soul_logs | [OPEN] Mission 155

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Mission 155

Characters: Open to those who signed up here.
Location: An unmarked cavern system outside Death City.
Rating: Various.
Time: March 18th, sunrise.
Description: Shibusen agents brave underwater caverns to take out the first of three Madness emitters.

Missiongoers pile out of the mirrors early in the morning, just as the first hints of sun start to color the walls of the sandstone canyon red and purple; it'll be the last bits of real light they'll see for at least a few hours. The atmosphere is electric -- there're quite a few new (and old) arrivals who're eager to see some action, but just as many people who're feeling rather more apprehensive… And for good reason.

The only way to their destination is blocked by a few hundred yards of sunken tunnels. Luckily they've been provided with mouthpieces, breathing apparatuses with enough oxygen to last about ten minutes: more than enough time, provided that the guests don't lose their way in the dimly-lit, twisted caverns. It's as easy as following the person in front of them, right?

Upon emerging safely from the pool onto mostly-dry land, they'll find themselves in an immense cavern, illuminated by countless, blue fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling, looking like stars dotting a night sky. Already the first signs of the way Madness has been corrupting the wildlife are evident: the mushrooms exude strange spores that make some people's head pound the same way the increasingly noticeable Madness wavelength does.

As they travel further into the watery caves and explore its many branches, they'll begin to encounter creatures twisted by Madness: moles, snakes, beetles, centipedes, all grown to monstrous proportions, some with a venomous bite that quickly turns their victim feverish and delirious. The more daring fighters can easily dispatch those and delve even deeper, and it's near the source of the Madness, in the chamber housing the emitter itself, that they'll encounter the kishin eggs.

There're dozens of them-- eyeless, white, vaguely human-shaped things, but despite their blindness they have no problem finding their quarry, fighting with claws and exuding their own Madness wavelength. If the missiongoers can stand strong against the kishin eggs and the ever-present wavelength given off by the Madness emitter, Shibusen's specialists will have enough time to shut the machine down for good.

OOC NOTES.
- The event summary post containing all relevant links is located here.
- Make your own threads, but please indicate in your subject line [CHARACTER(S) | LOCATION | OPEN/CLOSED] and, if applicable, if you need a kishin egg NPC!
- The locations are the sunken tunnels, the medics area, the cave system, and the emitter chamber, but only the medics will have their designated sub-thread.
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He didn't swim that terribly, all things considered. Honestly, he'd been faring even better than he'd hoped -- two months of rest since his return to the world, and a month of conditioning in this one had done his body a lot of good. Not as much good as his Eliacube would have done, but well-- all in due time.

His question had gone unanswered, and he was about to mention it had Barricade not already descended. Had to get the last word in, eh? He knew the type (he was the type, though he wouldn't necessarily admit it.) Qilby sighed and followed. He could lament the state of his clothing later; they had work to do and, mercifully, it was interesting work.

The scientist had had the good sense to prepare beforehand, bringing a waterproof pack with him he kept slung over his shoulder. No matter how many millennia passed, his knowledge and habits never withered the way his body did-- despite his ten thousand year stint in another dimension, coming back to this sort of work was as easy as breathing. His curiosity was as insatiable as it ever was, and it was only Barricade's grumbles and snarls that kept him close behind instead of far back, resisting the urge to stop and inspect every specimen of flora they came across.

The promise of more things to see was more than enough motivation to keep him swimming ahead. Sure, the further they descended, the closer they came to Madness-- but it wasn't a risk he'd ever shied away from before.

Given the size of the tunnels, Barricade did more walking than he did actual swimming, which worked out fine for him. His headlights ensured the passage was well lit, and the two of them were probably better off than most everyone else with their flashlights. Despite his bluster, he still stopped frequently, or checked his pace to make certain the old man didn't get too far out of range. Like it or not, they were going to need one another if a Kishin came around.

