anything like that.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Several moments after Lexicon's rather energetic entrance, a multi-coloured trail comes from the System Bus terminal, following a much more sedate arc. Not to say it's /slow/, but Theurgus, in the guise of Diamond Soul, doesn't have to use the Tower to arrest her speed as she comes in to not-quite-land. Feet hovering a few inches off the floor. Her hair and robe billow in an unfelt breeze. "I am here... let us hope we can safely recover the Twins."

Yomi Isayama has posed:
It's so cold! Fortunately, Yomi at least had time to throw on a jacket over her uniform before heading out, but she still wasn't expecting it to be quite this bad. Still, when she heard what had happened, she didn't want to waste any time.

That is why she's actually riding on Ranguren, the great beast barely making a sound as its feet almost don't touch the ground while making huge bounds through Britannica. The System Tower, at least, is not very hard to miss, even from a distance, and it doesn't take Yomi and Ranguren long to reach it.

As soon as she does, she leaps off the nue's back, and the spirit beast fades away into nothingness. "I'm here, Lexicon. I heard there is something in need of stabbing or possibly mauling." Resting one hand on her hip, Yomi touches Silver Soul's shoulder with the other. "Don't worry, we'll find them."

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    Another day, another world with its own unique monsters, death-traps, proferred merc pay for those willing to risk their well-being against the aforementioned, and chances for similarly unique salvage that tip the balance in favor of accepting said offer even for those as dedicated to not-dying as unaffiliated mercenary Alpha-Three-Nine.
    A-39 trudges her way on foot from the warp gate to the meeting point, carrying her full kit and having already finished fiddling with it. SMG, AMR, explosive devices replaced since her last outing, emergency kits... Her mask hangs off from the side rather than obscuring her face, for the moment preferring her peripheral vision stay intact. Not a bad-looking country, really. She's never gotten to tour Europe.
    She gives a glance to Yomi, not sure whether she's seen this one before, before turning to whoever looks the most native and in-charge. There's a radio ear-piece that picks up and transmits her voice along with an identification code. "Alpha-39, reporting in. Ready for the details." She has a crisp tone, enunciating like someone used to far less reliable radios.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Technically, Asterios was supposed to be in Paris.

Technically, his master wasn't supposed to be temporarily waylayed by a serious case of the Eels. But here we are. The enormous minotaur trudges through the slush and snow, parting both together with each tremendous stride. It's hard not to notice the ground shaking just a little bit whenever he's faced with an obstacle he needs to leap. It's... so majes--

No.

Wait, Asterios, why are you rolling around in the snow.

No stop. Snowballs are not meant to roll up hills.

And yet... And yet here, now, they do.

The mound of snow comes apart as it draws up to the tower, a pair of mighty legs and powerful arms and a great, horned head burst from within. Asterios is...

Well.

He looks happy.

"Strange... White powder. From sky!" Beat. "Cold." Beat. He looks to Theurgus as if she's supposed to be filling him in on something capital-I important.

"Aa." Asterios says, then, looking towards Silver Soul. "Sorry. Am here. To help!"

Lexicon has posed:
    "Some of you have helped with the Tower before," Stylono admits, "But I see some new faces as well." She glances towards A-39 and then Asterios, "I will be brief due to the urgency. The Tower is a deathtrap that plagues our Drive and drains its resources from time to time. Normally this is an emergency, but it has become a crisis. Lady Silver Soul's young sisters, Index and Codex, have apparently gone inside." She gestures, "And I suspect the research program Bunnabelle went in after them already."

    She folds her hands together, "So the request is not only to clear the Tower floor and drive it away from the Drive, but also to ensure the safety of the two Candidates." The Oracle bows her head lightly, "I will ensure your efforts are properly compensated."

    "Enough fuckin' talking!" Lexicon snaps, "If you wanna help, follow me. If you don't think it's worth your time-- well, first, /fuck you/, and second just go home instead!" The halfpint Drive Core Controller whirls around in place. Pixellated light flickers in her hands as her axe materializes, and she slams it into the Tower's door with enough force to break it open. She kicks off, scattering up a plume of snow as she dashes into the building.

    Stylono closes her eyes, her face an apologetic smile, "Ah... S-sorry. She's very concerned for her sisters." Eyes opening, her gaze wanders from the two new faces to Yomi, Theurgus, and Rebecca, "Lady Silver Soul is powerful, but like this she will have very little self control. Please watch out for her." Back to A-39, then ending on Asterios, "I will do what I can to ensure your efforts do not go ignored. Please save the twins-- and protect my Lady from herself."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus nods to Stylono, floats over and places a hand on the Oracle's shoulder. "She has us at her back. We will not fail her." she says. She then gathers herself up, forming a magic circle beneath her feet as her back processors flare out. "Diamond Soul, heading out!" She then pushes off, and bursts forwards much like Lexicon just did, kicking up snow from the force of her launch. She already has her staff in hand, the marble held within the Gordian Knot at the head glowing a pale green-white.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Enough... mmn?" Asterios stares at the little overviolent ball of rage that is Silver Soul. "...Many words. Do not know. Young... sisters?"

He remembers something about that. Last night, wasn't it? Something about... About being a protector of little children. About being the thing that even the monsters are afraid to cross.

Asterios exhales sharply. His breath mists and frosts. "Aa."

A pair of axes materialize in his hands. Enormous, twin weapons, easily large enough for an ordinary man to have trouble wielding even with two hands. He carries each effortlessly in one. The minotaur races in after Theurgus and Silver Soul, his crimson eyes briefly tracing a glowing, red line through the empty air as charges ahead. Fight, Asterios! For the smiles of all children!!

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
It's not secret that Lexicon is in a very bad mood. Then again, most probably haven't seen Rebecca in the bio-research center. There was that time she splashed an acidic mix on herself, and while she was wearing gloves, it just happened to splash on an exposed part of her arm. The words she used are a bit extreme.

Rebecca nods to Lexicon. "I'm ready to move out, just say the word!" She looks to Stylono and gives a nod as well. "Understood. I'll make sure to keep an eye on her." With that, Rebecca takes off running after Lexicon, trying to keep pace with her as she enters the building. "Don't know what's going on, but it's our job to fix it!"

