The Living Lab (NDE, Medium Adventure

[Deleted]

While everyone besides Conner was too afraid of doing anything with the door, today luck favored the bold. Conner by some random means was able to actually input the right code into the door. While it seemed that it would have been a one in a million chance, the truth was given how faded some buttons were compared to others it made the code go from one in a million to one in sixteen. So with that the doors started to creak and pull open. If anyone was in front of the door they would be hit with the escaping air from inside. It was pungent and stale, there was the smell of rotting flesh and a musky odor was let out.

The doorway was open, however inside wouldn't offer any of them any sort of releif. Just a few feet away from the door was the remains of what was once a person. There was less than half of the body left there. It's flesh was ripped from it's bone and clothing was ripped in ways to allow access to where flesh would have been. However this was only the upper half of the body, the lower half was nowhere to be seen. Even worse inside of the metal hallway that went into the bedrock was yet another door, this one had no keypad nor way to actually open given a look around them.

When all three of them entered into the hallway a voice would echo out from the loudspeakers above them as the door to the outside slammed shut behind them. The voice had a German accent as it started to speak. "It's about time you all arrived..... wait.... black uniforms,.... swords... Damn you're not from Excuton. You four are shingami." The voice cut out upon saying this and it would remain silent for a while leaving the four of them without a way out. Eventually the voice came back "I guess at this point I can't be picky. Well shingami congratulations on finding this underground lab, I've been trapped here for a few weeks now, after an unfortunate accident released a rather dangerous hollow now I ask for your help to deal with this." The speakers started to fail and crack as the last words were uttered out . "b-b-b-b-b-beaaaaaassssssst... Daaaaaaaaamn the speeeeeakkkkkeerrs aaaare fffffailllling cooontact iiiiinsidee."

As the speaker cut out entirely the door that kept them from moving further inside the door like the one before creaked open slowly showing a much worse sight than simply a single dead body. The insides of this lab while they should have been sleek white and pristine with a metallic finish were now covered in what seemed to be an organic material comprised of possibly flesh and bone as well as a few unknown organic components. The walls oozed a simply clear liquid giving it a wet look. Even the floors and the roof of this place was covered in the fleshly material. The only thing that the four shinigami could see besides that was a sign that read. Left Observation room Right Decontamination Chamber.

[Connor Greaves]

And with the opening of the doors, any semblance of that smug facade that Connor had was wiped away. The overwhelming odor slammed into the Soul Reaper like a wall, prompting the tall man to turn about face, walking towards the water's edge, before lifting his mask to puke his guts out, adding another layer of bile to the multitude of stenches dancing around in the air on the cold winter's night. It was worse than Connor had expected, not having even considered planning for these levels of unholy carnage. The people here managed to get themselves killed by those things, those giant spiders? That meant... They were just human scientists? He might have heard the word 'hollow' if he was in a better state of mind.

So these bug creatures were just mortal experiments gone awry, to an extreme degree if the bodies were anything to go by. 'No, nononono, do not focus on the bodies, it needed to be done back then, they needed to die, these aren't those people, shut up shut up shut up! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!' He screamed at himself, going through a panic attack in this place would possibly be his second worst mistake, so he had to get a hold of himself. The mission, he had to focus on the mission, not of the people he- he cut that line of thought off. He had to get up. Had to move, if he stopped he would die for nothing. So through a herculean amount of willpower, he forced himself to his feet, drew his blade, and continued on, sword in hand.

[Connor Greaves]

It was a sad day when an unseated officer had to take the charge in a situation like this. He was scared, most people in a situation like this would be, but he had to be brave and press on. He stared at the skeleton for a moment more, dry swallowing in nervousness, he pressed on. He had to decide which path he'd take, the Observation room, or the Observation chamber, as they described it. The Observation room sounded like the area where they did the majority of the tests, meaning it would more than likely be where the monster was held. But, if he were a betting man, that would also be where the scientist was being kept as well.

