The Living Lab (NDE, Medium Adventure

[Wycliff]

The moment Miranda’s blades went to slice into the flesh a loud echoing ear piercing screech could be heard from the flesh. The entire floor and walls started to shake and move as if it was in pain. This would continue for as long as she cut, however it didn’t seem to draw any more attention to the shingami, so the choice would be up to her if she did want to continue cutting into the doorway. From the little bit that she did cut she could clearly see that there was a door and it wasn’t fully closed so there was a path out of this room at least.

If Miranda did fully cut out the door frame flesh she would be standing before a half open metal sliding door that with a bit of force would open up and lead into a dark vertical hallway, only a few lights flickered, but it was clear that this was a way deeper into the facility. If she stepped into the long hallway to the left of her would be a half destroyed map that at the very least showed off that this hallway had three more rooms all labeled A1-A3 in front of her. To the end left of the hallway there was another room that read armory before splitting off to another hallway going backwards. On the right side of the hallway was just another path that lead deeper in with no room at the end but a connecting hallway also going backwards.

For Conner and Celes if they managed to leave the room before Miranda started to cut they would feel less shaking and the screaming would be muted, but still easy to hear. They would arrive back into the first area that they had just been in. The decontamination room door was stuck, but with a bit of force from either one or both of them they would be able to open it, if they so choose to. The flesh on this door would peel back to show that the door had a massive hole in it about knee level and that metal had been bashed aside to make the hole.

Looking into the room called the decontamination room they would see a long hallway like room that only had a red flickering light illuminating it. Inside the room near the top of the room seemed to be several shower heads covered up by flesh. All along the room strange ooze dripped down clear as water, but the way it clung together made it seem more like slime. There wasn’t the same smell of stench from this room as the Observation door had so this was a different fluid that was dripping down from the ceiling. At the end of the hallway was a door partially covered with a large wheel that seemed to be able to turn that would lead elsewhere. They had two options now, venture into this dripping hallway or go back and meet up with miranda.

[Serraph Quarrere]

 "Where you you two going? Is the objective not deeper within?", she spoke with slight discomfort as her unyielding gaze carefully traced out the outline of the would be door. Six saw blades tore into the nightmarish biological material with incredulous unison and precision, but even the greatest care could not stop the obscene amount of gore and nasty bits from splattering her uniform. Frost winced as a dribble of unknown flesh splattered her face, causing her to frown in disgust. "Don't go anywhere. The door is almost open." She'd push on all six points simultaneously, shoving the door backwards. "There."

 The blades retreated back into line in front of her, forming a phalanx of death to any that would pounce at her from the newly opened door, but none would come but the visage of an empty corridor. Still, she never let herself relax. This place was toxic. The smells, the growths, and even its weight on her mind seemed to be ever encroaching. She knew for sure there was more to it all. She felt it in her gut. On the other hand, she knew whoever, whatever, was here, they would be alerted to her presence specifically. She couldn't control how loud her aura tended to be, which was something that had gotten her into unneeded engagements in the past.

 Miranda expected it here. Like a beacon in the darkness her spiritual weight shone. Whatever stealthy approach Connor and Celes planned on committing to was lost the moment Miranda was given her orders. It was guaranteed to be a mess. "Keep your spacing but don't split up, we still don't know that of which we face."

[Connor Greaves]

Connor stopped, hearing the voice of the third shinigami. Had she found something they had missed? More than likely, given his less than ideal state of mind. Instead of turning back, Connor walked over towards her, where the woman was just about done cutting a hole through a flesh-covered door. It was grotesque, but it had to be done. He stayed a good distance away from the splash zone, as Frost's methods were less than cleancut. Still, the results were worth it, as she opened up a pathway forward.

"Let me take point. Your powers seem to be better at a distance, while I only have my sword to work with." What he failed to mention, was that he wanted first crack at these beasts. He wanted to put them down as fast as he could, and prefered to take matters into his own hands. The eyes of that bug still weighed heavily on his conscious, but this was something that had to be done. If not to have the three of them survive, then to protect the world at large. Who knows how far these things could spread given the time? He would see all these abominations dead by the end of the day, or die trying.