He checked every sizable pocket of air that appeared above their heads, though so far there was nothing to see but rocks. And also the nasty, slimy organic things that were growing on them. Barricade dropped back down just in time to see something slide outside the periphery of his headlights, cutting easily though the water. Frag. He twisted around, trying to get whatever it was back in his sights, but it seemed to know how to avoid the beams. He only caught another brief glance, but the shape and glitter of the scales gave it away as a snake. A big one.

With no internal radio, there was no way to verbally warn Qilby. Instead, he flicked on his emergency flashers, and the rest of the passage lit up with intermittent red and blue. He stayed right where he was, one hand on the passage wall to keep his orientation as he waited for the Meister - or the creature - to catch up with him.

Qilby hardly needed the startling red and blue to tell that something was wrong, that was obvious from the way the robot twisted and turned in the water, searching for something. It was safe to say that whatever it was, it was nothing friendly. He reached for his mouthpiece-- he'd been better off saving it for when he really needed it and had, up until now, relied on the natural air pockets to breathe. But if there ended up being a protracted fight underwater (and he prayed to whatever gods watched over this wretched planet that there wouldn't) then he would definitely want it.

Something slithered between him and Barricade, quick like mercury and at least four times as long as he was tall, and he nearly dropped his air supply in shock. Did all monsters on this world grow this large, or was this just an effect of Madness? Either way he wasn't eager to investigate that particular question, instead quickly closing the distance between him and his partner. Reaching him, he knocked on his forearm with the back of his fist, hoping the message would get through: if you're going to transform today, now's as good a time as any.

The creature seemed to stalk its prey leisurely; Qilby didn't like it. He'd hunted enough monsters himself to know that when he took his time, at least, it was because he knew he was in complete control of the situation.

Once Qilby had joined Barricade, the serpent no longer seemed shy about being seen, though it had certainly not reduced its speed. It was just their luck the thing would be as large as it was, and as fast. The main path the rest of the guests had taken was probably relatively clear, as the rest of the mutant wildlife moved out to passages with easier prey. Supposedly easier prey.

Barricade ignored the unspoken command to transform, and he could always blow off any accusations Qilby might sling at him later. Not only was he unwilling to give up control to the old man, but there was still that doubt he could pull off the transformation again. If he didn't think about it too hard, well, that was fine. Unfortunately the Madness seemed to be magnifying his own doubts, and combat was the worst place for that to happen. It got mechs killed, and he hadn't survived this long to mess that up now.

Killing his flashers, Barricade flexed his claws, waiting for it to come into range again. The snake gave the unfortunate impression it was sizing them up, but he assumed it would go for Qilby rather than him. If it was an actual Kishin, then they were both targets. The only way to find out was to make it bleed, so it needed only to strike.

It was Qilby's turn to snarl, a sound that went unheard underwater, and he slammed his fist against Barricade's forearm instead-- the gesture felt good, but probably hurt his hand more than it did the machine. Of course he was saddled with the Weapon that wouldn't transform. He hadn't even had the good sense to accept one of the mundane armaments that Shibusen had offered, anything that could have helped him defend himself in exactly this situation. Stupid, incredibly stupid of him. That's what he got for trusting others to do their job!

He braced himself against the wall of the cavern and turned to regard the threat, angrily pushing away the long, thick mane of his that'd floated up in his face. The Eliatrope was nowhere near as agile in the water as he was on land, but he was damned if he was going to be taken down so easily.

Was it venomous? If it was, would Barricade even be pained by it? At this point, Qilby could only hope.

The second knock against his arm went ignored as well, although this time it was largely thanks to the serpent finally attacking. In a flash of grey scales, it spiraled up Barricade's leg and torso, pulling its neck back into the telltale S shape to strike. Whether it was aiming for his head or the Meister up against the wall over his shoulder would only be answered if either of them let it get that far.

Barricade's arm shot up in the same instant to lunged forward, slamming it against the rocky ceiling to halt its attack. It was, unfortunately, stronger than he gave it credit for, and the thing constricted around his body tight enough to throw his tenuous balance off. Sliding down closer to the floor, Barricade managed to make a fist around the serpent's neck, claws biting into flesh so that blood blossomed in the water.