If he were to keep a panic room, he would put it in the testing area just in case any creatures escaped. That way the researchers would has some place nearby to hide. He didn't like the thought of fighting anymore of those giant ant things, but there was someone he could save. Even if they were likely the reason behind the creation of the monsters. His sword trembled in his grasp, but he decided to head down to the Observation Room. He could feel his Zanpakuto spirits watching him and his actions. They were eager for the death that was likely to come. They looked forward to their blade being coated in blood once more.

[Celes Castellanos]

[Joining with Permission of DM and other members]

Within the depths of the Soul Society, a lone Shinigami could be seen hurrying along. Her blonde hair flying behind her, her amber eyes focused on the task before her and her sword ready for whatever awaited her. As she arrived around Seireitei, she saw Venus smiled at her until it became a little more of a pout. With a little bit of hesitance and a disturbing expression she spoke. " Celes. We have a situation..." Celes head tilted in concern. "We sent out some Shinigami to take care of an issue in France. Unfortunately, we've not heard back from some of them and as such we were thinking about sending another." 

Celes eyes dazzled with curiosity as to what this was and what was going on. She had heard that some others got dispatched on a mission, but was not sure of the nature. Venus continued. "That being said, I was told to pick someone to send. I'm sorry to ask this of you Celes, but would you take this mission?" Celes was at a loss for words. She could not believe that Venus was actually offering her a chance. One where she could bring honor to the Soul Society and prove herself even more. 

With a resounding determination, Celes quickly spoke. "I, Celes Shindazu of Squad 11, would be honored to take on this mission." With a smile, Venus sent her off, but not before grabbing her shoulder and with a shake in her voice spoke again. "Celes...be careful out there." Celes nodded once again and ran off to the Senkaimon which was being opened for her. As she arrived, she noticed other Shinigami as well being stationed to enter the world of the living. She was wondering why until they began approaching to her. "Celes of Squad 11?" She nodded in response and the representative continued to speak. 

"Rescue Squad here. Ready to retrieve any injured Shinigami." Celes smiled and waited as the Senkaimon was being prepared. Walking into the bright light, she was followed by her fellow Shinigami. In the lab, as Conner and the others ran, the distinct doors of the Senkaimon would open. As Celes and the others leapt from it, she began to smile. The Rescue Squad accompanying her would turn to three of the Shinigami. "Ranth, Jirou and Arantima. You are to return to the Soul Society with us for any injuries. Shinigami Connor and Celes will remain to continue the mission."

Celes smiled at the group and nods. "Don't worry. I'm sure Connor and myself will be able to handle it." She noticed that she had never met any of these Shinigami, especially the one who he would be working with. That was of little consequence, however, as they still had a job to do. In the meantime, the Rescue Squad was beginning to get the three Shinigami they called out as they left through the Senkaimon that they came out of. As it shut, Celes could take some time to eye the bleak environment and looked at Connor. "Could you give me a report on what's happened so far?" Celes smiled at the Shinigami, sure that they could tackle what needed to be done.

[Wycliff]

The original group of shingami had no idea that the door opening was actually a death sentence to them. There had been spores specifically designed to kill anything that came into that room, it was a final failsafe for the lab to try and keep any biological weapons from escaping. Connor’s habit of wearing a mask actually came into play here, keeping him from actually being infected. The other three shingami weren’t as lucky, their lungs started to fill with the spores and it became hard to breath. It was only by luck that backup had arrived and the three would be able to get out alive, yet they had to leave the mission. Celes was also lucky as the spores quickly dissipated making her and Connor the only ones who could continue forward.

The moment Celes entered the front lab area with Connor her nose would be assaulted with the smell of rotting flesh and blood. This stench would hang around the entire time that the two shingami would be in the lab. Connor had chosen the path that the two would go down without telling the other one. As they both stepped past the large metal door and into the actual lab the door behind them slammed shut, trapping the two of them in there. The dim light in the entry way that they were in was flickering only allowing for the bare minimum of light to keep it from this area being in total darkness.