[Celes Castellanos]

As the Shinigami left the room, so many things were racing through her head. This was a nightmare that it felt like she could not wake from. In fact, she in some ways wanted to wake from it. She was no stranger to death or attrocities of all kind, but this was past that threshold. This was downright inhumane and left her with concern for what whoever did this was capable of. That was neither here or now, Celes ran off to where they had started. It appeared to be almost like a lobby of some sort and from the door from which and entered the room, she ended up heading to the room that led to the decontamination room.

The halls seemed to flicker ominously which left Celes with a sense of dread. This hallway almost seemed to be dripping with a strange ooze. It appeared to have the conistency of slime and Celes just ended up running down that hallway. She was seperated from her group, but was sure that she could hold her own. Additionally, she felt that she could feasibly hold her own. This left her with a weird feeling as it all just seemed like she was walking into a trap. She had no idea where this would lead, but one thing was clear. Someone was gonna pay for all this.

[Miranda Frost]

 Miranda was reminded of her leave time in the human world, dwelling among the humans there, particularly the night sky. She remembered how dull and black it was compared to what she was used to. A dull, starless night brought on by the city's never ending illumination. She didn't notice Celes's absence until the reached the first door down this particular passageway. She knew those with ever-active Zanpakuto had trouble hiding the brunt of their power, but in this case it was much like the light pollution she was introduced to months prior. Its hard to see something small in the shadow of something greater. She'd look back and focus her senses, but alas what she could sense was perhaps distorted by the organic growth that cover most things here. She could sense it with concentration, but couldn't pinpoint where. "Damn.", she'd curse herself. It possibly wasn't too late to fetch her, but the distance was a bit cloudy. In this unknown situation, Frost was afraid to turn her back to this threat, lest she gets a dagger in the back.

 Nay, they will have to continue on and find her later. "We lost Celes...", she'd comment to Connor in a quiet, cautious voice. She wasn't afraid, but she was disturbed by the mystery of this place. Frost would shake her head and dismiss the festering thoughts from her mind. She couldn't ponder too much on this. "We'll find her later. Let us continue on", she'd reassure Connor, but perhaps aimed it more at herself than he. "Don't worry. I've got your back" She'd move two of her rotary blades to protect his flank while she kept a three foot distance behind him with the other four protecting her own flank and backside. For normal enemies, to charge such a formation was deadly enough on its own just taking into consideration her own abilities not to mention Connor's which remain a curiosity to her still.

[Wycliff]

Celes finding herself entering the decontamination showers will see that the flesh wall behind her that had the door would fold in on it’s self and close off the exit that she had. She was trapped in the long hallway that had several showerheads dripping a strange liquid down coating the floor in it. There was very little that Celes could do to keep from having her feet covered in the clear liquid. Looking down the hallway it would be about fifty feet till they would be able to get to the end. Each step they took they would find that the liquid would stick to it’s self and her feet making it harder and harder for her to step through the hallway, it wasn’t impossible but very difficult.

After getting halfway through the hallway an odd creaking sound would occur and the showerheads above Celes would start to shake and rattle. With very little warning the dripping fluid that had been coming down slowly would start to pour like a massive rainstorm. The fluid would stick to one another making the room feel like walking through jelly. Celes would have to act fast if she didn’t want to end up stuck in the jelly like substance that was quickly filling the room. It was about another fifty feet to the exit, that wasn’t covered with flesh but instead was solid metal.

It wouldn’t be easy for her to get out of the hallway however it wouldn’t be something that would keep her from being able to escape with a bit of effort. If she managed to escape, she would find that right next to the door was a large cocoon with a spiritual entity inside of it. There was someone alive, not able to escape by themselves so it would be up to Celes to help them out. Other than that, the decontamination room would lead to a black flesh colored room with nothing else of note say for three doors each leading in a random direction.

For Miranda and Conner they would find the hallway was empty, nothing really of note say for the half covered map telling them the rooms that were right in front of them called A1-A2-A3. To the left down the hallway was a room labeled armory and on the right a long hallway leading to another one that goes deeper into the facility. No ants, nothing was popping up to attack them or harm them at all.