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "Repeating back. The tower's a death-trap. Clear the tower, and ensure the safety of Codex and Index. Roger." Alpha-39 says to Stylono, and then just shrugs to Lexicon. There are a few ways to take her outburst, and the least generous still just sounds like someone not thinking straight due to circumstances, and is easy enough to ignore. She'll remember the attitude, at least, and adjust accordingly. Asterios is, with a quick glance and initial judgment, another one to watch out for. Huh, given that... that's an uncomfortable proportion of the party, isn't it?
    Shifting her oversized submachine gun into hand, stock to shoulder, and running her opposite hand across a few knife hilts, A-39 makes her way in after the others.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
It was really hard to miss the grand entrance of the snowy bull. But, despite his size and speed, Yomi didn't feel any killing intent or malice... so she only rests her hand on the hilt of her sword, rather than drawing it. But he seems to at least be familiar with Theurgus, and he says he's here to help, so she lets her hand slowly fall from her sword again. Yomi can't help but give him a few odd looks, though. That is most definitely not a human, but he doesn't feel like a youkai either...

As she watches Lexicon smash on the door, Yomi glances aside to Alpha-39, lifting a hand to acknowledge her. "Just don't have any expectations. It can get really weird in there." She can only hope there are no more flexing dog slimes today.

"I'll keep an eye on her, Stylono. Probably won't hold her back if we find anything's happened to the girls, though." There's a bit of a cold edge to her voice as she nods her head once, then heads inside after the others.

Lexicon has posed:
    Entering the Tower prompts a brief experience of darkness before it deposits each person into its interior. And the interior is... old. But not in the sense where it's majestic ancient construction or ruins. No, the walls are dingy plasterboard with cheap wallpaper covering it, marked along the edges of the floor with patches of mold. The floor itself is tile, cheap black and white checkerboard. A single flourescent light flickers in the ceiling, which is so high up that even the enormous Asterios would have to jump to touch it with his hands.

    Faded, torn posters line the walls between boarded-up windows, depicting words like PLAY and PARTY and FUN. The sound of heavy rain outside matches up with the occasional drips of water leaking through the roof, creating puddles on the floor here or there. Broken, rusted machines that used to be coin-operated rides sit to either side of the door, and a pair of empty pedestals sit on either side of the far doors leading further into this place. Nothing sits on those pedestals, but the faded names can be seen on each one: PATTY CAT on the left, and RODNEY RAT on the right.

    Above the door flanked by these empty displays, some of the letters loose or missing, is what once was a vibrant, decorative sign.

    PATTY'S PLAY PALACE

    Lexicon is nowhere to be seen.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus comes up short, lifting into the air with eyes wide. A blink swaps the colours between the two irises, and her grip on her staff becomes white knuckled. "This is bad. This is very bad." she says, slowly lowering back to 'normal' height, just a couple inches from the tile floor. "Everyone, be careful, the creatures in here are made from the same material as the Tower itself, it's safer to flee than fight, even the most powerful attacks a DCC can muster only do minimal damage. The last one like this I attended, turned out to be a puzzle of sorts... we must find the control room. Stay together."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
As soon as Rebecca arrives, she draws her Beretta and disables the safety... Until Theurgus speaks up and tells everyone to hold their fire as their attacks won't work. Rebecca acknowledges quickly before holstering her gun. She then takes a look at the place they're in, and almost immediately she begins to frown a little bit.

"Wow... this place... it looks like something out of a child's nightmare or something." She bites her lower lip a little, imagining how traumatizing a nightmare like that could be. Then she shifts back to reality. "OK, so we have to find the control room. The question is, where would it be?"

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "..." Alpha-39 doesn't actually say the "uh, what?" out loud. She drops to a crouch, rapidly shifting her aim from one direction to another, covering every angle once before slowly moving away from the light. Theurgus has an explanation, but it's not to the level that lets the soldier so simply accept and understand what she's seeing. There's always some limit to adaptability.
    She speaks quietly, but her radio picks it up anyway. "Avoid all engagements. Got it." Her free hand shifts her mask into position, and the red-eyed thing soon fully covers her face, back to her ears. A few moments later, she speaks in a more casual tone. "Like recreated ruins, but it's still powered. No guarantee the structure will make sense. Shit." She doesn't let go of her gun, despite the advice, but does lower it, and stands quiet to listen. No sign of Lexicon? No sign of anyone further in?
    "Any significance on those signs? Cats and rats? If not, let's just take one and go." And so she moves to the RODNEY RAT door on the right.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
Yomi squints at the sign for a moment. "That name does not at all match the looks of this place." She lets out a breath. "At least it's warmer than outside." Pause. "...where's Lexicon? Don't tell me she charged in there without waiting for us..." Well, she did promise to keep an eye on Lexicon, so she hopes they'll run into her sooner rather than later..

Glancing at Theurgus, she wrinkles her nose a bit in annoyance. "So we can't even fight the things in here? I swear, whoever made this whole tower is some kind of twisted sadist. Guess there's no bypassing the puzzle like last time, then."

Clapping her hands together once, she starts for the doors. "Well, no use in delaying. Let's head in." And with that, she walks up alongside Alpha-39 and shoves the door open, stepping inside. What's the worst that can happen?

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Made from the same material as the tower?

What is the tower made of, then? Strange. Very strange. Asterios' eyes affix to the decrepit arcade, blinking slowly as he takes in the atmosphere of the place. It's dingey, run-down, a maze where invincible monsters creep through the halls and stalk the innocent.

There's something dreadfully familiar about all this.

The massive bull-man tilts his head back and turns his nose into the stagnant air. The small one had to have come this way in search of her sisters, yes? So she has to be here, somewhere.

Follow the scent, Asterios! It will lead you to your pr--

I mean, innocent children in need of your help!!

Lexicon has posed:
    Proceeding through the foyer is uneventful, acting sort of like an introduction to the atmosphere of this floor's challenge. The door on the far end looks like it was smashed open. By the sizzling, cooling red mark in the metal, this was most likely Lexicon's handiwork with her energy axe. This opens the way into the hallway beyond, lined with once-colorful posters depicting cartoon animals in various antics, with still-legible single word captions encouraging play, fun, parties, and games. This passage opens up into a wider corridor with water dripping from the ceiling. A cave-in blocks further progress, lit by a flickering light that used to be in the ceiling, but doorways lead to large rooms on either side instead. There's a faded, low-quality fire exit map moldering in a frame near one door. Above either one are signs declaring what they are: On the left, SHOW STAGE. On the right, PARTY CENTRAL.

    In the distance, the sound of a music box fades in, as if slowly approaching from the room on the left side.

    Asterios catches the scent! The scent of ... mold, and snow from the people around him. Lexicon isn't human, so her scent is probably hard to pick out due to being so mild and in such a dank environment.