The door to the observation room was covered in a thick jelly like substance that oozed out of what looked like pores. The stench from the jelly like ooze was rancid as it slowly trailed down the door and onto the floor. One of the two would have to stick their hand past the jelly like substance to force the door open with their strength, whoever did so would find that this ooze would stick to their clothing, skin and wouldn’t come off easily, what would be interesting is if either one of them got their face close to the ooze under the stench of rotten flesh would be the smell of something sweet.

After the observation room was open inside the same sort of structures that had been built all over the previous room could be seen here as well, however unlike the ones outside which were more pinkish in hue and tone these were a darker red and clear bones could be seen. What was once a large room with desks and computers all facing a large glass wall was now gone, the electronics were scattered and broken, say for a few on the large wall mounted desk right in front of the now broken glass wall. The center of the glass wall had been broken and a large hole was now present.

The room beyond the glass wall was the same covered in the same red structures made of flesh and bone. However that room wasn’t empty inside there was a few of the ants loudly chewing on something. If either of the two shingami got closer they would see that what they were biting and chewing was a small child not more than seven years old. The child was already dead, their soul nowhere to be found. If they kept watch for a bit longer they would notice that the ants would take the chewed remains of the child and regurgitate them onto the walls spreading them around covering up some of the brighter colored areas.

[Connor Greaves]

As Connor opened the doors, a plume of noxus gas poured out, hitting the three reapers in the face. Connor quickly slammed the door shut before any more of the lethal air could escape. The vizard hopeful was lucky, as his mask saved him from a grizzly death. The other two... Were going to be spared as well, as reinforcements came in the form of a retrieval squad, and a replacement for them. She was a green haired woman that went by the name Celes. He hoped that she would be worth more than the two reapers she was standing in for, or else this mission... oh who was he kidding, this mission was already going to be difficult. There was no use making this person's life harder.

He turned to face the three as they made their way back to base, giving the three of them a salute as they departed. It was odd that the two squad eleven members showed up at such a convenient time, but he wasn't complaining. He could feel the shaking in his sword hand slow to a still. He let out a small breath as he began her requested summary. "To make a long story short, mankind has decided to play God, and crossed ants with spiders. These mutants are bigger than polar bears, and very dangerous. We've tracked the origin of these beasts to here, where it turns out there may be some scientists still amongst the living. Or their ghosts have figured out how to use the PA system." He turned, as he finished his explanation, and started walking towards the only path left for them to journey. He made his way to the Observation Room, opening the door, ready to jump back if there was anything on the other side.

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes continued smiling at the other Shinigami as he began to give his report. "To make a long story short, mankind has decided to play God, and crossed ants with spiders. These mutants are bigger than polar bears, and very dangerous. We've tracked the origin of these beasts to here, where it turns out there may be some scientists still amongst the living. Or their ghosts have figured out how to use the PA system." Celes chuckled. This seemed almost like a science fiction novel, but she guessed that the state of the walls spoke for themselves.

As Celes joined the Shinigami and ram with him as he closed in on the door, the stench of death began to hit her even more. It was this putrid smell. One that was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Almost retching, the Shinigami placed her hand over her mouth and nose. She obviously found that disgusting smell absolutely repulsive. For all intents and purposes, she was visibly sickened  by the display. As she tried to compose herself, they entered the observation room and were witness to the horror of this place.

The observation room would be covered in this odd ooze which even seemed to stick to Connor. There was nothing about any of this that was redeeming. In fact, it was a rather crazy nightmare that in some ways, she wished she may not have taken this job. It was all at request of Venus who she respected, but the Shinigami was shaking her head at this. She looked at Conner and gave him a weird look as she was now better equipped to the stench and look of the place as she acclimated to it. 

As she noticed the broken glass of the observation room, she noticed the larger hole and raised an eyebrow, she walked up to it and was utterly horrified by what she saw. She saw this group of ants essentially devour the corpse of a little girl. It was horrific to see someone so young die to something this horrid. She even noted little bits of flesh being regurgitated. She exclaimed, "Whoever did all this...it's unforgivable. So many innocents...gone..." She would actually be so shocked by this that she froze in place. 