That did enough to make the thing release him, but not kill it. The serpent shot off into darker waters, and Barricade clambered his way back up to Qilby. He kept his back to the wall, illuminating where it had swam off. It was unlikely they'd be lucky enough to have taken care of the problem. Looking up at the Meister, he jerked his head to indicate they ought to keep moving. This time he'd let the old man go first.

It was fast. Very fast. Qilby had just enough time -- for one sincere, frightening moment -- to doubt his ability to get away from its attack, before a metal claw shot up from beneath, pinning the thing to the rocks above and staining the water red. He recoiled from the spreading pool, pushing himself even further behind Barricade. On top of every other humiliation, he didn't need to emerge from the water in his white clothes dyed rosy pink.

The robot earned himself the most withering of stink-eyes for that, no doubt making Qilby seem entirely ungrateful... Which is exactly what he was. He whirled and took the lead, regardless of whether or not it was offered to him, kicking ahead. Caution mattered little to him at this point. It was already clearly demonstrated that should an attack happen again, he was of little use while underwater -- getting back on terra firma was priority number one.

His feet suddenly touched bottom and he pushed himself up. Space above him, no longer a ceiling on which to bump his head. He rose from the pool, dripping like a wet cat, and turned angrily on his 'partner' behind him, hissing.

"What was all that back there? If I didn't know any better, I would say you're trying to get us both killed! You--"

Qilby would have had more to add, much much more-- but something at his feet had caught his attention. He stepped back to get a closer look at the clear track left in the silt, by the sort of animal that dragged its belly across the ground. For a short moment he could do nothing but stare, before finally scowling up at Barricade and adding, "...Couldn't even finish the job and kill the damn thing."

Barricade came up out of the water after Qilby, water cascading off of him like a waterfall. With the way the Meister was acting, he had half a mind to just shake the rest of it off like a dog and drench him, but instead stood on dry ground and let it pour off. He could do that on the way out, when Qilby finally thought he would be getting dry.

"Then why don't you just wait right here, all by your lonesome," Barricade growled, leaning down ever so slightly. "And I'll go back and kill it, maybe bring you its spine if that's what you want."

By the Pit, he was going to be presenting Qilby's spine to Demona if this kept up. There hadn't been any fragging reason for him to transform down there, let alone trust himself to Qilby's hands - or hand, as it were. He took a few more steps away from the water, just in case, but dimmed his lights when he noticed the phosphorescent fungus all along the ceiling and the walls. The air down here was stale, musty, and once his filters were clear of the water, the spores started to leave a nasty aftertaste in his system.

Barricade snorted once, then twice, trying unsuccessfully to clear his olfactory sensors. This place was utterly miserable. "Let's just go," he finally snapped. Aiming his headlights down the passage ahead, the same track Qilby had spotted dragged out before them. More good news.

Edited 2012-08-26 21:16 (UTC)

Qilby glowered at the robot's turned back. He was starting to wonder if solitude wouldn't really be that much worse than wrestling with this willful machine.

The snorting didn't go unnoticed -- neither did the fascinating fungi lining the cavern, surely the source of the mealy, dry smell that was so clearly bothering Barricade. Ever the scientist, he arched a brow, curiosity temporarily overcoming his outrage.

"The air bothers you?" He spoke whilst following his purported partner, running his hand along the damp walls. His fingers came away with faintly glowing residue which he inspected carefully. Poisonous, perhaps, but clearly not as poisonous as his company was. "You seem neither fully organic nor entirely artificial-- what are you, exactly? Besides a stubborn lump?"

"The air is fine," Barricade rumbled, stooping to walk through a particular low point in the passage. He was certain there'd be more of those ahead, but at least it wasn't as restrictive as the watery tunnels. "It's the fragging spores that bother me."

He let the 'stubborn lump' insult go, otherwise it would put him one step closer to throwing the Meister to their destination. Throw, drag, kick, whatever it took to get him to shut his mouth. Resisting that meant keep playing nice, which was harder and harder the farther they went. So long as Qilby didn't start throwing mushrooms at him, they should be fine, though.