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    A map! Maps are always useful, even when full of lies, unless the lies are exceptionally cunning. Alpha-39 moves forward to take a look at it, the eyes of her mask seeming to catch the wan lighting with a ruby-red reflection. "Any particular reason we should stick together if we can't engage? Instead of running interference while this gets scouted out?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus follows the others through, folding the 'wings' of her Processor set down to fit through the doors. She looks at the options, then tenses at the sound of that music box. "Go right... that music is from one of those accursed monstrocities." she says in response to A-39. Though she does add. "You don't want to get lost in a place like this." She starts heading right, towards PARTY CENTRAL, in an effort to avoid the approaching music.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
"Probably best not to split up, if these things are that dangerous. Judging by the map, this place isn't -that- big." Yomi pauses, glancing up toward the map.... then draws her sword and slashes at the frame to see if the map can be liberated from its glassy prison. If so, she'll hold the map out for someone else to take if they want. "So we want to stay away from the music? I'll keep that in mind. Though..." Yomi pauses, glancing at the others. "I don't think we're really too suited for stealth, so hopefully they don't hear that well."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
The music box makes Rebecca a little uneasy, but also makes her suspicious as well. She nods to Theurgus and says, "We best check it out. Something about it sounds very off." Don't ask Rebecca how she knows, she just does.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
THUD

THUD

THUD.

Asterios pauses.

He stares right at Yomi when she mentions stealth and things not hearing very well. The giant bull man looks... Almost bashful, for a moment. It's strange, though. The atmosphere of this place might be unnerving to some, but he seems... Used to it, somehow.

"Aa," he takes the map as it's offered and begins quietly studying it. This place reeks too much of mold. But he knows what mold smells like. It's the other things, the unusual things, that stand out most. But maybe it might help to get somewhere closer to where Silver Soul got off to before sniffing things out.

Beat.

B...eat.

...Asterios. Why are your ears perking.

Asterios no, don't go towards the music.

ASTERIOS YOU ARE BAD AT THIS, WHY ARE YOU BAD AT THIS

(Because Asterios hears pretty, jangly music. Also because Asterios is busy studying a map)

Lexicon has posed:
    The map indicates that there are four large rooms in this corridor, then the hallway bends up ahead and there are two more before it ends at the kitchens and storeroom. The fire escape arrows, indicating what way to go in an emergency, all seem to point at there being an emergency exit through the storage past those kitchens. There are also some side-rooms right nearby, off the PARTY CENTRAL and SHOW STAGE rooms. Of course, this isn't a building made to code, this is a deathtrap inside a mysterious killer tower.

    The music's volume steadily rises while the group deliberates.

    Theurgus leads the way into PARTY CENTRAL
    A large room with multiple tables, lined with chairs. They were, at least, at one point. Many of the chairs have disintegrated over time and have left only rusted metal frames behind. Tables, similarly, only offer rotted remains in many cases. One near the far wall has even collapsed. There's a small show stage there, lights flickering against ragged red curtains. On the north wall is an open archway to another large space, marked on the map as the ARCADE, but the south wall also has a door with a rusted metal sign declaring EMPLOYEES ONLY

    Asterios however follows the music to the SHOW STAGE
    This is like an amphitheater, with rows of chairs on different levels around a large stage, the curtains pulled back by old ropes. Here, too, lights flicker dimly in their attempts to highlight the empty stage, though an EMPLOYEES ONLY door can be seen in the back.

    The music is coming from the opposite side, though. An archway connecting the SHOW STAGE to the second party room, PARTY PLANET. As the sound draws closer, the noises of gearwork and machinery become apparent over the chimes of the music box. This is accompanied by a metallic female voice, static creeping through the words.

    "...hate my metal bones, my bones and gears creak in my chest;
    My chest forever cold, a cold and maddening descent;
    Descending down so far, fall farther 'til there's nothing left..."

    A tall outline lurches into the doorway, not quite as tall as the Minotaur, but close, a humanoid shape with cat's ears, eyes wide and glowing with unstable orange light.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus looks one way, then another, before she dares cast a spell. A tiny little green-white wisp lifts from the marble atop her staff, and shoots off after the DCC points. She directed it to go into the ARCADE, testing if a sneaky, silent monster is lurking inside. It's bright, it's loud in that it chimes and shimmers a lot, but that's the point, she's trying to distract and divert here.

    While the wisp is deployed on its one-way mission, the DCC heads for the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, testing to see if it will open without being forced.

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "And we would be safer in a group... why?" Alpha-39 asks, and the mention of stealth gets a snort from her. But there wouldn't be any point in going the hard route without coordination, so she leaves it be for now... until Asterios starts heading toward the music.
    "Right. Alternative plan: People not comfortable with stealth go that way, the big guy triggers whatever's over that way and I sneak past it. We'll keep in touch." And with that, A-39 makes her choice, only giving the Minotaur enough time to get ahead of her. The ill-lit room suits her fine, as she moves in near-silence, yet at a fair clip, across the floor, relying on her low-light vision and experience with the kind of ruined buildings this tower seems to have sought to recreate. When a monster of some kind inevitably appears to block the tall Servant's way, she stays well off to the side, trying to make her way around unseen and find an alternative exit to get past the rubble blocking the hall. That "employees only" door might do, but...
    Of course, this won't do much good if she's the only one who gets through, but doing more than that relies on finding anything of use. Some sort of puzzle contraption should be somewhere, if Theurgus was right. The hardest place to get to would be directly past the allegedly unkillable guardian, so she works her way around to try and slip past it into the PARTY PLANET room, if it comes in after Asterios. If not, she'll have to give up or improvise something else. "Something else" may or may not involve bullets.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
After a moment, and trying not to let the atmosphere creep her out further, which is only made worse by the creepy music, Rebecca follows behind Kyoko, opting to follow behind her and act a a support as best as she can. Sure, there isn't much her weapons can do, but she doesn't want to leave anyone alone here. Although there are the others who might be going their own way.

The reality is, Rebecca's gritting her teeth, even though she's trying not to show it. If one looks closely, they'd see she's breathing rather rapidly.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
As Asterios follows the music, Yomi lifts a hand to try to stop him... but the big guy seems pretty single-minded. But if Alpha-39 and Rebecca are going that way... "Keep an eye on him, okay? Not sure if he understands that whatever is in here might be dangerous for him, too."

The exorcist picks up her pace a bit to catch up to Theurgus, because nobody should be on their own in here. "Seems pretty quiet on this side..." A little too quiet. Yomi's hand falls to her sword hilt as she peers through the Employees Only door. "You don't think this place will kick us out for disobeying signs, do you?" Because that would be a quick end to this search and rescue.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios's red eyes glint over the top of his ratty old fire escape map. He blinks once, then again as his senses pour out into the murk and the decay. He spies, there, out in distance, something... Admittedly kind of scary. Asterios has never actually seen animatronics before. He is familiar with the concept of robotic /things/ having lived in the magnum opus of one Daedalus the Inventor. But...

Something about this is... strange.

Well. There wasn't really much hope of hiding to begin with, was there? Asterios is kind of ginormous. He'd have to find a really big hole to duck into if he wanted to be sneaky. Instead he stares at the slightly-shorter figure.

