fortune favours me!

falchrom​:

The near constant darkness was becoming more familiar the longer he spent in these corridors. Despite everything looking the same, Chrom was almost certain they’d explored most of the area by now. Felt that way at least. 

Deciding to hug the southern wall, he made his way west with each step keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of a busted generator. He was about to give up hope when finally he found it. The final one. Good, soon him and his team could be done and escape this cursed place. 

Looking it over, it didn’t appear too badly damaged. He wanted to alert the others as it would be quicker if more of them worked on it. But calling out to them would also alert that monster man to his location too. The last thing he wanted having already been on the receiving end of the attention. Safer for him to just knuckle down and work on it whilst praying one of the others would come across him. 

Chrom sat down in front of the generator and started working. He began well with realigning the cogs but the wires gave him some difficulty. The electric shocks when he tried to touch them were NOT appreciated. This may take a little more time than he thought.

@merrydiviner

All of a sudden, as Orochi is trying to feel here way around in the shadows the darkness dissipates.The lights flicker back to life and it takes her a moment to adjust her vision. Chrom is dropped unceremoniously on the floor with a thud which grabs her attention. Who or whatever was carrying him scarpers before she can take a good look but she runs over, making sure he’s okay.

As she runs, she notices Maria sprinting in the opposite direction. She squints in the bright light and sees Eir, hanging from one of the hooks they’d seen earlier. How gruesome. Orochi aids Chrom back to his feet before they both make their way back to the two young women. As they approach, Orochi ruffles Maria’s hair again.

“Good job,” she tells her softly and she looks up to smile at Eir. They’d hardly had chance to speak to one another, especially in the chaos of trying to find those generators. She was thrilled to see everyone whole and in one piece. “I’m glad you’re okay. Can you walk?” 

“If everyone’s capable, we should head to the lifts and get out of here,” Orochi suggests, one hand placed on her hip. She had a distinct feeling something or someone was missing but all four of them were stood together. “Before whatever was preying upon us makes a return.”

When they reach the lift though, the buttons don’t work. They’re joined by the others but nothing works. They’re stuck here. Then it hits here.

Where the hell did Kass go?

falchrom​:

Chrom watched confused as Eir moved away before the generator was running again. Had she simply lost interest in it or was there something else more pressing which had come to her attention? He didn’t know. He guessed that fixing the generator now fell to him. 

But before he approached the panel of flashing lights another person stepped out of the gloom to begin working on it. “Who are you?” he asked the stranger. “Kass.” The person grunted as his hands twisted wires together. “Oh. Hi. I think that one goes there” Pointing at the place he meant Chrom did his best to assist and before long the two of them had the generator working again. As soon as they finished the other man stood and was walking away without a word.

“Thanks” He called to Kass’ retreating back. He heard from his comrades that they had four of the five generators found so far. One left to go. Spinning on the spot he picked a direction and set off south to the bottom corner of the area. No luck. Chrom sighed in frustration. It must be round here somewhere! 

Where to check next?

@merrydiviner

Orochi finally stops to catch her breath when she thinks she’s thrown that creep off her tail. There’s still nothing at all to see in the dark but she can’t hear him anymore. She can hear her allies and whilst it was hard to judge what direction was which, Orochi decides to walk away from them. 

Perhaps it was a foolhardy decision but they’d cover more ground separated. As such, she found herself hugging the walls closely so as not to lose track of where she was going. Her steps were soft and gentle, both to avoid waking the beast and to allow her to eavesdrop on the others. Another generator whirred into life. Good.

Now can the light please turn on already?

asphuxia​:

in her peripheries, eir can only barely make out the light of a generator coming to life; its white spark a saving grace in the suffocating darkness. with the hum of what seemed to now be three generators occupying empty air, it seemed that they couldn’t be too far now— they need only to repair the next two. but there is something else that runs alongside the generator, the catch of nimble feet against cold floors and their pursuer; eir can feel herself grow stiff at the echo of sound, so close but ultimately out of reach—-

maria’s cry is a piercing sound no matter the direction it came from; it cuts through eir almost as if it were a blade, and forces her onto her knees, hands rising to work with the generator before her. the longer she prolonged this task, the more that creature would inch closer to putting an end to them. gloved hands get to work, but in the face of an instrument as foreign to her as most things were to hel— she falters. nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. a heavy exhale leaves her lips, if only to steel her fraying nerves.

if she could mimic maria and kass’s actions ( what was it they had done? ) perhaps the generator would begin to function to her will. a sharp kick is delivered to the bulk of the machine, quickly followed by another; it sputters, a response that is better than nothing— but not by much. usually pallid expression shifts, contorting into a frown by the ends of her lips and the crease of her brow; she raises her head, only to find kass.

