TSW 33: The Nightmare

[20:22]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: As you step open the door and step past you're nearly sick from the stench of rot and blood. Your eyes water as your stomach lurches. You nearly trip over someone who's kneeling past past the door. It's JohnH, his face pale and tinged green.
[20:23]	IcePickLobotomy	It's like a walking into a wall, the scent of rot clinging to your skin and throat, a thick haze hangs in the air. You're on the start of a catwalk, overlooking. . . a series of massive pits and a colossal room. It stretches out before you, the walls and ceiling not in sight from the distant dark. A hellish red glow from the lights below you reveal the source of the smell. Massive twisted...
[20:23]	IcePickLobotomy	...bodies, their forms warped and broken, rotten flesh sloughing off the bones and collecting in a murky pool of coagulated blood and bits of gristle that float in the brackish and sludge like collection of blood and liquidized flesh.
[20:23]	Arina	comes to a halt as she sees him, wiping her face. "John, good, you're... ugh, what is this...?"
[20:25]	JohnH	stands up, wiping the vomitus from his mouth "I...don't know..."
[20:25]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: Arina has a worn green Coleman lantern clipped to her waist, and has a bronze spear in one arm. JohnH is wearing a military fatigues, you can see the bulk of the plate inserts from the body armor. the fully enclosed helmet hanging from his back. It's very similar to the uniform worn by the personal who collected you when you came back from the strange temple under the city.
[20:26]	JohnH	"She's behind me, though. The blood lady. She wants to kill me. I think you and I can take her."
[20:27]	Arina	"It looks like... an Outrider rejects pile...?" She shakes her head, covering her mouth and nose and speaking as best she can through it. "I know, I was following you. She waited for a shot at me on the way..."
[20:28]	Arina	"It's... not going to be easy. If we can run I'd really rather do this with as many people as we can get."
[20:28]	JohnH	"Yeah, but who else is here. It's just us, and I didn't even expect you to be here."
[20:30]	Arina	looks further down the hallway. "Any chance there's a way out?"
[20:31]	JohnH	"I don't know about forward, but definitely not backwards...unless we want to chance running past her. I have an idea if we wanted to try that, though..."
[20:31]	IcePickLobotomy	You hear footsteps coming down he hallway. Not the wet slap though, but shoes on metal.
[20:32]	RobinE	Robin appears in the hallway, shaking a bit. She looks lost.
[20:33]	JohnH	"Robin!"
[20:33]	JohnH	"She after you, too?"
[20:33]	Arina	blinks. "Huh?"
[20:34]	RobinE	"John?" she looks towards the noise.
[20:34]	Arina	"... Wait, then there's a tunnel to the surface!"
[20:34]	RobinE	"There is some crazy lady here."
[20:34]	RobinE	"I'm scared."
[20:34]	Arina	"That's probably the right reaction."
[20:35]	JohnH	"Well Arina, you might get your desire. Some kind of ultimate showdown. Now all we need is Mary and Kas-" John pauses
[20:35]	Arina	"... well. Mary."
[20:35]	RobinE	walks towards them, nervously and slowly.
[20:35]	JohnH	"..well...This is the kind of thing he would have fought for, anyway."
[20:36]	Arina	takes a deep breath. "Okay, this is... probably the best we're going to get. Robin, are you up to trying to fight her, together?"
[20:39]	IcePickLobotomy	[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwNlmpy_a2E ] JohnH You notice something. Robin's hair pin is missing.
[20:39]	JohnH	"Robin...somethings off. You look different. Are you okay?"
[20:40]	Arina	[Note to loggers, that line was not spoken]
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: Something is off. There's. . . something different. Robin is too confident. Too assured. There's a glimmer of a smile there. Like she's in on a joke she's playing on you. And she finds it hilarious but is trying to keep a straight face. It's almost enough.
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	But. . .
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	it's enough to clue you in.
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	That's not Robin.
[20:40]	IcePickLobotomy	That's not Lana
[20:42]	=-=	RobinE is now known as Sabrina
[20:45]	Sabrina	"I would love to do some fighting, but trust me Robin is to weak to do anything," She breaks into a smile, "I have been waiting to meet you all and I can't wait to get to know each other. But first," she pulls out a knife, "I have a *job* to do."