"Aa--" Asterios waves. "He...llo. You are... cold?" Beat. "You are... Cat? I am... Asterios."

Beat.

"Aa." He points at the map. "Do you know... where center... is?"

Lexicon has posed:
PARTY CENTRAL - Theurgus and Yomi
    There isn't much activity here. Theurgus' spell pops off in the next room, however, and something immediately crashes over there. Metal scrapes on tile, and a tall figure suddenly interposes itself between the lightshow and the part room with the exorcist and the mad magician in it. However, its back is to them, distracted by the spell. After a moment, it lurches aside again, circling around.

    It's tall, resembling a man in a suit with the face of a rat, except half of it is missing, baring rusted metal underneath. RODNEY RAT circles around from the back of the light and noise, eventually moving out of sight. Was he WAITING there?

    The EMPLOYEES ONLY door pushes open easily--until something suddenly pushes it closed again, from the inside. Further effort prompts a familiar young voice on the other side to complain: "Go away, you dumb robots!"

SHOW STAGE - Asterios, Rebecca, and Kyoko
    Patty Cat pauses when addressed by Asterios, and the song as well as the voice come to an abrupt stop. The animatronic simply stands there for a long moment. With a clicking sound, the eyes flicker from orange to white, casting a beam of light as she sweeps her gaze from side to side. There is no response to the Servant's questions. Rather, Patty Cat twists in place and resumes moving with jerky, uncanny motions with the arms and legs. There's a metallic click inside, and the music box resumes with a different set of notes. The white glare of her eyes is fixed on the two agents creeping through the darkened corners of the room, and for some reason ignoring the stationary minotaur in plain sight.

    "Crank those gears, the music is in me;
    Been a real long day and we're dieing to be free;
    Don't stop now 'cuz I can guarantee;
    When the silence drops, I'm the last thing that you'll see..."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus lights up a bit. "Girls, it's me." she says, keeping her tone down. She remembers that Rat, but can't remember if it's the SUPER SIGHT one or the SUPER HEARING one, so errs on the side of caution and keeps quiet. She directs Yomi to keep quiet too by placing a finger over her lips. "Let us in... Lexicon is in here looking for you, have you seen her?"

Yomi Isayama has posed:
Wait, that thing didn't notice them until the spell went off? "Huh. I know it was facing us, so..." Yomi lowers her voice a bit. "Must respond to sound. Hang on." Very carefully so as not to cut her fingers on the rusty metal, she picks up one of the chairs and gives it a toss. Not really that far, but she's rather strong, enough that the chair clatters on the ground away from herself and Theurgus. Time to test how safe it is.

When the voice sounds from the door, Yomi leans back next to the mage. "Index, Codex? It's Yomi. Are you two safe?" Surely they remember their sister's friend who brings them candy all the time.

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    The effect of being spotlit is instantaneous. A normal reaction among civilians of most modern worlds, or deer, might be to freeze in place. Alpha-39's is to dive, taking one of the nearest chairs as cover, and then continuing to move back while staying fully covered, trying to lose her interceptor as soon as she's broken line-of-sight. There are a few worst-case-scenario plans that spring to mind, but the risks are varying and could cause issues for the group, so she won't commit to one of those until she finds out how this thing reacts.
    Theurgus' advice comes entirely too late to affect any of the above. Into her radio, A-39 whispers, "Couldn't have said anything about that earlier, huh. What do you mean, 'motion'?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Rebecca gasps as the spotlight falls on her, and her first instinct is to run, but then she realizes that she might not have time to get away. Instead, she spots a nearby object and dives towards it, rolling as she gets behind it. Once she's behind it fully, she draws her Beretta and loads a clip. Even if she can't kill anyone, maybe the spotlight could be shot out if need be.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Aa--" Asterios starts as Patty Cat... Begins to move away?

What!

H-how rude!!

The giant minotaur frowns, feeling a strange sensation in his chest. Is this... What it feels like to be ignored? To be... utterly shut down? Asterios' shoulder slump ever so slightly, but then...

There's something crackling in his ear. He blinks,

...

Well.

Asterios... comes up behind the strange robot.

...And covers its eyes. With his hands.

...

Well. It can see in the dark, but can it see... THROUGH ASTERIOS!?

Lexicon has posed:
PARTY CENTRAL - Theurgus and Yomi
    "Huh? Yomi? Theurgus?" Resistance to opening the Employees Only door stops and it swings open. Inside is only Index, in her pink coat, hands balled up by her chest. She's obviously trying to look brave, but how scared she is leaks through her expression here and there, "Codex and I got separated, she's somewhere else..!" Stepping back, she ducks further into the room, "Here, here!"

    It's a security office. Or it used to be, anyway. TVs line the far wall around a desk, under a flickering light and a small fan that mysteriously still works. Many of the screens are broken, one sparks, but two still show grainy images. The first, labeled ARCADE, shows the outline of Rodney Rat slouching out of view into a hallway further away from the camera. The other, labeled PRIZE CORNER, shows a blue dog-like robot standing still, glowing white eyes fixated on the camera. The room has some broken crates and displays of plush toys. A small girl hidden among the stuffies pulls her hat down over her face when the animatronic turns around. When it finds nothing, it turns again and lurches out of frame, dragging an enormous axe behind it.

SHOW STAGE - Asterios, Kyoko, and Rebecca
    Patty Cat's eyes jerk aside when A-39 rolls, then jerk the other way when Rebecca does the same. The song shifts to an even more sinister tone.

    "Springs recoil, your time is nearly out;
    You've got one percent in chance to make it out;
    All goes black, you hear the motors roar--"

    Patty Cat is interrupted when her head is engulfed in meat. The animatronic stops moving completely, as well, going stock still, arms raised as if in surprise. After several long moments, the robot lifts her hands further, touching Asterios' fingers with cold, metal hands.

    Having apparently not realized Asterios was there due to only reacting to movement, the malicious machine seems to have no idea what is going on or what to do about it.