“… you,” she murmurs, in as gentle as she could. her efforts were evidently bearing no fruit; the most sound conclusion was to leave such a task in more capable hands. “please, fix this. i must…” 

                          hurry to find the last one. hurry to save her.

@falchrom​ or @merrydiviner !

When Orochi hears Maria cry out she almost bolts off in her direction. Please, please let her be safe. She’s so young, so bright and filled with love - the world needs more people like her not less. What stops her is seeing a shaded figure approach, carrying a person in hand. She cloaks herself in shadow and holds her breath, not wanting to draw attention to herself until it leaves. It’s... huge and clearly far more powerful than she can hope to deal with alone in the dark.

Eventually it shuffles away, leaving her to face Chrom’s body hanging from that barbaric hook. He’s still breathing, which is a precious relief. They’re both silent as she sneaks towards him and tries to fiddle with the hook to free him. It takes a couple of tries but soon, Chrom is back on his feet, looking a little worse for wear but Orochi feels like she could cry. What the hell were the church thinking, sending them out here?

She takes his wrist in her hand and sprints away from the hook as fast as she can. He’s safe, she reminds herself. Safe and whole, any wounds sustained treatable. He’d be fine.

Now where was Maria?

falchrom​:

Now he was by a generator and had two semi operational arms, he may as well as put them to good use and work on getting the machine working again. 

“Would you like a hand?” He asked Orochi. “I don’t know too much about these but I’m willing to give it ago. Maybe if I hit it hard enough it’ll work again!”

The last part was clearly a joke but a little raw strength could prove useful. Looking at the arrangement of cogs and gears before him, Chrom reckoned he had a vague idea where to start. He started manipulating the elements towards the top of the cabinet but didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere. There must be a jam somewhere.

“Hmmm. This is harder than I thought” 

Taking a breath and a step back to re-examine the problem, he had a flash of inspiration. Towards the centre of the network there was a cog with its teeth bent out of shape preventing it meshing with the adjacent ones. It was tiny and if he hadn’t looked closely enough he would have missed it entirely. Extracting it was no problem and with his natural strength he was able to realign the teeth. 

Once back in its housing there was a faint rattle and the generator purred to life when he pulled the on lever. That was one fixed, now to find the others.

@merrydiviner​

“Go for it, big guy,” Orochi mumbles through gritted teeth. She moves tentatively on her swollen ankle, taking small steps backwards into the darkness. The generator whirs to life at the very least but she’s still wounded from her encounter with that savage brute.

There’s nothing for her to see in the pitch dark corridors, no landmarks visible to guide her. She’d run if she physically could but instead she pulls herself along. There’s voices, light, feminine voices that she can pick up on. Eir? Maria? Had they found another generator?

“Girls?” her voice is hushed as she makes her way to the north east of the room, hugging the walls closely as she goes. Were they okay? “Are you alright? We’ve got one up and running.”

falchrom​:

Taking his time due to his injuries Chrom slowly makes his way through the darkness. He keeps his ear pricked should he hear the same strange shuffling sound indicating the presence of that … man? lurking, waiting to grab him again. The constant nagging ache in dislocated shoulder a reminder of what could happen should he run into them again.His priority for now was either putting more distance between him and the predator or finding the others, praying for safety in numbers. 

He recalled Orochi being close by and that she had discovered one of the target generators. He stumbled his way westwards until he came across her stood by a machine. 

“Hey” He greeted her with a pained smile. “We’re not alone in here. There’s something grabbing people so be careful. How it going with fixing this?" 

Chrom took the moment of rest and company to prod experimentally at his damaged shoulder. Time on the road with basic medicine had given him experience with attending to this type of injury. It would be unpleasant but he steeled his mind and with a swift jerk, wrenched his shoulder back into place, biting down on the cry of pain trying to break forth. At least he had use of both arms again, maybe he could be of some help here.

