The Children of Dr. West: 2 of 10

The Children of Dr. West: 2 of 10
Sewers of Eldwick
(The water levels in the sewers of Eldwick seem abnormally high for this time of year, as Connar descends into the tunnel he notices that the murky brown water is coming up to his ankles. The team has entered the sewers at a four way junction where a blackish red substance has begun to creep up along the walls.)
Connar: This should be rather straightforward, we are just here to find the source of the fungus and capture it or need be kill it. Any questions before we get started? (said as Connar crouches down to gather a sample of the substance.)
Helios: "Just one, Mister Green." (The priest regarded the dark depths ahead with uncertainty, nudging his glasses up his nose and taking a careful step into the murky ankle-height water. He had replaced his usual simple dress shoes with minimalistic rubber wading boots, otherwise still clad in his priestly attire. Slung over his shoulder was a backpack which he held in place via one of its straps and a boney clutching hand. Free hand grasped an old fashioned flashlight which flickered briefly before he knocked it against his leg to solve the issue.) "Should we have brought rebreathers? Masks of some fashion?" (His flashlight's pale wash of illumination slipped over the strange substance creeping up the sewer walls, gleaming against the surface of his glasses.)
Iksian: “Good Lord, you brought the massive scooby flashlight didn’t you. I feel a sudden unexplainable sense of dread with that knowledge. Also I’m finally glad we get to meet face to face Mr. Green. And yes I’m happy to meet under these circumstances I’m weird like that.” (Iksian is in lab gear with plastic coverings and a CDC gas mask covering his face. The necromancer didn’t seem to want to take any chances with his newly gotten life. Iksian would feel along the sores, attempting to sense if there was any life (anima, spirit, what have you) swelling behind the fleshy mess.)
(Iksian can sense life pulsating through the entire wall, but he cannot sense any anima or filth. The energy he senses feels older than either.)
Connar: (Digging through what looks like an open sore in the substance.) Likewise Dr. Ozerov, as for the breather, I wouldn’t imagine we would need them lad. This thing is made from human blood so any kind of poison that would affect us, would also affect it. But it’s always good to be prepared, so if you have them feel free to use them. (Taking a knife from his coat, he inserts it into the sore. A jet of blood shoots from the open wound along with a screeching sound as an octopus like creature attempts to flee into the water. Connar catches the creature by its tentacles just in the nick of time.) Ha found one! (Connar rummages around in his coat for a few seconds before taking a chip from his pocket and clipping it to the creature before letting it go into the water. Connar then takes his phone from his pocket and examines the screen.) I have got the signal, the little bastard should lead us straight to the source. (Looking down the northern tunnel.) This way.
Iksian: (Iksian took a picture of Connor as he went about this process. A sense of delight in the strangeness and novelty of the entire situation. Iksian follows after Connor but seems interested in photographing everything.) I’m going to run out of memory at this point.”
(Traveling through the northern tunnel, they notice that the reddish black substance covering the walls seems to be thinning as they get further away from the junction. The octopus like creatures though seem to be increasing in number, the small red creatures seem to be swimming upstream to some unknown point. While the substance on the walls seems to be vanishing, the stench of rotting flesh begins to become stronger as they travel further into the northern tunnel.)
Iksian: “I should be alarmed by the increase in numbers shouldn’t I. Does it bother anyone else that these things have likely been feeding on the fecal output of the entirety of London? Just food for thought. Also I won’t be eating for a week after this little adventure which is sad since I’ve recently come to enjoy eating.” (Iksian snaps another photo.) “Any theories so far?”
Connar:None that will put your mind at ease, but for what it’s worth, I know these things haven’t been eating fecal matter. They live on hemoglobin and they seem to be particularly fond of human blood.
(As they approach another junction Connar leads them east)
Connar: The lab result suggest that these things are parasites that have a symbioses with a larger creature. They feed on the blood left over from its kills and when they are frightened they seek out their host, hence why we are following the one I pulled out of the wall. As to where they come from, these things are almost certainly the product of genetic engineering but I don’t have any idea who the engineer might be and that’s all I have got at the moment.
Helios: (The priest had silently been sloshing through the murky waters with his two companions, listening while following the movement of the fleeing creatures through the muck with the pale glow of his flashlight.) “...Why would anybody engineer these things?” (He wondered aloud, trying not to gag on the stench of rotting flesh as it grew in intensity the further they ventured. He was, needless to say, a little green in the face.)