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "Good! Stay like that, don't move until I'm back. Checking the room."
    Whether this will soon end in Asterios' death, Alpha-39 has no idea. This place is operating by its own rules, and now that she has time to think about it, the thing focused on the people sneaking in back instead of the guy standing in front. There's definitely something to exploit there, but she's not going to waste any of the time gained. While there's still a chance, she vaults over the chair she was behind and runs at full-tilt to check the room behind Patty Cat.
    As far as she knows, there's still three people to find in here, and anything could be back there in PARTY PLANET. Even another death trap.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus grumbles at her radio. "The last time I was on a floor like this was over a Cycle ago, forgive me if my memory is a bit fuzzy." Then the door opens and Index is shown to be alone inside. The DCC sweeps in and embraces the girl, before stealing into the area. The screens catch her attention, especially the little movement of a girl hiding from the large blue dog with an axe. "Codex... I don't remember the dog, that must be new for this version of the floor... it is armed, but we don't know what it reacts to, or if it's one we must simply avoid at all costs instead of being able to divert." she looks out the doorway towards the ARCADE. "Do we know where this Prize Corner is from here?" she asks, looking between Yomi and Index.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
Once Theurgus gives Index a hug, it's Yomi's turn to embrace the girl. "You did good hiding in here, Index. I'm proud of you and I bet your sister is too." She even gives the girl's head a light pat. "Can you hand with Theurgus a bit? Now that I know the rat only responds to sound, I'm going to peek into the arcade to see if my hunch is right."

Yomi gives a brief glance toward the door, then back to Theurgus. "I'm going to only be gone for a minute. Keep an eye out for me on those cameras. I'll wave at you if the way is safe."

Surely nothing can go wrong with this plan.

Yomi slowly pushes the door open, careful to not let the hinges creak, then begins to walk across the party room. She casts a glance at the ray robot whenever she can, careful to not let her footsteps be too loud, and makes her way to the arcade.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios holds his position.

He looks over toward A-39 with a big grin on his face, you can practically see the happy-sparkles dancing all around his head. He's so glad to be useful, you guys. So much happiness.

He's even okay with maybe getting gut-punched by a horrible cat robot if need be! Yay!

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Meanwhile, Rebecca is unsure of what to do. After a few moments to herself of thinking, she decides to try to make a break for the door again, trying to get back to the lobby. She hopes she's not spotted again, since she doesn't want to risk Patty catching her.

Lexicon has posed:
OFFICE - Theurgus and Index
    When hugged, Index bounces in place, revealing her frustration, "That dumb robot's been pacing in there since she hid and won't leave! If we chase it away then..!"

    In the Arcade room's camera feed, Rodney Rat's posture straightens, ears twitching. The animatronic rodent then turns around, lurching in the opposite direction it was previously moving in. Approaching a doorway near the edge of the camera's view, Rodney crouches, then disappears.

    Chairs rattle in the room immediately outside the office. Is it keying on Index's voice?

    The Prize Corner is one of the rooms labeled on the map Yomi snatched. It appears to be across the hall and further in from the ARCADE immediately north of the Party Central room they were in previously.

PARTY CENTRAL - Yomi
    As Yomi creeps back into the abandoned party room, the gangly figure of Rodney Rat slouches in from the other side. Unlike Patty in the other room, Rodney's eyes have no telltale glow. There might not even BE any eyes on the animatronic, as the space behind his sunglasses appear to just be empty sockets. The movement is uncanny, jerky, but slouched and with purpose. It pauses now and then, listening, and only resumes when the conversation picks up again in the office.

SHOW STAGE - Asterios and Rebecca
    Patty Cat remains still. Asterios' choice to blind it with his hands is proving to be an excellent one so far. She has no reaction to Rebecca or A-39 breaking cover for their respective goals. Rebecca has no obstacle at all running for the entryway, and A-39's breakthrough into the next room is similarly effortless.

    Patty's hands gingerly pat around the hands covering her head, however. When the determination is that something was placed over her head, possibly assuming a bucket or a basket of some kind, the machine starts pushing up against the Servant's grip, attempting to dislodge him.

PARTY PLANET - A-39
    A room filled with chairs and tables. This is essentially a different version of the PARTY CENTRAL room explored by Yomi and Theurgus on the other side. Long, decaying tables and long-useless chairs, flickering lights, and an empty stage.

    The difference here is a pair of blue rabbit's ears poking up from behind an overturned table. The sound of A-39's entrance causes them to perk up, and a girl peeks up over the edge. Seeing that it's Not A Monster Robot, she breathes a sigh of relief and stands up fully-- An undersized girl with doll joints and rabbit ears, wearing a blue dress, "Goodness, gracious, I'm so happy you're not one of those corrupted programs..!" She may not recognize this newcomer, but she knows enough about the System Tower to know this person isn't native to it. She holds her hands out nonthreateningly, "I'm Bunnabelle. I've been helping the DCCs try to understand the Tower, please don't shoot me." Her head tilts, "Are you part of a group? Did you come to find the Candidates?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus straightens, and she gently, but urgently places a hand over Index's mouth to quiet her, reinforcing the gesture with a finger over her lips, then a nod of her head towards the doorway as she shines a light out to illuminate the sound-sensitive rodent. No words are uttered, but the sense that silence if probably their only defense right now is palpable coming off of the DCC.

    She's /actually/ scared of these things.

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    Alpha-39 does freeze in place this time, becoming both still and inaudible. Another weird animal-themed, animatronic monster? Oh, it's just a weird animal-themed, doll-jointed... not-monster. Eh, she'll take it. She keys her radio long enough to say, "Bunnabelle located," and then switches off to continue with, "I'm Alpha-Three-Nine. No time to explain."
    She lowers her gun, and glances around the room, but without spotting anything useful, she gestures back the way she came, curtly.
    "Move, double-time! Back through here, turn to that side, and take the door to the entrance. Talk on the way if it's important." There's no reason to bet on Asterios lasting much longer. There's one more door they could check, with little idea where "employees only" could head to. An employees-only hall that gets to other parts of the "building" while avoiding the main hall would be ideal, but... really, there's just no way to tell, given that this isn't a real amusement park in the first place.
    Assuming Bunnabelle doesn't require any further encouragement, she sprints back the way she came, taking in the sight of Patty Cat pushing, on the way. That's worrying, and she has no idea how strong these things are, but it doesn't look like what she'd call "aggressive" just yet. Worth risking a quick look into the last EMPLOYEES ONLY door on the way, now having a better idea how to avoid the last trap. A-39 comes at it with a breach-clearing kick.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
There's a moment of panic as Yomi sees the rat heading toward the control room. She lets out a breath, though, as she sees that Theurgus has things in hand. The lighting helps, too. Even though the rat robot might be mangled, it's almost better to see it than to have it completely in shadows.

On her way across the room, Yomi pauses by the stage and tries to unscrew a few of the light bulbs, in case she needs something noisy to throw for a distraction. With that done, she keeps going toward where she remembers the prize corner is, keeping her eyes and ears open for the sound of anything else moving out there.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios is many things. Asterios is large. He is strong. He is both large and strong, and there are people who are counting on him to be both of these things. Which is why when he feels those fingers prodding at his hands, pushing up, at his fingers, he doubles down. The great bull makes not even a sound as he levereges his strength, pushing back as the animatronic struggles to pull his hands from her eyes.

He is strong.

Is he stronger than this?