@merrydiviner​

“I haven’t gotten very far,” she confessed, grimacing as she watched him pop his shoulder back in to place. She really wished she’d had the time to get to grips with Fodlan’s healing magic before setting out. At least then she could have done something to dull the pain. He’s alive and whole for now though and she prayed to whoever was listening he’d stay that way.

“I think I tugged it the wrong way,” Orochi froze before finishing her sentence. Something was shuffling behind her, possibly in an attempt to muffle it’s footsteps. Her blood ran cold. “Are you okay to do it though? I can give it another go and we’ll get you to a hea--”

Something grabbed hold of her, trying to wrench her away from the generator. Orochi shrieked in fear and tried to resist, kicking and yelling all the while. Eventually she yanked herself free of her captor and fell to the floor, twisting her ankle in the process. Wonderful. She tried to ignore the pain as she scrambled to her feet and scurried away from whatever brute thought it was acceptable to grab a lady like that. 

No manners whatsoever.

falchrom​:

There was that shuffling noise again. Chrom froze on the spot, ear pricked trying to make out where it was coming from.  He felt something brush up against his side, startling him. The feeling of wrongness about this place intensified. 

He was reminded of a small creature being hunted by an apex predator. It was a similar feeling to his own currently, like there was something tracking and reaching out through the blackness towards him. The sooner they found these generators and could move on the better.

“How’s it going?” He called to Orochi who he knew was next to him a short distance away, just out of vision in the gloom. “Have you found a generateAAARGH!” 

The last part of his sentence was cut of in a panicked shout as a pair of arms grabbed him from behind. They were as thick as tree trunks with an almost impossible to break grasp. Chrom felt himself beginning to be dragged backwards. He did not want to find out where to. 

Almost being the key word in his assessment. Struggling for all his worth, he was able to loosen the grip and get away, feeling his shoulder pop in the process. The initial waves of pain was sickening, slowing his pace as he ran back past his previous location to the point just beyond it. He knew he had to keep moving but had to accept that he would be slower until his shoulder sorted. 

As he stood there assessing the damage, the darkness had taken on a new sinister edge.

@merrydiviner​

“Yeah, just give me a second I’ll try to--” Orochi was cut off by Chrom’s screams. She found herself torn between trying to pull him back to her and trying to crank the generator back on. It’s a small mercy but Chrom shakes off the assailant himself, although not without cost. There’s a stomach churning ‘pop’ as the young man wrenches his shoulder free.

Ew.

Distracted, Orochi pulls the lever the wrong way. It’s loud and if that brute hadn’t already seen her it certainly heard her. More importantly though, Chrom was safe for now but she was left wondering what lay waiting in the dark.

falchrom​:

Chrom didn’t hear a reply to his shout but felt Orochi’s presence as she joined him next to the sinister hook. “Hi” He greeted her in a whisper. “Try not to be so loud we don’t know what out here. Nothing good if that hook is any indication.” 

Still having someone else by his side made him feel a little more confident as he cautiously made his way forwards and right away from the hook. He paused a looked round. He thought he’d heard something in the dark … close by. Was there someone else out there, creeping around in the dark

Listening carefully, he strained his ears trying to detect anything. There had been a shuffling noise, he was sure of it. But now he was doubting his senses. He could see nothing apart from the pressing darkness, closing in on all sides. Was there someone out there or not?

All quiet but he felt like he was being watched. He felt vulnerable. He hoped someone would join him soon…

@merrydiviner​

This place was so eerie and uncomfortable, the air was downright oppressive. She felt relieved that she wasn’t alone in this awful place at least. Chrom was steady and reliable - if she had to be trapped in the dark being chased down like prey, he was certainly the kind of person she’d want on her side.

It baffles her that the monastery send students on missions like this though. No one in their group had died so far but there had been near misses, amputations.  This bunker was a death trap. 

Orochi follows carefully behind Chrom, the hairs on her neck standing to attention. Something was moving towards them. Shuffling, rather than taking full steps. Definitely not Eir or Maria approaching. The only silver lining was that if it was busy chasing her and Chrom, the girls should be safe--

Oh? Orochi stumbled into something on the ground in front of her. Crouching down she took a good look at the mechanism. The generator! 