[20:45]	IcePickLobotomy	Sabrina is on the end of the catwalk that you are. The other ends door is open.
[20:45]	JohnH	draws his gun and aims to fire
[20:45]	IcePickLobotomy	*end's
[20:45]	Arina	brings her spear around to face her, gesturing John back with the other arm. "... Third one in the background... What's the job?"
[20:49]	Sabrina	continues to walk forward, "I don't have to tell you Arina, I am sorry truly I am. But I plan to do it."
[20:49]	JohnH	"Get back Arina!" John squeezes a few rounds off
[20:49]	IcePickLobotomy	The report of the handgun is deafening. Arina's ears ring and sparks fly a few feet from Sabrina.
[20:50]	IcePickLobotomy	And that's when a pool of blood flows from out behind the door, trailing behind Sabrina like a shadow.
[20:50]	Arina	winces at the noise, eyes widening. "Behind you!"
[20:52]	Sabrina	begins to sprint as the shots are fired, brandishing the knife she goes straight at John.
[20:53]	Sabrina	The whole time she moves she is humming a song softly to herself.
[20:53]	Arina	brings the spear up to ward her off, thrusting right into the line of her charge. "John, run, fast as you can, the way behind might be clear!"
[20:57]	Sabrina	's charge grinds to a halt as she sees the spear intervene, "Ah now that's rude, I only want /him/" she gestures to John.
[21:00]	Sabrina	"Oh and while I have you here Arina, thanks for messing with Robin for me. She is so much easier to deal with."
[21:00]	JohnH	"Let me guess, you think I'm a child killer, too?"
[21:01]	Sabrina	"What? You offend me John, I wouldn't dream of judging you."
[21:02]	Sabrina	"Your father however, I mean..."
[21:02]	Arina	swirls the speartip between them. "I'm afraid he's taken, sorry."
[21:02]	Arina	"You seem unalarmed about the blood woman behind you."
[21:02]	JohnH	fires again
[21:04]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: You watch the round slam int Sabrina's sternum, sending her to the floor. She groans as the pool of blood begins to flow into the wound, knitting flesh, but giving you time to try and get away.
[21:04]	JohnH	grabs Arina's arm and drags her over the downed bodyt
[21:05]	JohnH	[redacticate that last one]
[21:06]	JohnH	grabs Arina's arm and pulls her away from the bloody mess
[21:06]	IcePickLobotomy	As you sprint downt he last door, you see Sabrina slowly picking herself up.
[21:06]	Arina	runs back the way they came as soon as John starts moving, looking up and around. "John, you watch behind, I'll watch ahead for surprises!"
[21:07]	Arina	tosses the spear back a little in her hand to balance it better for one-handed work and 0x1dmoves0x1d.
[21:07]	IcePickLobotomy	On your left is a stairwell leading up, on your right is a stairwell leading down. The left has a sign reading "Maintenance Access" while the right reads "BioLab."
[21:07]	JohnH	removes the partial clip, reloading with a new one
[21:08]	Arina	"Up or down?"
[21:09]	JohnH	"Uhh, you pick."
[21:10]	Arina	turns left once they reach the stairs then. "More room to maneuver in the open!"
[21:14]	IcePickLobotomy	Up the stairwell and down another hallway. You hear no pursuit. Not much longer and you come across a laboratory door leading to "BioLab 1"
[21:15]	Arina	[Redact]
[21:15]	IcePickLobotomy	[redact last]
[21:15]	IcePickLobotomy	You head down, somehow the stench becomes even stronger.
[21:15]	IcePickLobotomy	And. . You stop.
[21:16]	IcePickLobotomy	The maintance access is there.
[21:16]	IcePickLobotomy	As is knee deep coaglated blood and liquified flesh. Bits of it slowly ooze down the walls and out of the pipes. You can see a chunk of something floating atop the sludge.
[21:18]	Arina	's eyes widen. "... what...?"
[21:19]	JohnH	turns and sees it "What the hell is that."
[21:22]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: It bobs and then slowly rolls into view. A skull, flayed of skin with a single eye half slurry from rot.