Well. Maybe he can be. For as long as the others need him to be.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Bunnabelle might be one thing, but Rebecca needs no encouragement. She runs as fast as she can, heading for the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, hoping that this will turn out a bit differently than before. Namely in that she won't be spotted by spotlights again. She waits for A-39 to open the door, not wanting to risk any unpleasant surprises.

Lexicon has posed:
OFFICE - Theurgus and Index
    "Ph--!" Index's expression turns angry when she's silenced, the briefest flash of the legacy she inherited from Lexicon. But showing her what prompted such an action gets her calm immediately. Her eyes fixate on Rodney through the door, then back to Theurgus with a nod. She glances back at the cameras when the dog, Kathy Collie, wanders back into frame, going the other direction. Eyebrows set with determination, and she sets her fear aside. Her wand materializes in her hand, and she glances back to Theurgus.

    Well, nobody ever said bravery had to be smart.

ARCADE - Yomi
    With Rodney Rat distracted in Party Central, Yomi has an easy time traversing the arcade, filled with empty coin-operated game machines. These are mostly the physical games though, not a true arcade. Things like skeeball and whack-a-poochooze, by the faded cabinets. Once upon a time these might have been pretty fun. But there's no robot here and no hazard to keep the exorcist from crossing the arcade, and the hallway, to the Prize Corner.

PRIZE CORNER - Yomi
    A relatively small room with some open space, a broken glass counter, and tons of toys that look far newer than their surroundings. There are piles of stuffed toys, all of them various iterations of Patty Cat in equally various costumes.

    And one small girl with a blue muffin hat pulled down over her face, tucked in among the stuffies.

    And a nine foot robotic dog dragging an axe. It was hard to make out on the grainy CCTV feed, but in person it's ominously familiar: It's the same axe Lexicon smashed the door in with earlier. Its back to the door, eyes scanning the toys on the opposite side of the room, the animatronic dog hauls the weapon up to vertical and leans on it.

PARTY PLANET - A-39 and Bunnabelle
    "That's not an option," Bunnabelle comments when instructed to run to the lobby, "The only way out is through the floor's designated exit." She dips her head with a sigh, eyes closed, "Which is probably through the kitchens, if the map I saw on my way in is any indicator. These kinds of floors..." Her eyes open again, and she leans forward, "At least one person has to make it or we're never getting out of here."

    She disobeyed the command strictly for that reason, it seems. Going that way would be pointless anyway. When A-39 ducks back out to check the other door in that room, though, Bunnabelle lets out a sound and pursues, "W-wait a second..!"

SHOW STAGE - Asterios, Bunnabelle, A-39, Rebecca
    Asterios doubles down. Patty Cat's head creaks, and the machine lets out what could (in some contexts) be considered a noise of distress. The feet shift, placed further apart, and Patty Cat starts putting real effort into trying to free herself now that she's concluded that she is stuck. No mischievious child put a thing on her head, there's something seriously WRONG here!

PARTY CENTRAL
    Through the office door, Theurgus and Index can see Rodney pause. His ears flicker, and he turns his head towards a mechanical squealing in another room. After a moment, he turns away and lurches in that direction, soon ducking out of sight and, moments later, out of the room entirely. THREAT AVERTED.

Lexicon has posed:
PARTS & SERVICE - Rebecca & A-39
    After some forcing, the Employees-Only door opens on rusted hinges. The room beyond is rather small and filled with boxes and crates. Water pools on the floor in places. The force needed to open the door indicates nobody's been in there in a while. This appears to be filled with old spare parts for the robots, including some unsettling spare, eyeless faceplates hanging on one wall. There are four in all: A red cat, a brown rat, a blue dog, and a yellow bird whose beak must be a separate part. None of these pieces seem particularly useful for defeating the robots, though.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Oh no you don't, Patty Cat. You're not going to overpower the legendary Minotaur of Crete so easily! Though she is right about one thing. This is a mischevious child, and he did in fact put something on her head. It's just that the thing he put on her head was in fact himself. Or rather, part of himself. His hands, specifically. His enormous, meaty hands.

Though maybe his friends should get themselves back out of wherever they're at so that he can let go, not lose his hands, and maybe go somewhere not haunted by a creepy musical cat lady.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
The instant she sees the back of that dog, Yomi freezes. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have noticed her. However, it does have a very familiar axe, and that worries her...

Violet eyes scan the room, spotting the hiding girl after a few passes. But how to get there? Slowly, Yomi reaches out for the largest of the Patty Cat dolls in easy reach that she can hold in one hand. Her other hand rolls a lightbulb between her fingers for a few moments, then throws it, aiming to smash it on the ground a ways past and to the left of the dog robot. Let's see how it reacts to that...

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus lets out the breath she was holding as Rodney moves on, she nods back to Index, and lightly touches her staff's haft to Index's wand as a show of solidarity. "We wait for Yomi's signal, then we go get your sisters, and get out of this place. Even The Organization wouldn't build something like this." she murmurs softly, looking far more perturbed by that thought than the imminent threat of robot-induced death.

    Mismatched eyes track back up to the monitor showing that damnable dog-bot. "We're coming Codex, just hang on a little longer."

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
As Rebecca is heading back towards the lobby, she suddenly finds herself being grabbed by something. She isn't able to look behind her entirely, but she senses that it's one of the robots. "Hey, what are you doing?" She blurts out, before finding herself being carried towards the exit. "Put me down!" She attempts to kick the robot, but it's no use.

The next thing Rebecca knows, she's been thrown out of the 'restaurant.' "Damn it," Rebecca mutters as she checks to make sure she's not too badly hurt. "How could I let that happen?"

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    That at least gave them some potentially useful information, and "something hard that can be thrown" is something Alpha-39 was looking for, anyway. She grabs a couple of creepy cat and bird parts, stuffs them into a single pouch, and backs up and out. Again sent crackling to Asterios radio, "We're done. Run after me as soon as you let go, and cover your ears. Don't look back." The other items will, potentially, be for later. She still has a flashbang to prime and throw at Patty Cat as soon as she can see and aggros on someone, and is willing to bet it will be someone.
    Of course, A-39 is running out of there soon as she makes the toss. This will blind anyone with eyes anywhere in the room, possibly even if they're looking the opposite way. Like Bunnabelle said, the only way is forward. One way would be where the other half of the search party went, but stealth operations get harder, not easier, when you group up, in her experience, so she opts for the road fewer traveled.
    No, she's never watched Western horror movies.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Aaa?" Asterios hears the crackle in his ears, and then the command that comes with the crackle. He nods as A-39 comes freewheeling out of the storage closet. Asterios does not let go.

Asterios winds up. He pivots at the hip and at the waist and shoulder all at once with the sound of muscles going about as tense as a set of piano wire. He winds a little more beyond /that/ until his muscular form can turn no longer.