“Chrom,” she whispered into the darkness, “I’ve found the generator, let’s try cranking it up.”

falchrom​:

It is dark on the newest floor they’ve arrived on. Chrom can just about make out the faces of his companions in the shadowy hallways. It was unnerving to say the least. Not that he would share that with the others. It was paramount for a good leader to show bravery at all times, to reassure those with them that everything was going to be ok. 

All too quickly both Maria and Eir have disappeared off ahead, their retreating backs swallowed up by the darkness. Chrom attempts to follow but is soon lost. He thinks he took a right where he should have gone straight ahead. 

Something brushes his shoulder causing him to freeze in place. Breathing as shallowly as he dares he turns and feels for it …

A hook. A simple hook is dangling ominously around neck height. There is a malicious aura about it. Surpressing a shiver, Chrom makes a mental note to avoid it in future. For now he wants to find the others and potentially some of these generators.

“Hello. Maria … Eir … Orochi. Where are you?” He calls into the darkness.

@merrydiviner​

The fourth floor is cast in shadow making it incredibly difficult to keep track of everyone. Orochi had come down here with three others: Chrom, Eir and Maria. The two young women took the initiative, heading straight ahead and whilst Orochi couldn’t deny she worried for the Macedonian princess, she follows Chrom instead. Best that no one goes too far alone.

He calls out into the darkness and Orochi has to clasp a hand to her mouth to stop herself from giggling. Oh, she’ll have fun with this. Keeping her steps light and eyes upon his back she sneaks to the right, just behind him with a cat-like smile upon her face.

“I’ve got you now.” she drones from behind his back, voice low and almost robotic. It doesn’t last long though, a beat later she’s almost howling with laughter. Almost, in that she’s had to cover her mouth again. They don’t know what lurks in the darkness here, best not to draw it’s attention.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just me, right behind you!” her attention turns to the hook next to his neck. That... looks dangerous. Why on earth would someone put it there? “Let’s not play around with that. Maybe we should try to keep quiet? There’s no telling what’s around the corner.”

crystal heart​

Even through his surprise, Niles thinks that this is exactly what Odin would do—scream and panic, utterly appalled by what could’ve possibly twisted these weapons into their current form, and turn to him with that stupid, helpless look in his eyes. Was it me? Did I do this? Am I to blame?

(Niles is used to thinking: no. Who the hell ever told you that you’re to blame for the world’s wrongs?)

“You did no such thing,” Niles scoffs instead, lips pressing thin as he observes the weapons again. To say they’re merely wiggly would be a gross understatement, but to say that they seem almost alive, while far more accurate, just sends an unsettling feeling freefalling into the bottom of his gut.

“I’d say he’s being a little overdramatic,” Niles says, this time louder for Iuchar and Orochi to hear, “but I think he has the right of it. Do you think the Church might want weapons that are a little on the naughty side?”

Maybe. Probably. He knows better than to simply assume any religious institution is purely good, no matter what it preaches and claims to believe. With a slow breath, Niles reaches into the crate, trying to see if there’s anything that could possibly be of use here and now. (It’s—uncomfortable. It feels not unlike reaching into a tank full of lobsters. Or crabs. He wouldn’t know personally, but if he had to guess what it’d feel like, it’d probably feel like this.)

The first thing he pulls out is a knife. It’s shitty; one good swing and the handle’s likely to break right off from the blade, and that’s only if the blade itself doesn’t crack in two. “Useless,” he mutters, and continues to rummage through, looking a touch more pleased when he pulls up a bow. His feeling of victory, though, is tragically short-lived.

First, and surprisingly not the worst of the two: it’s a bow made of flesh and bone. The feeling is unmistakable; he’d know it in his sleep, ever-present in his nightmares.

Second, and yes, somehow more gut-churningly terrifying than what the weapon is actually made of: one end of the bow begins to move. Not just titter about like the rest of its kind in the crate, but truly move, clearly seeking to curl around his wrist.

Niles releases the bow and jerks back, almost as if he’s been stung. There isn’t a curse on his tongue, not again, but perhaps that’s more because it feels as if his heart has leapt right into his throat, thudding painfully in its battle against the harsh breath of air he sucks in.

“…Well,” he says, “That’s more than just a little naughty. They’d be better off as something other than a weapon… probably. Hah.”