[21:23]	Arina	gags, and concentrates to see if she can change her clothes to her plugsuit plus jacket as she walks down, because she does not want to get that shit on her legs.
[21:24]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: A moment later and you feel the coolness of the air through the familiar tightness of the plug-suit.
[21:25]	IcePickLobotomy	----------
[21:26]	Arina	[Redact again, back to the last redaction!]
[21:26]	IcePickLobotomy	[21:07]	IcePickLobotomy	On your left is a stairwell leading up, on your right is a stairwell leading down. The right has a sign reading "Maintenance Access" while the leftreads "BioLab."
[21:26]	IcePickLobotomy	[21:07]	JohnH	removes the partial clip, reloading with a new one
[21:26]	IcePickLobotomy	[21:08]	Arina	"Up or down?"
[21:26]	IcePickLobotomy	[21:09]	JohnH	"Uhh, you pick."
[21:26]	IcePickLobotomy	[21:10]	Arina	turns left once they reach the stairs then. "More room to maneuver in the open!"
[21:29]	IcePickLobotomy	Up the stairs, a half dozen flights before you find yourself in another hallway. This one is dark as well, a few red strips of emergency lighting illuminate the linoleum floor. The walls are a familar light blue, albiet heavily stained and weathered. Posters and signs, rotted and discolored to the point of unreliability, dot them. Broken and burnt out fluorescent lights are above you, silent...
[21:29]	IcePickLobotomy	...and off. There's a overturned gurney to your left as your emerge from the stairwell.
[21:31]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina, at the edges of your vision, where your light is dom, you can see shadows. Of people, or rather, if a person were a shadow. When you look at them they disapear from sight. Murmored conversion, snatches of talk in low vices, can be heard just at the edge of your hearing.
[21:32]	Arina	follows the hallway, looking around carefully, and listening to the conversations as best she can while she moves.
[21:33]	IcePickLobotomy	"- 13 and 9 have both taken to the spinal grafts. We're ready to start with the menemtic treatments. . ." The voice trails off
[21:34]	JohnH	"Are you hearing it, too?"
[21:35]	Arina	"Vaguely... it's like we're walking through memories..."
[21:35]	Arina	keeps moving.
[21:37]	IcePickLobotomy	On your right is a open door to a ward. As your light sweeps over it you see a small shadow laying on a bed. For a moment you hear hoarse screaming before the figure still again, and another shadow leans over to wipe at its brow.
[21:38]	Arina	swallows, looking in and bringing up her lantern to help see as they move through. "... I think I know where we are. They've... got a lot to answer for."
[21:38]	Arina	shakes her head, speaking in a low voice to John. "If we can get to the surface about where we went in, Robin was /relatively/ nearby. Actual Robin, not evil Robin. That's about the best backup we might have here, though at this rate I'd really rather run far and fast enough that the night ends."
[21:39]	JohnH	"You seem to know more about this situation than I do, so I am happy to follow your lead."
[21:40]	Arina	"Maybe in vague terms... did I completely miss something between you and Robin or are you as in the dark as I am about why her split personality wants to kill you?"
[21:42]	JohnH	 "Yeah no idea."
[21:43]	Arina	"Okay. So. Uh, I think the blood that wants to kill you is Lilith, the mother-goddess of all life on Earth, though I'll have to get back to you on why. Either way that's why I would rather not try to stab her if we can escape instead."
[21:43]	Arina	keeps going through the hallway, holding up the light and looking around, both for an exit and out of sheer morbid curiousity.
[21:44]	JohnH	"She keeps saying I killed children. But I haven't been in any actual combat scenarios until I came here."
[21:44]	JohnH	"I mean, I could have possibly stepped on someone in my Outrider, but evacuations were always in place."
[21:46]	IcePickLobotomy	" - DeSantos killed himself the other day, they found him in the0" "No, don't even go there. It's horriable enough here, I don't need to hear the details." "Ah, sorry Dr. Nariman."
[21:46]	IcePickLobotomy	A man's voice, then a woman's.
[21:46]	JohnH	"Nariman."
[21:48]	IcePickLobotomy	Another door, leading to what looks like a office. Papers are still on the desk beside the typewriter.