...And then he uncoils.

...And tries to send the cat hurtling, bodily, towards one end of the room.

And /then/ he books it after A-39, covering his ears the whole way.

Lexicon has posed:
    PRIZE CORNER - Yomi
    The dog robot's axe, at least, doesn't appear to project the energy blade that axe is known for. Further demonstrated when the lightbulb pops nearby. The head snaps to the side and it lurches in that direction. The axe is hefted, and immediately swung down right into the tiles where the bulb had landed. The impact rattles a few plush toys off shelves.

    It lingers like that for a moment, then drags the axe back and approaches with slow steps, looming over the spot it just attacked, as if looking for what it obviously just hit.

    Codex, spotting the opportunity, unburies heself and darts for the door, both hands covering her mouth. She only stops when she reaches Yomi, but refusing to uncover her mouth, just kind of bumps into the exorcist instead. Kiddo had a rough time..!

PARTY CENTRAL - Theurgus, Index
    "If the dumb robot left," Index whispers, "Let's catch up with Yomi..!" She leans out of the doorway, glancing where Rodney had lurched off to. Seeing a different robot hauling Rebecca out, she frowns, then scurries across towards the Arcade. At that door, she waves for Theurgus to join her-- if the Mad Magician wasn't already on her heels to begin with.

SHOW STAGE - Asterios, A-39, Bunnabelle
    Patty Cat pulls her head forward, pushing uselessly on the hands obscuring her vision while continuing to make that distressed, screeching sound muffled by massive hands.

    In the doorway from the lobby, Rodney Rat appears. He has no eyes, and while his motions are just as uncanny-valley as Patty's, the posture is much more predatory, lurching forward, hunched. Despite all the movement in the room, he is drawn directly to Patty Cat.

    Patty Cat is lifted and hurled. As heavy as she is, Asterios still has the bulk to throw the robot. Rodney pauses, following the cat's trajectory, then turning to follow. And that's when the flashbang detonates. Patty is already down, picking herself up, but the noise of the grenade actually causes the Rat to collapse in a shower of sparks and screeching metal.

    After a moment, the stunned rodent starts picking itself back up, at about the same time Patty is climbing out through the smashed open door to the supply closet that A-39 just ran out of.

    While Rebecca got claimed by one of the machines in a surprise attack, Bunnabelle is still here, hiking up her dress to run after. She's surprisingly quick for her small size, "Rodney Rat pursues sound. Patty Cat pursues movement. Freddy Finch attacks from the vent system, so avoid any grates that you can see his eyes behind." She glances back, "That must be who got miss Chambers just now."

Yomi Isayama has posed:
Fortunately for Yomi, she sees the Codex missile coming and is prepared for impact. The arm holding the Patty Cat plush goes around the girl, catching her in an embrace. "Shhh... it's okay, I'm here.," she murmurs as softly as she can. More consolations can wait until she's gotten the girl safely out. While she's -definitely- worried about the dog having Lexicon's axe, she is not going to endanger Codex to investigate that right now. She's still not sure what exactly is the thing's trigger, but she knows one thing that's not: leaving the room -right now-.

If necessary, she'll scoop Codex up in her arms, but hopefully the girl can move on her own. Back through the Arcade, and, she hopes, a clean shot to the exit to join the others!

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus is indeed right behind Index, floating along in that same way DCCs in Hyper Divinity Drive do. "Yes... keep away from the vents, as Miss Bunnabelle just said." she's been listening to the radio, at least. "We still need to find Lexicon and get out of here." she presses forwards, moving quickly, but not too fast so Index can't keep up.

    Once they catch up with Yomi, the Mad Magician says something they others may not entirely like. "Get through to the exit, the one the Map pointed out. I'll distract our canine companion."

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "Durable, but not impossible to lift. That frees up some options. Good to know." A-39 isn't too prone to muttering, but it's useful information to spread. She glances over to be sure Bunnabelle is keeping up, and can more or less hear the Minotaur coming, but otherwise continues on to whatever door is on the opposite side. "Sounds like we have everyone but our employer... 's boss. What happens if just one person gets to the exit?" Bunnabelle was saying something that seemed to imply not everyone had to reach it.
    She doesn't spare too much thought for poor Rebecca. She wasn't part of the mission parameters, and she'd run the opposite way.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios' tremendously meaty hands serve him well again when the flashbang goes off and damn near kills an animatronic rat. The ringing in his his head is still there and all too real, but it's not terrible and not debilitating. According the the voices in his ear, they've found two little girls, but have misplaced the third.

Well.

There's not much they can really do about that right now. All they can really do is keep moving! Unless the situation goes so positively haywire that the best recourse is literally 'hey minotaur man, please rewrite the entire floor's terrain.'

Hopefully it doesn't quite come to that.

Lexicon has posed:
    Everyone meets up in the hallway between the Arcade and the Prize Corner! Patty Cat and Rodney Rat still seem to be disoriented, and have been successfully 'lost' for the time being. Codex trots out of the Prize Corner alongside Yomi. Index comes out of the arcade alongside Theurgus. Bunnabelle arrives with A-39 and Asterios from Party Planet.

    This hallway is north of the cave-in from way back at the start of this little event. The hallway here bends, following the wall of the arcade back towards a set of large double doors on free-swinging hinges. The map Yomi took indicates that's the way to the kitchens and, eventually the exit.

    When reunited, Index and Codex meet one another in a hug and promptly start chattering, quickly if quietly, while ensuring that each of the pair is okay and what they'd been through. The exact sort of reunion that one would expect from sisters who almost never spend any time apart. Both of them take pause when they notice Asterios, blinking at the massive cow man for a moment, one after the other. But it doesn't take long for the blue-clad Codex to trot over and stand next to the biggest, safest, (fluffiest,) thing in the room. Index isn't far behind, occupying his opposite side. Apparently that's a glowing recommendation.

    "Every time Kathy Collie has appeared, she's had different behaviors," Bunnabelle explains, "Patty and Rodney always have their respective traits... So Kathy is a wildcard. We should be careful, but move quickly as well." She dips her head, one ear folding over, "As cruel as it sounds, we should forget about Lady Silver Soul and clear the floor. Whatever's happened to her, she will be deposited by the Tower same as us when it relocates. Doing that will be the most effective way of saving her, rather than searching this place while these corrupted programs hunt for us."

    As if to remind the group of the threat, Kathy Collie's axe scrapes ominously in the nearby prize corner, as she starts moving again, somewhere out of sight.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
As the girls go to corwd around Asterios, Yomi gives them a mock-pout. Abandoned! She'll just have to get them later. At least they're safe, and that's the important part!