@merrydiviner​

Orochi sighs to herself more than anything. Odin-- no, Owain is as boisterous and dramatic as she remembers and Niles? His tongue is salacious no doubt but she thinks privately that a little of his usual bravado is lacking in his voice. Gods what had they gotten themselves into?

All she and Iuchar have found though are stones and they’re fairly nondescript. Oh, they’re beautiful to look at no doubt but nothing to scream about. Nothing ‘unholy’ or even very useful as weapons. Hm, she could probably pelt a couple at people who annoyed her. They might hurt but they wouldn’t really be very effective when dealing with monsters or evil sorcerers. Cautiously, she reached into the box and picked a handful up, letting them roll along her palm. They thrummed with energy, magic. Something foreign though, out of her field of knowledge. She turns to Iuchar, her helpful companion.

“I’m sensing magical energy emanating from these but I’m not quite sure what,” she tells him plainly, scooping them into her pockets. “They must have been put here for a reason though. I think we should take them to the others. Maybe it’s a magic some of the others are more familiar with?”

There’s a sudden rumbling throughout the cavernous floor. The walls quiver and shake violently and icicles drop from the ceiling one by one. Orochi isn’t quick enough on her feet and gets hit by by one - it smarts and stings, plus it’s freezing cold. Eugh. Thankfully, she manages to get back on her feet only a little worse for wear.

“Lovely, just what we needed.”

crystal heart

The more Owain speaks, the more Niles is convinced that there has to be some connection between him and Odin. They look alike. They speak alike. Gods, even their accursed thought processes are like. But Odin was a mage; Owain, here, is a swordsman. This isn’t something that can be learned in the course of a few paltry days.

(…But…)

“Fourth Eye,” Niles echoes dryly. “Skipping third, are we?”

Not that he’s ever going to question his companion’s logic. He’d never questioned Odin’s either—first because it’d just been absolutely baffling, and then because he eventually grew accustomed to it. Who would’ve thought? (Rather: of course he would. Niles blankets his meanings in thick layers of innuendos; Odin, in fantasy. They aren’t liars, just fools.)

He doesn’t shake off Odin—Owain’s hand. At least it’s the one that’s not aching, still, throbbing at the wrist as his body continues to struggle between loss and gain, and it’s better that he has a hold on the man so he doesn’t wander off in the middle of one of his grandiose speeches. He’s not unlike a child, except Odin had been loyal. A mystery, certainly, and everything that made Niles uneasy with the need to tear open every secret, but—loyal. To Leo. That had always, always mattered more.

“Guide me, then,” Niles says, though even as he speaks, he’s the one tugging Owain along. Left, right. Right, forward, left again. (Ah—it really does take him back. As a thief, he’d been good at figuring out these little puzzles.) Eventually, they emerge on the other side, before Orochi and Iuchar do—and though it hadn’t been any kind of competition, it makes him smile, just a touch smug.

“The other two must be getting quite busy,” he says aloud, enough to be heard by the other duo. “I suppose that’s fair; some men are better at navigating their way down rather than through a maze.”

Hah. He releases Owain’s hand, then, and approaches one of the crates—cold, strange, and upon a touch, revealed to be unlocked. (Shame, that; there always was a thrill in breaking into things people didn’t want him to have.) He doesn’t know what to expect, exactly—it certainly couldn’t have been gold—but it isn’t this: weapons that squirm and wiggle, almost as if sentient, not unlike little insects flipped onto their backs. There’s some red liquid down the lengths of some of them, and though it’s impossible when they’ve been locked away for gods know how long, a part of him suspects it to be blood. So, quite aptly:

“…What the fuck.”

@merrydiviner​

“Oh you are a charmer, aren’t you?” Orochi laughs but his flattery is certainly appreciated. She must be nearly ten years his senior, it’s very sweet of him. Or facetious but she’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. There’s no reason to start things off on the wrong foot after all. “I’ll be relying on your considerable strength too, young sir.” There’s a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“We will not lose!”

They make their way over to the chunk of ice and Orochi begins preparing her spell when something catches her eyes. There’s something in there and it isn’t gold or weaponry. It looks like an over-sized mutant worm. Sure, she wanted to find something bigger than anything Niles could uncover but... maybe not this?

“Perhaps we should find another target?” she posits to Iuchar. “I doubt any of our allies will thank us if we accidentally set that thing on them.”