Iksian: “Huh. I don’t know. Science is a funny thing I guess. I mean I like science but I’m just a surgeon. Blood magic is my thing. But this feels old. Very old. There might be something from beyond here. Or maybe something that was always here but we’d forgotten. I always heard the second age was a time of monolithic structures and such but I’d heard other things. Oh what things we did with our digits back then.” (Iksian was careful to step through the water, though he was getting a close look at everything as they passed.) “Question is why underneath London? If this was engineered then why drop it a populated area like this? To what end? To engineer this thing is one thing but there are other less conspicuous cities you can toss this under.”
Connar:These particular creatures were likely created to serve their host, they might provide it with some kind of nutrient or clean it or spread its genes. As to why they are down here, it's possible that they escaped from an experiment on the surface but my gut tells me that they were set free down here with their host. They haven’t spread beyond Eldwick and they haven’t exceeded more than 1,000 individuals. Someone is watching this population and keeping it inside a predefined area, its very possible that we may have walked into someone’s experiment.
(As Connar leads them through the tunnels, they come to an open vault with a enormous cesspit in its center. The creatures swarming around their feet seem to be diving into the vaults deeper water. Here the red substance creeping up the walls seems to be particularly thick and the smell of rotting flesh has become overpowering. Above them on a steal catwalk is a woman in a lab coat who appears to be in her late 50’s and next to her is a man in a Templar uniform who could not be older than 19.)
Dr. West: It's a pleasure to finally meet you Dr. Green.
Connar:...Oh shit.
Isaac: Please remind me why I am here again?
Dr. West:Officially you are here on behalf of the lord commander to observe the experiment and report its results, unofficially you are here to act as my bodyguard and to sit in on a lesson about my value to the organization.
Iksian: (Iksian points a finger upward at the man in the uniform.) See Helios? See? (He was being very quiet, but now his attention shifts to Connar.) “Is that an “Oh shit I know something” oh shit or and “Oh shit something happening” oh shit? I’d like some clarification on our shit scale here.
(As Iksian and Helios enter the vault, the creatures suddenly reverse course and begin weaving a membrane over the tunnel.)
Connar: Its oh shit we walked into a trap.
Dr. West: Now that everyone is here, we can begin the experiment. (sitting down in a chair before opening a notebook.) Lt. Reed if you would be so kind.
Isaac: (clearing his throat) Rawhide, Prince, engage the enemy!
(A red blob begins to bubble up to the surface of the water, the octopus like creatures swarming around it as it begins to take shape. Two massive arms begin to form from the blob followed by a torso and head, the final thing to form is a human face with two milk white eyes.)
Rawhide: (bringing his massive fist down into the water, a series of iron spikes begins to shoot up from the water moving towards Iksian. The creatures follow the spikes anticipating a new meal.)
Connar: (seems to disappear and reappear next to Iksian knocking him out of the spikes path. He then draws his sword and cuts down several of the spikes, temporarily parting the water in his wake.)
Iksian: (Iksian falls over once Connar appears next to him. Iksian makes a sound that will be hard to put into words but the spelling may be hurgheghack and then falls on his side.) “Trap? I hate traps I didn’t spring myself!” (Iksian pulls himself up and throws a hand back, conjuring a spike of blood and energy in his hand. He throws it forward at the blob of a creature.)
(Before the spike can reach the creature called rawhide, the smaller octopus like creatures leap from the water attaching themselves to the spike and pulling it down into the water. Many of the creatures incinerate themselves in the anima propelling the spike, but it is dragged down into the water and consumed.)
Rawhide:(Struggling to speak) novice….I am Rawhide the first plague….(heavy breathing)…and I will not be brought low by parlor tricks! (As Rawhide plunges his fist’s into the water the red substance on the walls begins to melt into the water, the creatures in the water begin to link together forming a giant tentacle and attaching themselves to Rawhide, he then begins to use the tentacle as a whip shattering several concrete pillars and cutting through a steel pipe as he alternates between targeting Connar and Iksian.)
Helios: (The priest had stumbled back and out of the way in the earlier wake of attacks, looking around as Connar and Iksian engaged with the abominations. Pale eyes searched for a way up onto the grated catwalk the doctor and Templar were standing on, boots splashing hurriedly through the muck in his effort to stay moving in the event he was noticed and made a third target to their unsettling adversary in the water. Clutching his backpack still slung over his shoulder, he angled the illumination of his flashlight around the interior of the area they were effectively trapped in. Come on, there had to be a way up there!)