[Celes Castellanos]

Celes found herself trudging through what just seemed to be a thick and viscous sediment as she continued deeper and deeper into the hall. She could hear the dripping of the showers and just overall found herself to be in what seemed to an endless nightmare. What she has seen should never befall another as meaningless death is not something that the Shinigami stood behind. Celes was one that enjoyed the thrill of combat, but never to kill another person without need. It seemed that life just was not fair as something began to rustle in the hall.

The room began to fill with this strange jelly as it dripped from the showerheads. If she did not act quick, she was going to be burried alive in this ridiculous chamber. With albeit a little bit of difficulty, the Shinigami tried move forward as the path behind her began to fill and rise. It seemed inevitable that she would perhaps be burried, but with some clever thinking, the Shinigami kicked herself out of the jelly by jumping outward and using it as even the tiniest foothold, performed a Shunpo to the exit.

Granted she lacked the finesse as she landed against the metal. The Shinigami quickly ran up it to escape the filling room. As she escaped, she noticed a peculiar area around her. Next to her was a door and inside was a cacoon. It seemed to be rustling with activity and the Shinigami was admittedly cautious. She slowly approached it and could sense a spiritual signature even with her low energy sensory. That being said, the Shinigami took her Zanpakutou and just cut the cacoon open and she was suprised what was inside. 

Inside the cacoon was a woman. She seemed oddly familiar as she seemed to wear the Shinigami garbs and even moreso...a Zanpakutou? No..it didn't register like one. It must've been an Asauchi, making this woman a trainee. Celes quickly tapped the girl and spoke quickly. "Hey...wake up. We need to get out of here..." If the girl woke up, Celes would feel that she should give some clarity. "My name is Celes. Squad 11. Tell me who you are later. We need to get out of here." Regardless of whether the other girl followed, Celes would continue on into the ominious black room.

Inside the room she saw three doors and began to wonder what the purpose of this all was. Presuming that the fledgeling Shinigami followed her, Celes would speak very calmly yet frank. "You appear to have been here prior to my arrival. How did you get here? Do you know the layout of this complex? What door should we walk though?" Celes almost bombarded this girl with so many questions as they were in a sticky situation and it was imperative that they get out as quick as possible. She looked at one of the doors and just sighed.

[Deleted]

Coming from this cocoon, Camila fell to her hands and knees, and gained consciousness quite quickly. Her breathing was heavy, as though she had just awoken from a nightmare. Her eyes quickly glanced from side to side, not only confused as to where she was, but confused about the overall look of the room they were currently in. In her few years of being apart of the Gotei 13, she's certainly never seen anything like this place before. After a few moments, she forced herself to her feet, an incredibly concerned look on her face. Upon noticing herself covered in ants, she immediately and aggressively brushed the ants off of herself with a shriek.

Her mind was still currently spinning to hell and back while she was being bombarded with the constant questions from the obviously concerned shinigami in front of her. "You appear to have been here prior to my arrival. How did you get here? Do you know the layout of this complex? What door should we walk though?" She sighed, and shook her head. She couldn't think at the moment. "Please, just give me a second," she started saying, "I've still got a bit of a headache... What did you say your name was again?"

After taking a moment to recover her thoughts a bit, Cami took a much better look around the area, beginning to follow Celes. She truthfully had no idea where she was, what she was doing here, or what the hell was even going on. All she knew is that she didn't like it at all. "I'm Camila Adaronde, of Squad 13. I can't say I've any semblance of an idea as to where we are, though. The last I remember was getting a mission to explore a spiritual disturbance in the World of the Living. Got my ass handed to me by some kind of beast, and now I'm here. Where exactly are we, though? Surely you've got an answer to that, no? Hopefully?"

[Connor Greaves]

It was too quiet. Connor was looking around for any threats, for any more of those ant monsters, but with every glance, he found nothing to look at aside from the fleshy walls of the laboratory. The waiting for something to show it, that was the worst part of it. Throw an enemy at him and he could handle it, but this silence? The only noise he could hear was his footsteps, Frost's footsteps, and the sound of his heart jumping into his throat. He was stuck in a fight or flight mode, and he couldn't afford to calm down. He was still nervous.