[21:51]	Arina	"... Probably Kasra's father."
[21:52]	Arina	snags the papers as she passes by, bundling them up and shoving them into her pocket. "No, she's not talking to you. This is a really long story I just heard tonight but... great, she's delusional."
[21:52]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: As you step into the office, you hear the voices again.
[21:52]	IcePickLobotomy	"-eally? You're getting too involved, too invested. I'm taking you off the project."
[21:53]	IcePickLobotomy	"What, you can't do that!" The woman says "The project would be dead without me."
[21:53]	IcePickLobotomy	"And this whole mess if your fault anyways, what were you thinking!"
[21:53]	IcePickLobotomy	"I. . ."
[21:53]	IcePickLobotomy	They voices fade again
[21:54]	Arina	frowns, stepping back out and double-timing down the hallway. "... I mean she's been locked in there for billions of years so it's not a surprise she's not sane, but still, I'd really rather she was."
[21:55]	Arina	"Her children were slaughtered. By the Intruders. She... seems to think we did it. Ugh."
[21:56]	JohnH	"And who are her children?"
[21:56]	JohnH	"A billion years old, I don't think her children are still alive."
[21:57]	JohnH	[wow that was bad, redact that]
[21:57]	JohnH	"A billion years old, I don't think her children would have survived anyway."
[21:58]	Arina	"Technically us, but we aren't the ones she wants."
[21:58]	Arina	"But she's been locked in a jail cell for however many billion years with nothing much to think about except how her children were murdered, I don't think she's really all there or feeling particularly logical."
[21:58]	IcePickLobotomy	[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2aHcANs4GE&t=51s [ You hear Sabrina's voice echoing down the hallway. Her falls bouncing off walls making it hard to pin where she is. Her voice is soft, but carries, coming from in front and behind you.
[21:59]	JohnH	"Well then lets put her out of her misery before she puts us out of ours."
[22:00]	Arina	cocks her head. "... huh, Robin's got a pretty good voice. Well... let's go forward and see if she's that way."
[22:03]	JohnH	nods and follows along
[22:04]	Arina	"Hopefully not. Goddess aside I'd honestly really rather not see what happens to the other Robins if we end up having to stab her split personality to death."
[22:05]	JohnH	"Are you alright there?"
[22:05]	JohnH	[misfire, redact that]
[22:07]	Arina	keeps her eyes and ears perked as they make their way down the hallway.
[22:07]	Arina	is, however, a musician. 0x1dJust0x1d an echo isn't gonna keep her from tracking a sound.
[22:08]	JohnH	has his gun at the ready, pacing only a few steps behind her
[22:11]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: She's behind you, around the corner. Shadowing you.
[22:12]	Arina	whispers to John. "Faster," and picks up the pace herself now that she's located the foe.
[22:13]	JohnH	follows suit
[22:18]	Sabrina	"JooOOohn," she calls out, "What would Kasra say if he saw you running from a fight?"
[22:19]	Arina	"He'd ask if it was a fight that needed to be fought."
[22:20]	Arina	"What's going on here?"
[22:20]	Sabrina	"I told you Arina, I have a job to do. You aren't part of it."
[22:21]	Arina	"Who are you doing this for? And why?"
[22:22]	Sabrina	"That's not how the world works, you don't get answers because you want them."
[22:23]	Arina	"Not always, but I did have to ask. I don't know how reasonable people are until I try."
[22:24]	Sabrina	"Keep that open mind, I have to ask you something later."
[22:25]	Arina	"Why not now?" She keeps moving forward.
[22:26]	JohnH	"Speak your mind already.'
[22:27]	Sabrina	"I know why you are thirsty, and I know how to make it stop."
[22:27]	Arina	"Oh? I'm starting to get an idea myself."
[22:27]	Arina	"So what is it?"
[22:28]	Sabrina	"Sorry, but I have to do my job right, and that involves doing something /else/ first."
[22:30]	JohnH	"Howabout going away."
[22:30]	Sabrina	"Only if you come with me."
[22:30]	Arina	"Sigh." Yes she says this rather than actually doing it, while gesturing to John. "I told you, he's taken."
[22:31]	Sabrina	"John I have a job to do and Arina doesn't have to get hurt. Come with me and I will make sure she doesn't."