Hmm, but where to look next. She surveys the area, looking for anything out of place, anything stranger than an ice maze was by it’s very nature. There had to be a way forward. Aha- 

“See that pane of ice? Looks like there’s a crate behind it,” Orochi declares proudly, aligning it in her sights. “Marvel at my magical might!”

A burst of lightning shoots forth from her fingertips, arcing through the air and hitting the pane of ice with a mighty crescendo. It shatters as easily as glass beneath a hammer. A second bolt then races forth, hitting the crate. It did considerably less damage but hopefully it would be weaker now at least. She steps carefully, shards of ice dangle perilously above and around but a little careful maneuvering gets them both through unharmed.

“Think you can pop this open for us, Iuchar?”

crystal heart

“If we’re to split, it’d only make sense that each group have someone to mark the way.” Certainly, they could use their voices to keep tabs on one another, but for how long? It looks entirely like a maze, and all mazes have dead ends and winding corridors, paths that are bound to split too much for shouting to be any help.

“I’ll take Owain.” Odin. The man could deny it for years on end, and still, Niles will be unable to shake the suspicion from his bones. “Iuchar, feel free to wander about with Orochi. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, now… or do. I’d love to hear it, and perhaps if things get steamy enough, you two will be able to simply melt the ice and be on your merry way.”

Wouldn’t that be funny? He wouldn’t blame them; stress affects people in different ways, after all, and he’s looking forward to see what the noble men and women of their group would do the further they explore this strange place. He hopes something awful, something they can’t just write off as being for some good and just cause. That would just be delightful.

“Now,” he says, grabbing Owain’s wrist to drag him towards the left, “shall we, Owain?”

Liar.

@merrydiviner​

“Niles!” Orochi hisses at him, face aflame and eyes bright with danger. “He is a child! Keep your filthy thoughts to yourself or I’ll freeze you where you stand!” She looks over to Iuchar with a sheepish grin on her face.

“Forgive me, I don’t mean to sound patronising. I’m sure you’re a capable young man,” she shoots one last glare at Niles before linking her arms with the axe wielding gentleman. “I’d be glad to work alongside you. You’ll be much better company than that fool.” She then turns to Odin-- Owain with a smile. He may be an oddball but he’d alway been well-meaning. “Watch out for him. If you have to zap him to keep him quiet, no one would blame you.” 

With that she turned on her heel, dragging Iuchar along with her until they were around the corner and out of sight (and hopefull easy earshot). She let go of his arm and tapped her chin,

“He raises a point. About melting the ice, I mean!” she had to clarify - it was one thing if Niles had his head in the gutter, quite another if it became infectious. “I could use lightning magic to try and brute force our way through, although that might become tiring. We should probably explore in a more conventional manner first, but it’s a feather in our caps.”

She leans in, whipsering in his ear. “We have to find something before they do or we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Now, shall we continue?” Orochi steps forward and holds out her hand. Hopefully there’s something exciting in these crates.

crystal heart​

“Oh, don’t mind me, Iuchar,” Niles replies with a glib smile, raising both his hands—ah, thank sweet Maria—to show his innocence. “I’ll be keeping my hands to myself, if that’s what you’re so worried about. Ah, unless you’re not good with the cold—in which case I can think of a nice little activity or two to help get our blood pumping…”

His smile widens into a grin as he saunters past, observing the strange ice maze with a thoughtful hum. There’s no way to really tell which one would even lead them to the boxes, but he figures they’d be able to backtrack if they don’t end up picking the right one.

“Let’s try this one,” he suggests, picking the path to the left. “I don’t think the owners would mind too much if we scratched along this little maze to help us keep track of our path, hm? So, which of you two would like the honors? I rather enjoy leaving a pretty mark or two where I’ve been, but if there’s someone better equipped for the task…?”

@merrydiviner​

“Niles, behave,” Orochi sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. It’s been all of what? Three minutes, maybe and he’s already giving her a headache. She’d already suspected he had something to with the princess’s accident and Iuchar’s weariness and the bruising left on Niles’ face from her highness pretty much confirmed it. “Don’t make me angry. I think we’ve seen enough bloodshed for one day.”

“I’m not carrying any weapons on me, although,” Orochi fumbled around in her pockets, pulling out red string, beads and charms. A scratch would blend into the ice easily but these colourful trinkets would stand out like a sore thumb. “We could place these on the ground? They might be easier to see on our way back!”