Iksian: “Huh.” (Unsure on how to proceed, the Doctor observed the creature just in time to have those tentacles flail about like horrifying...tentacles. Iksian brought up his blood shield around himself and Connor in an attempt to at least provide some cushion from the blows should they arrive, at least after he dodged out of the way. He would at the very least help provide assistance during the fight.)
(As Helios searches for a way up, he can feel something wrapping itself around his boot. He is able to step back just in time to see what looks like a metal whip cut a path through the water and up into the air, from behind a concrete pillar descends a pale frog like man. Landing in the water with a splash he swallows Helios boot, before turning his white reptilian eyes towards Helios himself.)
Prince: (Opening his mouth full of pointed needle like teeth his voice seems to come from his throat.) I am Prince the second plague and I wonder what you taste like. (As he finishes his metal tongue shoots out his mouth grazing Helios and pulling a bit of his blood back into his mouth. Smacking his thin fish like lips as tongue retracts into his mouth.)…yes, I think I will enjoy eating you.
Helios: (The priest fumbled and nearly fell over when his boot was yanked straight off his foot mid-stride, staggering in a clumsy backpedal as he stared at the creature that came forth and consumed his rubber footwear. The sudden lash of the creature’s metallic tongue sliced open his cheek, leaving a line that wept red in its wake, the priest gaping in stunned dread at the Prince.) “...I would really rather not be eaten, if that’s quite alright!” (He called back, vision darting about for a way to get up on that catwalk again, careful not to let the monster out of his peripheral as he did so. Was there really no way up?)
Prince: (Licking his teeth as he prepares to launch his tongue again)
(Before prince can attack again 6 gunshots ring out as bullets land in prince back knocking him across the vault.)
Prince: (Submerging himself underwater, he shoots his tong back out trying to get Helios only to be block by Connar's blade)
Connar: (Grabbing a hold of Prince's tongue, he hurls the creature across the Vault and into Rawhide.) Need a leg up lad?
Helios: (Helios had braced himself for impact both times, only to be saved by Connar at the last second at each interval. Regarding the other fellow with a racing heartbeat thundering in his ears, he nodded quickly.) “I’m light, so you’ve got that going for you!” (With this he stuck his flashlight between his teeth and grasped Connar’s hand, waiting to be hefted up toward the catwalk.)
Connar: Hold on lad, this is going to be quite the ride. (Connar summons an anima charge to his left hand and strike the ground, the force of the strike sends Helios up into the air and up on to the Catwalk)
(Helios’s sudden arrival has not gone unnoticed, Isaac is now looking directly at him, Dr. West however has not lifted her eyes from her notebook.)
Dr. West: Lt. Reed will you please return the subject to the experiment.
Isaac: As you wish Dr. West.
Helios: (The priest looked rather surprised at Connar’s method of vaulting him up onto the catwalk, stumbling a bit but managing to stay upright as he collided with a guard rail on the metal platform. Removing his flashlight from his teeth, he looked over the rail.) “Th-Thank you Mister Green!” (He called down before looking back up at the man in uniform facing him further down the grating.) “Oh dear.” (He quickly slung his backpack off his shoulder and dug around inside its contents before his boney hands pulled out a...taser pistol. He wielded it awkwardly at the other Templar, the priest looking unsure about firing on someone in his own faction.) “Why are you doing this?” (He asked, standing his ground despite how frail he looked.)
Iksian: “How good of you to ask the kindly Templar why he is doing this. Obviously he is insane. I mean not that I have much room to talk.”
Isaac:(looks at Helios puzzled as if the answer should be obvious) for the glory of god, for the good of mankind, to restore the honor of the order and the rightful leader of the Templar and to purge the world of Evil.
Dr. West: (pulling  a silver pocket watch from her lab coat to check the time) Lt. Reed please stop playing with the test subject and return him to the experiment.
Isaac: (Cracking his knuckles he begins to approach Helios readying to throw him from the catwalk.)
Helios: “Since when does the assault of innocents denote the restoration of honor under the eyes of God?” (The priest demands fretfully, steadying the aim of his taser pistol at the approaching man in uniform.) “It sounds to me as if you do not actually understand what it is to be a child of His merciful affections. Christians, true Christians, understand that His will is one of peace and kindness.” (He takes a single step back, his shoeless foot’s heel nudging into his backpack where it rests on the catwalk behind him.) “Come to your senses!” (If Isaac comes within five feet, the priest pulls the trigger.)