[Wycliff]

Conner’s arm would be coated in the clear jelly like substance that came from the door as he opened it. Sadly getting it off of him would be next to impossible as it seemed to cling to his very skin. So for him he would be stuck with this jelly till he could try and wash it off. Both Celes and Conner would see the massive ants slowly devour the rest of the body of the little girl and then regurgitate bone, flesh and something else onto the walls of the examination room. It wasn’t shorty after Celes said something that the ants were alerted to the two of them.

The heads of the beasts turned to look at both Shinigami the eyes of these ants were different. Unlike the bug like eyes that the other ones had these looked more human. As the ants saw the shinigami, they let out an awful ear screeching sound as both of them started to charge right at the shinigami’s. Conner would notice this change in the ants given his past experience with the other Ant’s however this being Celes’s first time she would have no idea at the changes these ants had compared to the other ones.

As they got closer the ants didn’t send out the webs that the others had in the alleyway. No instead these two fired out a green like projectile that sizzled in the air. It was clear that this projectile was a liquid in the way that it didn’t ball up like energy did. Both Celes and Conner would have to dodge this projectile as the ants moved in closer ready to bite down on the shingami. Each of them would have a single ant to deal with at the moment.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
Fighter V1

OOC:Please put your stats and the reiatsu used in the thread already docted from your reiatsu pool

Strength - [100]=150Points
Speed – [100]=150 Points
Spiritual Pressure – [50]
Reiatsu Strength - [50]37
Instinct – [100] Points
Senses - [100] Points
Energy sensory – [50] Points
Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Miranda Frost]

Those with higher understanding have deemed Miranda stable enough to return to full service. After her kidnapping and imprisonment in Hueco Mundo, and her humiliation at the hands of Alexander, the Quincy, those in her command have deemed it necessary to send her to a place they described as “Vile” and “Horrific”, words not often thrown about by those people. Such things would rightly cause one to worry, and for good reason.

Miranda was concerned, and as she stepped from her Senkaimon into the sewer before the entrance to the laboratory. Her eyes squinted and her nose scrunched at the mere stench of the place. It wasn’t surprising that the place didn't have a decent smell, it was a sewer after all. This smell however was much much worse. The metallic, sickening smell told the story of one most gruesome. Frost did not like this one bit.

Her fist clenched as the door opened for her, opening with the sound of grinding metal as it revealed the visage of the corridor beyond. Blood and bone were strewn about messily, and the sign of battle made itself clear upon the walls of this once sterile facility. “Arantima-sama…”, she’d mutter under her breath as she entered. She had been told the first team to venture here included him. Miranda herself was a last minute introduction to the B-team to clean up what they started.

Frost hadn’t seen him in ages. Given the severity and classification of the mission, it would be possible that this place was the reason for his disappearance. Miranda didn’t like this thought. Her body shuddered at the thought of what horrors could have overcome his might. Fortunately, as she continued along to the observation deck, she felt two powers ahead, one of which was familiar to her.

Her slow, cautious walk shifted to a hurried run as she rounded the corner, her eyes spotting the two in the room before her, confronted by some horrific freak of nature. She wasted no time as two serrated discs formed at her flanks. “Spin”, she’d will them, forcing them into a rapid spin.“Go”[/i], she’d command mentally, Flinging them forward between the two shinigami in attempts to cut down the monstrous foe.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
Created 2 projectiles with Zan ability. -100 reiatsu
3200 reiatsu remaining.

Stats:



Strength - 80 Points

Speed - 120 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 220 - 330 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 190 Points

Light Aura - 75 Points

Dark Aura - 25 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 50 Points *

Energy sensory - 50 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 860 Points

Leveled SP: 400

Trained Sp: 460/900



Skills:

Strength of Will: 2

Martial Arts: Hakuda: 2

Battle Analysis: 2

Cold Tolerance: 2

Kido: 2

[Connor Greaves]

An indescribable rage shrouded Connor's thoughts as he witnessed the insects consuming the corpse of the child. He like to think himself as a peaceful person, not liking the death and chaos of situations like these. He always tried his best to find a non-violent solution to problems. But this... This level of evil, was not something he could stomach. He let out a wordless yell, the slime covering his arm went unnoticed as he charged at the man-eating bugs. He sidestepped what he presumed was a glob of acid, given its color, and leapt into the air.