She regards Iuchar quietly for a moment. He appears to be of an age where he’d complain about being called a ‘boy’ but truthfully still was. Orochi loves a good prank but Niles had a habit of taking things too far. No wonder he seemed nervous to be grouped up with him again.

“What do you think, Iuchar?” she asks him quietly and hopes her smile is more reassuring than her usual smirk. “I suppose you could scratch the walls with that axe of yours. Might be noisy though.” There were no signs of enemies around but being cautious wouldn’t hurt. Besides, the sound of metal scraping against anything hard made her skin crawl.

Chrom followed Gerik over to the lift shaft, intrigued to see what the mercenary was thinking. Once there he received an update on what had been going on had taken place while he had been preoccupied finding the cube. 

Edelgard was down the lift shaft. How the heck had that happened?!

Retrieving his house leader became his number one priority, a group should look out for all members ensuring no-one is left behind. He only prayed she wasn’t badly harmed from the fall. 

There was a rumbling as Gerik aligned the cube with a groove in the wall and the lift gave a resounding ‘ding’ before becoming operational. He cast his eyes skyward at the mention of Edelgard’s position above them. 

“I’ll take a look. Maybe there is a way up there from the compartment” He proposed, entering the confined space. He let out a sigh of relief when the doors stayed open, he’d had enough of slamming doors for one day.

He stood under the cool light of the elevator and scanned the interior, the blueish tint caused by the light scattering the shadows which permeated the bunker. It was barren, it aesthetic matching the bunker beyond. Looking up he could just make out the outline of something on the ceiling. A hatch? To his left was a control panel similar in design to the one Gerik had used the cube on to call the elevator.

“Not much to see in here but there might be an opening in the ceiling. We would need a way to up to it to examine it closer.” He called out to the others waiting outside. Casting one last look around he exited into the main hallway of the bunker to join Innes and Orochi back by the cube.

“There was a control panel similar to this one” Pointing to the glowing cube and grooves in the wall “There were five lights on it so five destinations? For now I think we should find a way up to the maybe hatch and see if we can open it” Addressing the diviner he asked “Do you have any suggestions?”

Making her way inside the lift, Orochi turns her gaze upwards. There’s a panel at the top of the lift and they can all hear movement above them. That meant, at least, that Edelgard was alive. Probably worse for wear but still alive.

There’s a sinking sensation in her stomach - she has no idea how this happened but she’s certain Niles knows more than he’s saying. It’s likely she ended up on top of the lift when the doors closed. Either that or Adrestia’s royal family were secretly spiders. Juicy but rather unlikely.

The control panel glows a neon blue and ordinarily Orochi would want to inspect it for traces of magic. The fate of the Adrestian imperial line is a more pressing issue though and messing around with it could send the lift shooting uipwards, potentially crushing Edelgard. Bad idea, scratch that one off. Chrom’s probably onto something with the hatch but it appears just out of reach for the two men, both of whom are considerably taller than she is.

“Crouch down, Chrom. I need a piggy back,” she replies with her hands on her hips. There’s a beat and she decides that it might be worth explaining herself. “If you give me a boost I should at least be able to get a closer luck at the hatch. Then we can try and figure out how to open it. If we can.” Her initial thought was to blast it off with magic and whilst that would probably open the shaft up it could also seriously injure the princess they were currently trying to rescue.

Chrom bends down and she climbs on top of his shoulders. He rises slowly and carefully, getting her enough height to properly look at the hatch.

“Edelgard, honey,” Orochi tries to sound reassuring. If she’s offended they can discuss it later, when she’s no longer trapped above the elevator. “Try and stay calm, we’re going to get you out of there. I’ll let you know when to move .”

Taking a look there are curiously no screws at all. Pity, she was hoping one of them would be loose enough to manipulate free. Hmm. Well, she wasn’t exactly a paragon of physical strength but maybe pushing against it would reveal something about how exactly it was attached? It couldn’t hurt to try at any rate. Orochi placed her palms gently on the metal plate and gave it a push upwards to test out it’s resistance. Instead of any force pushing back on her there’s a strange hum and click and before she knows it’s... gone. Vanished into thin air.

The princess falls through.