Iksian: “Oh God, we’re having a theological debate on morality above a massive abomination. This is happening.”
Isaac:There are no innocents here only a rabid animal and two fools that followed him here. As to being a true Christian, Lies feed to you by a heretic seeking the approval of a traitor. But you will learn all of this when we reclaim temple hall.
Dr. West: Isaac you're wasting time!
Isaac: (Moving to grab Helios by his collar, he is hit by the taser, though it does not seem to have any effect. Isaac only looks down at the crackling electrodes annoyed by their presences)
(As Isaac moves to throw Helios off the catwalk, the metal tongue cuts through the center of the catwalk causing all of them to fall into the water. The fight below them seems to have intensified, with rawhide backing Iksian into a corner with a small army of blood golems and Connar struggling to keep ahead of prince. Helios has survived the fall though he is now drenched in sewage.)
Iksian: (Iksian kept back, wanting to help Helios but unable to due to the army of blood golems now zeroing in on him. Iksian glares and brings his hands forward. Flickers of crimson light ignite between his fingertips before he starts to let out bolt after bolt of life-sucking energy, attempting to cull the herd so to speak.)
Helios: (The priest was grasping Isaac’s wrist as the man in uniform tried to thrust Helios off the catwalk--only for them all to plummet into the water with a great series of splashing a second later as the platform was struck in twain, collapsing beneath them. In moments, Helios emerged from the water and the wreckage, soaked and sustaining a minor injury to his head. He coughed up disgusting sewage, his glasses tilted askew on his face as he tried to regain his awareness of his surroundings, pale eyes darting about for the location of the Prince as water dripped from his bangs through his field of vision.)
Rawhide: (growling)
(As Rawhide sways from side to side in the water the creatures begin to clump together into flesh golems. As the golems begin slogging towards Iksian, Rawhide summons another tentacle and attempts to grab hold of Iksian only to miss him by mere inches.)
Iksian: (The tentacle slams down near him and that wakes Iksian right up. Iksian continues his assault on the flesh golems, attempting to stave off the buggers.) “Alright! I’m getting a little confused on the situation here!”
Helios: (Seeing what was coming after Iksian, Helios shouted out toward him.) “Guide him into the Prince’s line of attack!”
(As prince surfaces and prepares for another attack an unseen force seizes him by the throat and raises him up into the air. The frog like creature kicks its abnormally long legs in an attempt to free itself from the unseen force, As Dr. West pulls herself up out of the sewage.)
Dr. West: (coughing while glaring at Prince) there is shit in my hair.
Prince: (wildly gasping for breath, each breath makes an unnatural croaking sound) forgive me mistress it was a mistake, in my zeal to destroy them I…
Dr. West: Silence! You could not even deal with the weakest among them. It is clear that you are a failed creation.
(Taking her middle and index finger, Dr. West makes a slashing motion across prince, splitting him in half. his head and legs are flung to either side of the vault as filth spills out from inside him)
Isaac: (Erupting from the water, he searches the vault for Helios)
Dr. West: Lt. Reed the experiment has concluded, open a breach we are returning to base.
Isaac: We are not finished, they are still alive! and…
Dr. West: I have all the data I need and I would like to refine the others.
Isaac: The Lord commander!
Dr. West: is expecting a report from you regarding the first two plagues. Do not keep him waiting.
Isaac: (Glaring at Dr. West he reluctantly takes a silver crucifix with a skeleton on it from his pocket, a rift in space opens in front of them.)
(As Isaac steps through the rift Dr. West collects her glasses and what remains of her note book before turning to Rawhide.)
Dr. West: Kill them all and then return to Temple Hall.
Rawhide: As you command, mistress.
(As Dr. West steps through the rift, the red substance on the walls begins to turn black as the flesh golems begin to sprout tentacles and take a crouching ape like stance.)
Iksian: (Iksian quirks a brow as the golems sprout tentacles. He takes a step to the side.) Um, I’ve not seen any Hentai but I know exactly where this is going. HELIOS! GREEN! I don’t want to end up big in Japan!
Helios:
Connar: (Whistles)
(From the shadow cast by one of the golems leaps an enormous black wolf, ripping through the folds in the golem’s skin and knocking it into the water.)
Connar: That should help even the odds a bit, Iksian if you can work with Tuk to keep the others off my back I’ll deal with the core. (Running his hand over the blade of his sword it begins to burn with a green fire.)