[22:31]	JohnH	"Come near her and I'll make sure you don't see another day."
[22:33]	JohnH	raises his gun in time with his comment
[22:35]	IcePickLobotomy	Sabrina: You turn the corner, thinking the other two are further up. Instead you find yourself staring down the tip of a spear and a handgun.
[22:35]	Arina	is, in fact, right in front of Sabrina, smiling. Also thrusting the spear into her torso.
[22:35]	JohnH	pulls the trigger
[22:37]	IcePickLobotomy	Sabrina gasps as the spear punches through her breast and into her heart, while John's round catches her in the eye, ruining it and sending a spray of bone and brain-matter into the wall behind her.
[22:37]	IcePickLobotomy	She smiles, even as blood flows from her mouth.
[22:37]	Sabrina	"I have Lana."
[22:38]	Arina	nods. "... thought so. Catch up and tell us more!" She turns on her heel and resumes running.
[22:39]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: THe coppery scent of blood, you can almost feel it running down the back of your throat, sating your thirst. The sweet metallic taste heavy on your tongue and warm in your stomach. Sabrina's body seems to melts almost, as it rots into a pile of congealed blood and fragments of bone. And with her goes your thirst. For now.
[22:39]	JohnH	follows suit, yet again
[22:40]	Arina	sighs in relief and /runs/.
[22:40]	=-=	Sabrina is now known as RobinE
[22:41]	IcePickLobotomy	And that's when you see Mary turn the corner, shoulders shaking as she sobs, bloody tears running down her face. She blinks as your lights focus onto her.
[22:42]	Arina	"... Mary too?"
[22:42]	JohnH	levels his gun directly at her face, ready to fire
[22:43]	Arina	holds up a hand. "I'm pretty sure this /isn't/ a murderous split personality."
[22:43]	Mary	blinks at them not really seeing them as she is crying .
[22:44]	JohnH	"Just the murderous regular personality."
[22:44]	JohnH	?*
[22:44]	Arina	"Buuuut," she shrugs. "Murderous split personality so we really need to be going. Is it safe back the way you came, Mary?"
[22:52]	Mary	"It, don't run and don't look, don't look don't listen its.. no don't.."
[22:52]	Mary	"It, don't.  Run and don't look, don't look don't listen its.. no don't.."
[22:53]	Arina	frowns, clipping the lantern to her waist and laying a hand on Mary's shoulder. "Mary."
[22:56]	Mary	looks at her tears running down her face " It, what is man , it, the poor ones..."
[22:56]	Mary	is semi responsive at least.
[22:56]	JohnH	lowers his gun hesitantly
[22:57]	Arina	grabs her hand. "Mary, we need to run, this place is /not/ safe." She tugs her lightly down the hallway - back the way Mary came? - though she'll stop if Mary freaks out.
[23:01]	Mary	"Don't listen, it, don't smear , ignore it, don't look, " she mutters as she cries and holds herself
[23:02]	Arina	"I know. This isn't a good place. They have so much to answer for."
[23:02]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: You step into a large lab. To your left is a series of tanks, filled with a opaque sludge of some kind. The state of repair is about as much as anywhere else here. And you can almost make out a song, a woman singing softly in arabic. Coming from near one of the tanks.
[23:03]	IcePickLobotomy	Tables, covered in rusted or ruined tools of science lay about.
[23:04]	Mary	let herself get pulled
[23:04]	Arina	looks around carefully as they make their way through, listening as they go. "... hopefully this is the way out..."
[23:04]	IcePickLobotomy	There's a door on the other end, a laboratory door.
[23:05]	Arina	glances at the sludge as she moves to the door, does it look at all familiar? Are there any signs of what they /did/ in here?
[23:06]	JohnH	"Keep going."
[23:06]	Arina	nods. "I'm not slowing down."
[23:07]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: Hard to say, each of the tanks is numbered but you'd need a closer look to tell.
[23:07]	Mary	" Kas..a mothers pain.."
[23:07]	Mary	weeps as she whispers these words
[23:08]	Arina	doesn't pause to take the closer look. Murderous split personality /and/ literally-delusional mother goddess behind them. "... I... what...?"