The walls being made of flesh wasn't helping. How many people died to have covered this much space? What were the scientists working on that allowed the situation to escalate this far out of control? He shook his head, trying to stay focused. His mind was wandering, trying to think of anything aside from the current situation he was in. He didn't want to talk with Frost incase the Abominations were trying to jump them. Luckily for him, there was a fork coming up ahead, along with a map, telling him what rooms were down which hallway.

He read the map, and looked to the left. It looked innocent enough. Or as innocent as a long flesh tube could look. "Down that hallway there is an Armory." He pointed to the left, while turning to look at the other Reaper. "The right hallway leads further into the facility. I would personally prefer to head over to the armory, to see if there is anything that can kill these Abominations easier, but it might also only have normal weapons inside. Which do you want to do?" Connor asked Frost.

[Miranda Frost]

The moment in silence devoid of foot steps was eerily suspicious. She felt nothing but the inconsistent bouncing of spiritual signatures. No longer could she feel with certainty Celes's presence. It was troubling for sure, but ultimately didn't effect the outcome of this particular mission, to destroy these creatures. For the time being, she would have to cut her losses and push forward until such a time revealed itself that they could find her. 

 In that silence Connor was able to ponder and think of the next stage of their route. He'd procure a map and show his thought process. Miranda would nod, glancing down the way that lead to the Armory. "Fair.", she'd mutter, her mind grinding its gears together. A facility like this would not have fail-safes in case something like this were to happen. It is very possible the armory may contain one of these solutions. "Squad 10 is a reactionary force, as such we coordinate with fellow squads to create contingencies. If we mere soldiers do this, there is no reason why these... scientists would not."

 Anything to help them would be appreciated. "Hell, maybe we can find something to level this facility and leave it to squad 2 for cleanup, eh?", she'd jest lightly, albit awkwardly, nudging her arm into Connor's. "Lead the way, I've got your back."

[Wycliff]

The moment that they entered into the armory Miranda and Conner would be assaulted with the smell of a recently dead body. Unlike the rest of the place the flesh hadn’t spread that far, in fact there was something here that was clearly different than the other rooms of this place. There was a seemingly un touch human body just leaning against a shelf. In it’s arms there was a large gun that was clearly used. The body was without any wounds on it to tell what killed it, but all around the floor and walls there were scorch marks and burnt bodies of the ants.

Besides the dead bodies of both the ants and the man the armory was what one would expect of a place like this underground. There were cabinets filled to the brim with all sorts of weapon and armor all around. It seemed like this was a great find for all of them, there was even a few devices around the area one looking like a sensor. Before either of them could even get to looking around properly the sound of static started to echo out from a speaker and a voice that Connor would recognize would come over the sound system.

“Ahh I see you guys have found the armory. Wait… a woman, where are the other two and…. How did she get in here? You mask boy tell me what happened after I tell you two some rather upsetting news. So while normally this would have been a great boon to find there is an issue, these weapons and by extension this armory was made to specifically kill spiritual beings. All the cabinets that are closed are made out of Seki seki and destroying them or forcing them open will result in the armory going into panic mode and well, shutting down releasing a toxic seki seki mist to kill any spiritual entities. The only useful weapon is the one on the dead guard and whatever is in the locker he opened. Oh on the table is a tracker made to pinpoint shingami and their vitals, might be useful for the other two that originally accompanied you mask boy.”

There was the gun that the dead body was holding, which clearly seemed to spew some sort of flame given that there was no ammo clip and the muzzle had holes in it. The only other weapon that the could access was a baton about a foot and half long that seemed to have a button to press to use it. This and the sensor would be the only thing that the armory would offer, however that is if they actually took them, they could always leave them behind.



Celes and Camila wouldn’t have the same luxury of spending time to relax, as soon as Camila was cut out from the cocoon they would feel the hallway tremble and the walls shake. Something was mad that Camila was now free from being trapped. Around them the walls would start to separate and spread showing ants slowly falling out of the gaps. These ants wouldn’t attack just yet, but given enough time they would start to attack and go after the two of them. The three rooms that they had would be the best bet to try and escape as each moment they wasted more and more ants would fall from the floor. They hadn’t seen or sensed the two shingami, so there was still time to escape.