(Seeming to blink from existence, Connar charges Rawhides core attempting to strike upwards towards the monsters head only to be blocked by series of black tentacles. Connar causes the newly infected flesh golems to attempt to swarm them at the center. A crimson bolt strikes on of the golems, draining them of any arcane energy and anti anima bringing their attention to Iksian. As part of the Golem hord turns to attack Iksian, Tuk emerges from the shadows again killing another Golem. His presence seems to have frightened the creatures as, as he bounds through the water snapping at their legs, the Golems form a tightly pack ball.)
Iksian: “He has a giant dog. I miss having a giant dog…” (Iksian righted himself, attempting to help Tuk finish upkeep of the golem hordes. Iksian let his blood magic fling about like a crimson disco ballroom, variations of red light fling from his fingertips as he helps the wolf fight.)
Helios: (The priest looked about at all the chaos, backing up in the muck until his back met the disgustingly fleshy surface of the wall. Connar, Tuk and Iksian were a blur of action as they contended with the golems and the abomination referred to as Rawhide. Still completely drenched and dripping with sewage fluid, he righted his glasses on his face and tried to stay out of the way, knowing he was more help while out of trouble rather than in it.)
Connar: (Balls in close to Rawhides core and slashes downwards as Rawhide attempts to submerge again. Connar manages to grab one of the tentacles sprouting from his head and preventing him from submerging.)
Rawhide: (Summoning a portion of the infected golems back to him, Rawhide creates another massive tentacle which he use as whip in an attempts to dislodge Connar.)
Connar: (dodges the strike from the new tentacle as he tries with all his strength to keep Rawhide from submerging again.)
(As Connar struggles to both keep Rawhide from escaping and defend himself, another set of tentacles surface behind him and wrap themselves around his neck as they attempt to drag him under the water.)
Connar: (Managing to grab one of his pistols in time he unload several rounds into the new set of tentacles.)
Rawhide: (Breaking off the tentacle that Connar was holding Rawhide surfaces one more time and attempts pull Connar under, in an attempt to drown him.)
Connar: (Spinning around with almost unbelievable speed Connar thrust his blade up through the monsters jaw.)
Rawhide: (lets out one last blood curdling scream as the red substance sloshies from the walls and the creatures in the water seem to pop like filth filled zits.)
(The filth in the water seems to sink to the bottom of the vault, calm returns to the vault. However floating in the water next to Helios where princes legs should be is a pair legs belonging to a child, wrapped in a film that at one time may have been the slimy skin of prince.)
Tuk:(coughing up a piece of flesh golem he approaches Iksian and cautiously sniffs him before standing up on his hind legs to lick Iksians face. He then turns and begins searching the water for somthing.)
Iksian: (Iksian takes the lick like a champ, fixing his glasses as Tuk licks his face. He smiles a bit, old memories. But that smile soon fades as he looks at the water. His face grows pale and his breath a bit slow at the sight before him. Ever the grim Illuminati. Iksian always thought he’d seen the worst and then life keeps handing him a new sight.)
Helios: (It was hard to make out most of the objects floating in the thick, disgusting sewage water around him, but the priest seemed to belatedly notice the...disembodied legs of a child floating beside him in the fluid. He clamped boney hands over his mouth in absolute horror and backed away hurriedly from the grotesque display, pale eyes wide.)
Connar: (Looking down at Rawhides corpse, a childs face begins to emerge from the creature. Connar recognizes the face as belonging to one of the children that was taken from Arkham main in september.) I suppose it was only a matter of time before they tried something like this. (Putting his sword to the childs throat he gently drives it through his spine ensuring that the childs suffering has ended.)
Tuk: (Clutching some kind of appendage in his mouth, he drags something through the water towards Helios. As he approaches Helios he drops the appendage which he can now see as a human arm that was attached to what use to be princes upper half.)
Iksian: (Iksian watched, arms drooped as Connar put this nightmare to an end. He looks to the action of the wolf and he shakes his head. Iksian looks to Connar with a rather defeated look. Even though they’d won it didn’t feel like winning.) “Connar I’m going to get Helios uptop. When I come back I’ll help...with the burial.”
Helios: (As the wolf carried the mangled, severed upper torso of the same child over to the priest, Helios shook his head vigorously, hands still firmly clamped over his mouth as he released a muffled noise of anguished disbelief. He was clearly on the verge of hysterics.)
-Memory card full-