[23:09]	JohnH	"Kas? Kasra?"
[23:09]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: You reach the doorway. Just a matter of. . .
[23:09]	IcePickLobotomy	Static flickers and flairs across the door, sweeping across the rooms.
[23:10]	IcePickLobotomy	Only this time. The staticy crackle in your ears fades, but it doesn;t go away fully
[23:10]	Arina	looks around quickly. "Where are you Skinwalker?"
[23:11]	IcePickLobotomy	A few more moments before it finally does fade
[23:11]	Mary	"No.. go away.."
[23:11]	Mary	might be reacting to john or skinwalker
[23:12]	JohnH	"Did you say Kasra?"
[23:12]	JohnH	"Mary, what about him."
[23:13]	Mary	blinks and focuses on John" No, not him its not him its. better for you"
[23:15]	JohnH	"Tell me Mary."
[23:15]	Arina	"John, we can discuss it later, we may still have pursuit..."
[23:15]	JohnH	cuts her off "Hold on."
[23:16]	IcePickLobotomy	You hear it, from over by the tank. A woman's voice, humming a lullaby, singing softly in Arabic. She stops "	She stops, "Soon my baby, you'll be back. Soon, not long now." She hums "My little Kasra will be alive again."
[23:16]	Arina	slowly turns to the tank, eyes wide. "... what...?"
[23:16]	JohnH	steps toward one of the tanks
[23:16]	JohnH	gun at the ready
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	Another voice, a man's "I know what you did."
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"Do you really? He's your so-"
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"He isn't. And you've endangered everything we are working for here." the man snaps back
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	And what is the point of all of this if we never get to benifit!"
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"Look, I've put in for our transfer to Siberia, Vernbeck is going to take over for Subject 13-"
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"His name is Kasra," her voice is ragged, on the edge of tears "please, don't. I can't. . I can't do this, not when I'm this close."
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	"I'm sorry but it's the only choice we have here."
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	She screams and. . .
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	A wet gurgle follows
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	Sobbing.
[23:17]	IcePickLobotomy	Silence.
[23:18]	Arina	shivers, trailing towards the tank. "... what...?"
[23:18]	JohnH	"Something..." John says to Mary "What is this about Kasra."
[23:18]	IcePickLobotomy	Then something floats up from the sludge. A blood-shoot eyeball, the optic nerve trailing behind it like a tail. It almost seems to look at you a moment before submerging back into the sludge.
[23:19]	Arina	"... his parents supposedly died in an accident, but... I think they murdered each oth-" She slaps a hand over her mouth, gagging.
[23:20]	JohnH	flinches backwards
[23:21]	JohnH	moves to another tank to inspect it
[23:21]	JohnH	"Mary, you need to tell me about Kasra."
[23:21]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: More sludge. Closer inspection. . . You can see bits of organs, malformed bones.
[23:22]	Mary	"He, he was Our Kasra , it , this does not matter"
[23:22]	Arina	"I... this..." She shakes her head, tears in her eyes. "... is this why...?"
[23:22]	Mary	answers trancelike
[23:22]	JohnH	"What is "this"?"
[23:22]	JohnH	taps the tank with the tip of his gun
[23:23]	Mary	"A monument to there sins." she says her voice reflecting another for a moment, a older more womanly one
[23:23]	Arina	"... Kasra's... I... god, I was so..."
[23:24]	JohnH	"What?!"
[23:24]	JohnH	is getting annoyed by the lack of words
[23:25]	Arina	"... parents. Experts in memory patterns."
[23:25]	Arina	swallows, laying a hand on the tank. "... they didn't die in a car accident."
[23:25]	Arina	"Kasra did."
[23:26]	Arina	"... so, they made him again."
[23:26]	JohnH	"...huh?"
[23:26]	JohnH	"So Kasra was a clone?"
[23:26]	Arina	"... with... memory transferred... god, I was so stupid..."
[23:27]	Mary	"He was real.. He is real, I have to save him " her voices continues as it get more similar to the woman that they heard speaking.
[23:28]	Arina	"I wanted him to live, but... I never had any idea what was wrong, did I...?"