With his sword raised over his head, he cut into the creature's exoskeleton, right between its too human eyes. With a battlecry, he hefted himself onto its back, wrenching his sword out as he got up. He started hacking away at the monstrosity, cutting into its legs, its back, anywhere he could hit before the worker fell to the ground dead. Even then, he kept chopping away. He was seeing red, and couldn't control his anger. He wanted this thing to have never existed. His focus was single minded, vision tunneling on this one beast. If Celes couldn't kill the other ant, he might be in for a nasty attack.

SPOILER: Click to show

{New Stats}Strength- 200
Speed- 400
Reiatsu Strength- 50
Spiritual Pressure- (400+50%) 600
Senses- 50
Instinct- 60
Energy Sensory- 0

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes eyed the ants carefully as they noticed the two of them due to her revealing their location. As the ants turned to the two of them, Celes heard a screech that tore at her very ears. It was horrid and was most likely intended to throw her into disarray. As she composed herself, she noticed that two globs of green substance being spit at the two of them. One aiming directly for her, Celes simply dropped straight to the ground as it presumedly went straight over her. After this hopefully succeeded, Celes would kick herself back up, drawing her Zanpakutou against the ants.

The Shinigami looked at the large monstrosities and was wondering how feasible it was for her to attack them. It seems that Celes had to take care of one while Connor took care of the other. With a new sense of resolve, Celes quickly dashed at the creature, her maximum speed of 70 carrying her along towards the ant. To test the durability of the ant, she would strike down with killing intent, looking to bisect the creatures head. If it did not die and intercepted her strike, Celes would suddenly dissapear and reappear right above the ants thorax and fall, thrusting her Zanpakutou down into it.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Strength- 70 (-30%) = 49
Speed - 100
Spiritual Pressure - 200 (50%) = 300
Reiatsu Strength - 80
Light Aura- 90
Dark Aura - 10
Instinct - 50
Senses - 50
Energy Sensory - 25
Healing Expertise - 0

Total SP: [575]

Illusion Resist: 1

Strength of Will: 1

Pain Tolerance: 1

Damage Recovery: 1

Mental Incantation: 1

Analyzing: 1

[Wycliff]

The ants that attacked Celes and Conner stood no chance, between the newbie that came and the other two shingami they were made quick work of. Before Conner could slice down and kill the ant the two circular blades that Miranda sent out cut them in half. Conner’s blade still swung down cutting the head of the ant in two. The eyes of the beast looking right into Connor’s eyes it had a look of sadness and despair as it died. That gaze would pierce into the eyes of Connor. Who knows what effect this would have on the shingami.

The ant that was attacking Celes would be dead already by the time her blade struck against the hard carapace of the ant. Unfortunately for her, her blade would become lodged in the dead ant’s head. The upper half of it’s body would fall to the ground with a loud thump. The shingami’s had killed the two ants. For now the three of them would be safe yet they had just started to enter into the maze that would be the lab. The blood pooling from out of the ants started to melt the flesh covering the ground all around the bodies of the ants. The shingami would have to be careful as it seemed that from here on out the possibility of the ants having acidic blood was high.

The room was now silent, there was no hum of machinery going on as one would expect in a lab. The air was stale and there was a lack of a clear door. The half eaten body of the child laid across the way behind what was left of the broken glass observation window. The shingami could go to that room, where the ants had been in before, however it seemed to be overgrown with the flesh that coated the wall. With each step the shingami took the walls and floors seemed to pulse as if it was alive. Exploring the pit room where the ants came out from would result in finding nothing really important to note, say for a small section of wall that wasn’t fully covered by the flesh.