“Sorry!” Orochi calls out, cringing. She had promised to warn her in advance but, “it completely disappeared! I was trying to see if we could loosen it and... poof!”

At least she hadn’t too far to fall.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋.​

     Innes doesn’t understand it, nor does he trust it. Though it had its uses, magic was far too chaotic—too unpredictable. He’d rather rely on what he could perceive through his own eyes, and the conclusions drawn based on that. 

     Even the diviner couldn’t find anything of significance with her abilities, offering only a vague warning about magic. And while he couldn’t claim the subject was in his area of expertise, it was hardly much of a revelation; this place was clearly constructed using some form of odd sorcery, if the strange contraptions and foreign structures weren’t already enough of a giveaway. Of course there would be something wrong about it—none of this looked as though it even belonged in this world.

     ( Briefly, images of cold metal and blue lights flash through his mind. )

     But Innes heeds her warning, nevertheless, and moves to examine another section of the room when he hears the deafening slam, followed by horrified screams. The Frelian prince is already lunging into action by the time Ephraim’s voice reaches his ears, the weight of his bow and quiver heavy against his back as he rushes into the corridor and towards the source of the chaos, blood running cold at the sight he’s met with. 

     “…Gods.”

     The lift door, once open, now sat shut. Blood, splattered across the floor. Julius frantically dashing away from the scene. Iuchar and Niles, both injured—spurting blood; a missing finger, a missing hand—and being swarmed by a gaggle of healers. They had only just arrived, and the situation had already gone to absolute hell. 

     His eyes skirt over the scene, surveying every present figure when—

     “—where is Lady Edelgard?”

     His question is lost to the chaos, left without an immediate answer. The Imperial Princess of Adrestia was nowhere in sight, despite Innes never having seen her leave, along with the lack of exits from the room. Confused, his eyes shift back to the closed shaft, and the sight of yet another shut door feels almost mocking. 

     Just what happened here?

Orochi nearly jumps out of her skin, the bunker’s eerie calm being destroyed in an instant. The lift doors slam so loudly it echoes, dissonant and sickening when harmonised with the screaming. There’s blood - lots of blood decorating the floors in patterns like crimson flowers. The young redhead rushes past and the shouting gets even louder. 

She watches as Maria rushes over towards the lift, followed by their groups other healers. Gods, that Iuchar boy is missing a finger and Niles’ usual smirk is missing as it the mischievious glint in his eyes. Instead he seems muted, quiet and pallid and -- where is his hand!?

The Imperial princess is nowhere to be found and the scene is so loud, so chaotic that Orochi feels as the though her head is spinning. There’s no exit, where is Edelgard? 

How did any of this happen?

She lingers back, her casting is meant to harm not heal and the last thing anyone needs right now is Orochi trying to electrocute someone. She considers offering to freeze the misplaced body parts so they can be reattached later but the healer’s are already on it, trying to mend the gruesome injuries the two men have suffered. There’s nothing she can do so instead, she makes a beeline for Innes. The door to the lift, now slammed shut was the only way out but--

Surely Princess Edelgard wasn’t so claustrophobic she jumped down a lift shaft? There’s no telling how far it went down.

“Well then princey! What say you and I snoop around that lift?”she says, her voice a merry little sing-song. A little inappropriate given the circumstances but brooding wasn’t going to help anyone now was it? 

There’s a spring in her step when she overhears Niles talking to Maria as she tries to fix his hand. She knows he has a loose tongue, slippery and lascivious but Maria is a child despite her bravery and an incredibly sweet one at that. He tells her how he’d love to see her cry and honestly? If Orochi was in her position she’d have slapped him with his own hand and left him to his own devices. Maria is clearly a better person than she is but Orochi is not letting him get away with that.

She strides off, paying Innes no mind until she’’s standing over Niles. That devilish look is back in his eyes, despite the pain he’s clearly in and Orochi decides to add to it. She delivers a quick and forceful slap across his face. It’s not too hard - even she feels a little bad for him right now but it’s assertive and a warning. Do not make her cry.

“You’re doing great work, sweetheart!” Orochi says as she turns to Maria with a warm, bright smile and places her hand on the girl’s head. She ruffles her scarlet locks, so proud of her resilience and let’s her know how important she is to the team.

Then she skips away towards the surly little princeling. He was definitely her second favourite royal sniper to tease.