"I am -" Barricade paused, and his tone changed to sounding like he was mimicking someone he didn't like. "- an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron. Cybertronian, if that makes it easier for you to remember."

Not that Cybertron was much to write home about anymore, but that's what war did to things.

"Yes, I recall you mentioning that once before," he retorted, sounding as if Barricade had just read that off the lining of his metal underwear. "But that doesn't really answer my question."

There were the Mechasms, he supposed, and they had origins that were misty even to him and his memory. They were rather close to this 'autonomous robotic organism' in both form and function and, it seemed, likely destructiveness. But the former, as he'd proved so many thousands of years before, were easier to manipulate than this one was -- though, to be fair, purposefully inciting a war wasn't quite as hard as convincing something to join your side... And if things kept going as badly as they were going, another conflict was exactly what he was going to have on his hands.

"But my people once fought a war with a race similar to yours-- so I'm glad to see our relations are better," added Qilby, in a voice almost completely devoid of irony. It was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

What else did he want him to say? He was a robot, Qilby was an organic mass of squishy organs. That was the long and short of it.

"Sounds like your enemies had the right idea," Barricade rumbled. Megatron wouldn't put up with an entire planet full of Qilby's, that was for fragging sure. He tried one last time to dislodge the particulate clogging his intakes, but finally gave up. He'd have to wait until they'd dried out some. "And maybe you're just asking the wrong question, because I'm answering them."

Barricade pulled up short when the passageway split into two directions. The trail they'd been shadowing went off to the left, while the right passage - well, had more blue mushrooms. Unfortunately, staying on track meant heading left.

"They did, yes," he conceded. It was true enough, considering he'd been the one to put the idea in them. The questions, however, he let go. He'd drag the story out of the metal mass soon enough-- or better yet, cut it out of him like any other animal he'd opened up and peered inside in the interest of furthering his knowledge.

The path split ahead of them, and Qilby pushed his way in front of Barricade to closely inspect the walls of the left path. "This tunnel was created-- see the claw marks, there." Sure enough, the passage was lined with deep, long gouge marks. "The beast was enormous, it had to have come from a chamber large enough to house it.

"In other words, the sort of main cavern we're likely looking for. Perhaps we can finally get back on track. But first--" Qilby held up a hand, interrupting whatever response or protest he might've been met with and took a few steps down the mushroom-lit path. Dexterously, he reached into his pack and removed a small box. Inside: some small swabs and plastic bags. Without wasting a single motion, he ran a swab underneath one of the head-sized fungi and deposited the now-gently glowing stick in the bag.

He'd kept no secrets about his primary interest in this mission. If he had to endure the Cybertronian, then he'd damn well come away with something to show for it.

That wasn't really the answer he expected to hear, but didn't push it. They could share notes over their respective biology and history some other time, if at all.

Barricade looked entirely bored by Qilby's forensic blathering, although he did manage to pull his teeth back at the implication they were off course because of him. Mutant snake or not, this path was for the better, and the Meister's ungrateful attitude was wearing thin. Not that he didn't deal with that on a daily basis with other Decepticons, but the circumstances made him chafe even more.

He let Qilby play mad scientist without comment, though, instead taking a few strides down the correct passage. His own goals here consisted mostly of gathering experience and firsthand knowledge of what this world was going to throw at them. So far it was all pretty terrible, but the promise of getting to tear things apart in the future would make it all worthwhile. One of the biggest roadblocks, unfortunately, was the damned Madness Wavelength. After only one more step it seemed to suddenly magnify, and he was forced to stop mid stride. For a brief moment he felt dizzy, like his feet weren't on solid ground anymore, and then it passed.

"Definitely the right way," he muttered, wiping one hand down his face. And it was only going to get worse from here.