[Celes Castellanos]

As Celes continued to look at the numerous rooms, she sighed. Which could lead them to where they needed to go? This was a chore. Such a disgusting place. Despite being the type to enjoy the thrill of combat, Celes seemed to be rather timid when it came to gore. This was very unnatural. She had no problem with blood, but it was the more visceral things that made Celes shiver. To brutalize an opponent and waste the potential they could have achieved, beating them down until there was nothing left. Nothing was more sinister to Celes.

Yet despite all this, it did seem that Camila was not too much help. Then again, she did not know any more than Celes and the Shinigami could not fault her from that. After all, she seemed to be trapped there like the rest of them. Camila's situation was unique, however and Celes was curious as to what she was doing there? How did an Unseated Shinigami make it here? Then Celes remembered. She mentioned herself to be a member of Squad 13. It was the Squad dealing with transportation which admittedly made a lot more sense to the Shinigami now.

Granted it seemed that as Celes continued to look at the doors, they would not have the luxury to just wait. The walls were beginning to twist and split. Ants began to crawl out as they also heard rumbling. It seemed that something was angry and was beginning to wake up. Celes just sighed. She would mind nothing more than fighting something, however, there was Camila. She knew little to nothing about this Shinigami outside of her name and designation. Celes just gritted her teeth as she felt that this Camila needed to be kept safe. Celes owed it to her.

The ants seemed to not notice them yet, but Celes was not going to take any chance. With a quick motion, she ran over to Camila and grabbed her hand. She grabbed it tightly as she was making sure to waist no time. Instead of saying a single word, Celes simply placed her finger in front of her mouth, not taking any chances since their voices may alert these ants. With impressive speed in the form of a Shunpo, Celes would ram through one of the doors, Camila in tow and praying that the other Shinigami did not scream and alert their pursuers.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}
-50 Shunpo
Total Reiatsu: 2900/3000

[Deleted]

In time, she eventually caught herself to the point where she was fully "awake", after having been out of it for what felt like a while. She still didn't understand the gravity of the situation at hand, and who could blame her? After waking up in some place like this one, why would she be able to understand any of it at all? Still though, she wanted to. She wanted to know what was going on, and was hoping that this woman who she was with would at the very least begin to explain what the hell was going on.

Though, her wishes seemed to die very quickly thereafter. Celes seemed to ignore her altogether, unfortunately. She sighed. Great, she was stuck with someone who can't even make conversation. Now she was scared and bored. Albin seemed to be nowhere to be found, so what was she going to do? Talk to these ants that seemed to be coming from out of nowhere?? There's no way she could be expected to do something like that, even if-

Wait. Ants? She looked around, and spotted an opening within one of the walls. Ants seemed to be piling out, at insurmountable numbers. A quick shiver went down her spine. She wasn't particularly fond of ants, but she could deal with them should she need to. Truth be told, those insects that were now beginning to swarm into the room the two of them were in, weren't really aiding in her knowledge of the situation. If anything, it only confused and concerned her more. She couldn't really do anything about it, though, not realizing that fighting was an option for the two shinigami, and truth be told she wasn't really looking forward to allying with this girl, if she couldn't even make idle conversation.

That was when her hand was grabbed. "Woah, woah," she exclaimed somewhat loudly, "at least take me on a-" her words were quickly cut off by her own shouting, as, through the use of an unexpected Shunpo, both her and Celes were immediately barreling through the door at absolutely tremendous speeds; far faster than she ever thought imaginable. She couldn't really contain herself as the two of them went straight toward, the door. Panic seemed to be the only option when this shinigami was evidently looking to kill her as well.

[Connor Greaves]

Connor wanted to vomit at the rancid smell of rotting flesh. The guard died braver than most, taking down a good dozen of the monsters with him. He gave the brave soldier a salute. "Rest well soldier. I pray you find peace in the next life." With that, he wondered in further. If the man was already rotting to this degree, he would have had to been here for four days to a week. That would would explain why only a few of the bugs had made their way to the surface. They were busy cleaning house. He looked around to see if his soul was wandering around somewhere, but thankfully it seemed that the man had managed to pass on, in spite of his gruesome death.