"...oh, right. We have to win here." The exorcist looks a little sheepish as she scratches her cheek with a finger. "I was so focused on getting Index and Codex to safety... So how are we going to deal with that dog?"

That loud scraping sound makes a cringe shiver up her spine, and she glances back the way she came. "Right, how are we going to win -fast-? I know that thing can be distracted, but I'm not sure for how long..."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus repeats her last statement, now the rest are here. "I will keep it distracted while the rest of you make for the exit. This makes the most sense to me at least." she she says, turning to face the direction the dog thing would likely come from. "If I can hold it for even a few moments, that will make your job much easier, and deny The Organization another prize."

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Ah.

Those small figures on the ground. The ones who look like very small versions of an admittedly already very small Silver Soul. Asterios realizes who these must be. Yes. They are...

Little sisters.

A small ! pops up over Asterios' head as he realizes this crucial fact. Simultaneously, he gains a vital piece of understanding.

LITTLE SISTERS. ARE CUTE.

And they are apparently drawn to Asterios' tremendous fluff. This is only appropriate. He is, after all, very large and very fluffy. The bull man bends slightly at the knee and scoops one girl, then the other, up onto his shoulders.

They can ride there. He's wide enough. Also, this way they definitely won't get left behind.

"Aa... Organization?" Asterios blinks at Theurgus. Then frowns. "Nn. No person. Left behind. Let's. Run?"

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    Alpha-39 blinks at the twins, as they reunite. Well... she's still wearing her mask, so the gesture is lost. Alas, she doesn't get to be one of those soldiers with whom the audience empathizes thanks to their lack of sensible protective gear. Further, she is covered with guns instead of fluff.
    She turns to Theurgus, the tilt of her head a more visible indicator, then shrugs. "If you think you can get away after doing that. Don't try to be a hero." Beat. "Seriously, don't."
    With that, A-39 silently raises an arm, and then points it further up the hallway, moving that way immediately after in her customary, near-noiseless fashion.

Lexicon has posed:
    Both girls cover their mouths to avoid the laughter that would ABSOLUTELY result from being lifted and carried on the shoulders of a ten foot bull man. Perched there, each one grabs on to a horn for balance. It's super convenient, and a sweet if brief interlude to this terrifying, run down restaurant and equally terrifying inhabitants. From up there, though, Index leans forward, "Miss Theurgus isn't allowed to die, she has lots of cool magic to show us how to do, still."

    Scraaape. Both twins lock up. Codex glances back, then bounces in place, "...W-we should go..." A-39 has the same idea, taking point. There's no real obstacle on the way to those doors, though, and nothing apparently behind them except a dimly lit kitchen filled with industrial appliances. A pair of unstable orange eyes peer out of one of the vents near the floor on the far side.

    Scrape.

    Kathy Collie becomes visible as she comes out of the Prize Corner, dragging that axe behind her. Cast in the flickering overhead light, pieces of the robot are missing, but in addition to bare metal there are also swirling red lights, leaking corrupted code.

    When the robot spots the party moving away, she speeds up in pursuit, moving at about the same speed as a brisk walk while the axe scrapes and sparks behind her.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
There's a warm little mote of feeling in Asterios' chest. He's not quite sure why. Is it because there are a couple of adorable girls on his shoulders? Probably, yes.

He can mull over these new emotions later. They are being chased through... A dimly lit kitchen? Full of things that can be tipped over!? What amazing luck!

Asterios makes a straight line for the exit, but he doesn't just run. He is a bull, after all. While an actual bull in an actual china shop is actually really quite graceful, an bull man in a kitchen full of things to topple is anything but. He growls as he advances, sweeping his arms left and right to send tables and stoves and ovens teetering over into Kathy Collie's path. That might just be enough to slow her down for them to make it to the exit!

Kyoko Takada (1132) has posed:
    "Hostile in the vent." Alpha-39 says, glancing behind her at the other approaching animatronic, but leaving that to whatever Theurgus had planned. She takes one of the metal robo-parts out of her pouch, and chucks it at the vent as hard as she can, trying to ruin both suspense and surprise hard enough to make any self-respecting boogey-man give up. Or possibly to cause it to jump out and attack. But that wouldn't be keeping with the rules, would it? She guesses she'll find out.
    None of that is any reason to stop moving. Asterios is fulfilling part of the mission objectives, but someone still has to actually cross the finishing line. She moves in quick, trying to get through without stepping on any trigger areas.

Yomi Isayama has posed:
Seeing the twins so excited brings a smile to Yomi's face. They really are sweet kids. But the sound of that scrape getting closer brings her attention to more pressing (and deadly) matters.

As Asterios charges through the kitchen, Yomi darts after him, pausing by one of the tables he upended. "I'll handle the vent. It'll just take a minute." Grabbing two legs of the overturned table, she shoves it forward, heading straight for the creepy eyes in the air vent. At least it's near the floor, so hopefully pushing the table in front will keep the creepy thing from doing anything for a while. "You okay back there, Theurgus?" With two of the robots out of commission and knowing exactly where the other two are, Yomi figures it's safe enough to call out loud.

Lexicon has posed:
    When those eyes in the vent spot people moving into the kitchen, they turn red and the creature inside lets out a static-laced shriek of alarm. However, right as it's starting to lunge out to attack, A-39 hurls debris in its face. Metal parts spark on impact with bare metal, and the animatronic is forced to recoil. This gives Yomi plenty of time to block it off with a tipped over counter.

    Kathy Collie smashes open the kitchen doors with the axe, then steps in, in pursuit. The axe isn't lifted, but dragged for more scary effect, even as she's immediately forced to navigate a room of toppled appliances and tables. This certainly slows the animatronic slasher down, as she first stops and examines the blocked off pathway. After a moment, precious moments that the team uses to further their escape through the kitchen, Kathy stoops, then springs to clear the first obstacle, landing heavily on the nearer side of a discarded refrigerator. The axe is finally lifted, held in both hands as she continues her steady, fast-walk pursuit.

    And there's that door at the end of the kitchens. When opened, the other side is nothing but light--

    And the Tower suddenly disappears. The entire party is deposited in the snow of Britannica, and the city in the distance regains its light and luster, silver lines glowing as they should. A few paces back, Lexicon's axe clatters to the ground and goes still, with nothing to hold it. And the DCC herself crashes into the snow face-first nowhere near it. With a growl, she hauls herself out, scanning quickly.

    Upon spotting her sisters, safe and sound, Lexicon visibly relaxes. Digitized light surrounds her, and her transformation dissipates, leaving her in her usual clothes and brunette appearance, "Oh thank goodness... You kept them safe?" She hauls herself up, eyes cast in shadow save the ominous red glow behind her bangs, "THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE THEY'RE IN /SO MUCH TROUBLE/!"