Back in the main observation room it would take some time, however if they looked around they would see a section of flesh that sunk inwards against the back wall. The shape of the flesh sinking in was in that of a door, however the flesh was solid and didn’t seem to have a seem to break to get into the next room. It would be possible to cut the flesh out of the way if they wanted to, however that would take time. There was still the option to try and go into the other room but the more they moved around the more they could feel the ground pulse and shake.

[Miranda Frost]

 Only when the creature slumped did Miranda allow herself to relax, if only for a moment. The constructs that sliced through the creature would return to her flank, their spinning brought to a halt as they followed her entrance into the room. Frost would take a better look at the room around her until her steely eyes lay upon what remained of the child's body beyond the window of the room.  She'd avert her eyes quickly, her gloved hand covering her mouth in shock. "They should cleanse this place... this is a bit much.", she'd comment.

 Her eyes moved to the flesh covered indention in the wall. Certainly this was once a door? Luckily for them she had the perfect tools to cut through this gunk. 4 more blades would materialize around her, the crystallized reishi compacting into the same foot wide saw blades she made before, bringing that number to six. "I'm Frost of squad 10. I'm already acquainted with you, Celes.", she'd introduce herself to the male of this trio, just barely able to mask the shaky horror in her voice. "Proper pleasantries would have to wait until we are out of here. I've a gut feeling that even here we are not safe."

 The blades would move to the outline of what she thought was the door and begin to saw away at it at the seems. "That being said, do you two know anything of what happened here? The reports were covered in black ink. The higher ups know more than they are letting on"

SPOILER: Click to show

Created 4 constructs. -200 reiatsu
3000 reiatsu remaining

[Connor Greaves]

He stared into the creature's eyes as he split it's head open. It looked so sad... so human. It was like a punch to the gut, as all his rage vanished, leaving him empty and cold. So powerful was this sudden shift in emotion, that he didn't even question why the two halves of the head fell to the floor. He kept looking into the eyes of the beast. It had the eyes of a child. Connor felt his body shudder in horror, as his sword fell from his grasp, his right hand moving to cover where his mouth would be behind his mask, while his left combed through his hair.

The shock of what he just did might have lasted much longer, but the voice of Frost managed to break him out of it. He swallowed a hard lump that had formed in his throat, and picked up his blade. He could feel the spirits of his zanpakuto mocking him. They were laughing in glee at his brutal actions. That he snapped. If he wasn't so numb, he'd have felt nothing but hatred for the spirits. He turned to face the woman who kept him from falling into despair. She was right when she said this wasn't the place for formalities. "C-Connor Greaves." He told her, a quiver in his voice.

"The long and short of it; s-seek and destroy. Kill everything. These things are abominations, and must d-die, along with whoever made them." He heard his spirits cheer in delight at the prospect of death. He couldn't care right now. The creators of such insidious creatures was responsible for their actions, and he'd personally make sure they received Justice for such heinous crimes. He idly thought that he probably wasn't in the right state of mind to be making decisions like that, but he'd avenge all who died here. The three of them searched around the room for a lead to the next, but found none. All the while, the room started to feel more alive with each passing second. "I think we should head back and try the other room, this appears to be a dead end." He looked one last time at the dead girl and the ant, before leaving the way he came in.

[Celes Castellanos]

As Celes blade met the flesh of her victim, it was almost exquisite to feel it sink into her prey. She was sad to see that it met its end so quick, but on the other hand, these creatures were nothing more than vermin to wipe out. They were just like Hollows, lambs to the slaughter. As Miranda came in and introduced herself, Celes was happy to see a familiar face. "I'm Frost of squad 10. I'm already acquainted with you, Celes." Celes nodded happily. "Of course. It's been a while Miranda." The young Shinigami then took a look at Connor.

Connor seemed shaken up. Perhaps the horrors of cruelty began crashing down on him. As she heard him speak, she almost felt like it was a new resolve. This was good, but she felt it would come at a cost. Celes sighed and nodded. "I agree. That may be the better solution. Nowhere to go, but back." Celes would begin heading back the way they came, simply unfamiliar with the layout of the complex. She hoped that she would stumble on an area that may have been unexplored or just gather from Connor where they already were before she arrived.