The speaker system came to life in a hiss of static. He could recall the voice easy enough. This was the same man as before, presumably one of the scientists that created this entire situation that he and the other Soul Reapers were having to clean up for them. He felt his neck twitch in rage, as he heard the man continue on, demanding an explanation. He was thankful that his mask hid his face, because he couldn't stop his teeth from grinding together in frustration. Add to the fact that these people have Seki Seki weaponry, and he was barely able to restrain himself from shouting at the disembodied voice.

With tense shoulders, he responded to the man. "Your attempts at playing God forced my previous allies to retreat back to the Soul Society, via a cloud of poison. Luckily for us, we requested reinforcements that came before their lives were lost. Time is of the essence, so I will not question you on all of.. this, for now." He gestured to the room and hallway. "But we do need to know where to find you. This place is a labyrinth, so I would be specific so we can find you before your abominations do." He told the man, while taking the weapon from the body of the guard.

It was distasteful, to put it lightly, and normally wouldn't think twice about leaving the weapon behind. He never thought he would be grave robbing, but desperate times... He would leave the locker to Frost, to spare her from facing the full brunt of rot. It was taking all his strength to keep his lunch from coming back up. He gently removed the rifle from his fingers, doing his best not to snap them off his hand. It was the standard size for a rifle, colored black and white. He held it in his left hand, and could feel the weight of it. It was heavier than the norm, but he could manage with his level of strength. "Did you find the tracker?" He asked Frost, seeing if she found anything useful.

[Miranda Frost]

 Not even normal humans could escape this tragedy. Miranda could only look on as Connor saluted and paid his respects to the human gaurdsman. The fact that this sole man existed here with obvious signs of struggle proved that these creatures were not solely spiritual in nature as hollows and demons were. Ney, they were physical beings. So far they were not much of a challenge to the B-team sent in to further disrupt the issue growing here, but deeper in this facility lay something darker, something more menacing. Miranda could feel it in her bones and this inkling of fear angered her. Her eyes narrowed and she stepped past Connor. Nothing she could say could make the somber visage of that guardsman's death any less horrifying. Her mind was too muddled with the underlying problem at hand.

 She'd get hit with the smell of days old rot. She was used to horrible smells at this point, but it still didn't keep her gut from wrenching. The best she could do was to compact the field of reishi around her to the bottom half of her face, formulating a smooth, angular mask. It kept her from drawing air from her nose, but featured a handful a vents on the lower portion to allow her to breath through her mouth. Crude, but it kept her from smelling this horrid junk.

 The intercom would spark to life and a voice would broadcast to them. She paused and scanned the room, spotting the speaker, but nothing that explicitly told the man behind the voice who was specifically here. There was a camera hidden here. If there was a camera hidden here, it is likely there was backup footage stowed away nearby the originator of this voice. This footage could provide a few answers should this man fail to leak any information to them. There were options after all. In the corner of the armory was a small desk, no doubt used for a guard stationed here to help with the bookkeeping required for taking account of the weapons here. Upon that desk lay something interesting

 Frost would approach and pick up the item. It appeared to be able to be attached to the left ear with an arm that held an azure lens to cover the left eye. A heads up display perhaps? She had seen similar technology floating around research and development, but mainly for analysis and to assist in the creation of certain things beyond her realm of knowledge. She'd put it on and fiddled with the obscure button on the side, depressing and turning it on. With a subtle beep in her ear and the flashing of a small arrow on the corner of the lens's view, it would point to Connor. She cursed under her breath.

 The sensor sensed spiritual signatures it seemed. Why would mere humans have this kind of technology? To what end? Soul soceity involvement here was apparent, but what did they have anything to do with these people, this hidden laboratory? Research and development held a ton of secrets on its own and many of them were likely worse than what they found here, but why involve humans? She couldn't understand it and would shake her head of the thoughts, setting them aside for now and turned her attention to the voice after Connor finished speaking.

 "It would be in your best interest to tell us where you are.", she'd approach connor and place a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "It would also be in your best interest to give us the best route as well. Help us out and we'll help you out" to a point.


"If you don't. You better pray we do not, that I do not. I am not in the mood for games."

____
-50 for another construct 2950 reiatsu remaining 
7 constructs total, 6 rotary-saw blades, 1 mask.