[23:28]	Arina	whirls and her hand lashes out to grab Mary by the hair. "Get out of her. You're dead, and there's nothing left for you, so stay away."
[23:29]	JohnH	"Right." He holsters his gun and attempts to push one of the tanks over
[23:29]	Mary	"he is not subject 13, he is my Son.
[23:29]	Mary	shiver and looks glazed at Arina.
[23:31]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: The lantern at your side flickers for a moment but. . . it doesn't seem to take hold
[23:31]	Arina	yanks Mary closer and headbutts the damn ghost out of her. "He was your boyfriend, not your son. Get out, Nariman! Your time is over!"
[23:32]	Mary	"Get away from him Javed!
[23:32]	Mary	tries to get away from Arina to go for John
[23:33]	JohnH	pushes the tank again
[23:33]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: It doesn't budge. It's bolted into the floor
[23:34]	JohnH	grabs a stool and swings for the fences
[23:34]	JohnH	(tanks)
[23:34]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: the stool hits the tank and. . . bounces off. Whatever that glass is made of it's tough
[23:34]	JohnH	drwas his pistol "Back u"
[23:35]	JohnH	"back up"*
[23:36]	Mary	"No he is I have to protect him ; I have to atone , I can bring him back!"
[23:37]	JohnH	fires a shot at the tank
[23:38]	IcePickLobotomy	JohnH: The tank shatters and a steam of rotten muck spills forth, Mary, Arina JohnH it's ankle deep, thick and runny with the consistency of stew. You can feel bits of /things/, not quite solid but more firm or slick than the liquid, burshing against your ankles
[23:38]	Arina	"You took away the only family he had! /You/ are the one who left him alone! Now /go away/, instead of ruining the only things he cared about!"
[23:39]	IcePickLobotomy	Mary: and you snap out of the trance.
[23:39]	JohnH	blasts out the other two tanks
[23:39]	IcePickLobotomy	The sludge now reaches past your ankles.
[23:40]	Arina	shivers up and down her body. "... god, how many of him suffered for this...?"
[23:42]	Mary	shivers and cries as she falls against arina
[23:42]	JohnH	"Let's go"
[23:43]	Arina	shifts her grip to /not/ hold her up by the hair, and swallows heavily, moving towards the door. "... let's go. There's... nothing here."
[23:44]	IcePickLobotomy	On the other side is a sprialing ramp running along the interior of a tower, without a roof. It's about 200 meters in diameter, and the ramp has a gentle slope. Doors of various types and sizes are spaced evenly along the walls. You can see that familiar night sky above you, as there's no roof. The air smells sweet and clear and cool, no longer laden with the heavy scent of rot.
[23:45]	Mary	" A mothers love.."
[23:45]	IcePickLobotomy	And.
[23:45]	IcePickLobotomy	And
[23:45]	IcePickLobotomy	aNd-
[23:46]	Arina	"... no, a mother's madness. If she'd loved him she wouldn't have murdered his family."
[23:46]	IcePickLobotomy	reALiTy flICk-e-e-e-RS!
[23:46]	IcePickLobotomy	-------------------4
[23:46]	IcePickLobotomy	you dream of. . . Starless skies and empty vistas. Of eyes that bubble in pools of boiling blood. You dream of twisted figures who scream into the empty void.
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	---------
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	You awaken, face down on your desk at school
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	Looking around, your classmates are asleep, as are your teachers.
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	Outside. . .
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	The sky is blood red.
[23:47]	Arina	mumbles to herself as she wakes up. "... she didn't want him taken care of. She wanted him /herself/."
[23:47]	IcePickLobotomy	And out between the three Towers
[23:47]	JohnH	looks out the window
[23:48]	Mary	"Lilly, "
[23:48]	JohnH	"Shit."
[23:48]	Arina	looks out, eyes wide. "... I really hope we're still dreaming..."
[23:48]	IcePickLobotomy	Something like a flower unfurling, made of metal and crystal. A Green gem glowing bright as the buildings around it are slowly warped and twisted as the shiny blue metal slowly covers them like a tumor.
[23:49]	IcePickLobotomy	Arina: You say that. . . yet you know you're awake.
[23:49]	IcePickLobotomy	You all know you are awake.