He turned around from his collection, peering down the second passage. "What are you--"

And then it hit him, almost literally. Not quite as hard as it had appeared to hit his companion -- whether it was because he was more resistant to it or because he was further away from the epicenter of the wave wasn't clear. Either way, he was still suitably sane if he was lucid enough to even wonder about that. It was like a constant strain ever since they had descended into these caves, as if he was holding onto the edge of a precipice. He was going strong so far, encouragingly strong, but his his fingers had to fatigue sometime and then it'd be a long, long fall from where he was so high up.

Qilby pushed himself up off his knees and moved to follow Barricade. His tone was more neutral than it'd been all day when he quietly asked, "Is it anything like you've ever encountered before?"

Barricade hadn't made any move to go farther down the passage, not wanting to find out if that was going to happen again. They had to go forward eventually, though. He glanced down at Qilby, then over his shoulder down the passage they'd come through. There was nothing back there - theoretically - but now he was starting to get really paranoid.

"Similar, sure, but there was always a concrete attack behind it," he said. Getting too close to Thundercracker's sonic boom, for example, or the uncomfortable method of making planetfall without a ship. Maybe the Madness wasn't technically as bad as some of things he'd endured and survived, but it was certainly unique. "Resonation's supposed to make it easier to resist, right?"

They could continue as they were, of course, but he had the feeling they'd both need their heads on straight if trouble came crashing their way again. Given the alternatives, he was more willing to give up control to the Meister now than he had been previously. There wasn't a whole lot of common ground between them, but a mutual sense of survival went a long way.

"So they say," came the muttered reply. So they say, indeed, but the only other time he'd resonated with someone, it'd seemed to put him in an even worse position than before. But it's not like he had anything to worry about now, right? Not like Barricade didn't already know what sort of person he really was -- his soul had nothing to hide, nothing he'd lose by baring it in resonation. And vice versa, or so he thought.

"We may not be friendly, exactly, but I do hope we're allies at the very least." It was spoken in the sort of tone that suggested he was trying not to sound too suspicious of Barricade... But wasn't doing an entirely good job of it.

Why shouldn't he be suspicious, though? Led off course under some pretension into a dark, uncharted part of the caverns... The robot was too big to fit in the main tunnels, sure, but why couldn't he have simply transformed? Why avoid the suggestion so desperately? Unless... There was some ulterior motive to getting him alone, defenseless.

He'd fallen silent, by then -- probably something Barricade saw as a mercy -- but his thoughts continued to run just as insistently as his mouth had. He wasn't sure he liked where they were going.

At this point in time, the silence was entirely unwelcome. Annoying as Qilby was, Barricade knew when he started tolerating things so they became mundane and predictable and something to except. When it vanished, then something was wrong. Right now it was obvious he wasn't the only one with the Madness scratching around inside his thoughts, and it wasn't lost on him that they were still standing in one place.

"Look," he said slowly, easing down into a crouch so he was somewhat closer to Qilby's level. With any luck he wouldn't presume Barricade was coming into biting range. "I've worked with worse than you, and I'm still around to complain about it. 'Allies' might be pushing it, but we're not -"

Barricade tensed, head snapping back around to look over his shoulder a second time. There was nothing in sight, nor anything that could be heard, except he just had the worst feeling something was back there. Logic had nothing to do with it, considering his first guess was an Autobot ambush. Thousands of years of fight or flight scenarios and protocols seemed to triggering all at the same time. Something of a nervous habit, the wheels in his wrists spun slowly of their own accord.

"We're not going back," he ground out. Which left the unfortunate reality of him transforming.

He took a step back, in spite of himself, drawing a harsh breath through slightly bared teeth. For one wild moment, it made perfect sense to just throw caution to the wind and attack the metal beast -- its eyes were well enough within reach, and he was sure that with his smaller size he'd have the advantage of maneuverability in these narrow passageways. More impressive creatures had been thoroughly defeated at his hands; it'd be easy, even without his powers. He'd even finally get to see if this thing bled blood or oil.

Just as quickly as the moment had come, it passed, and Qilby was suddenly aware he'd been frozen to the spot-- simply staring, wide-eyed, at Barricade. Speechless, stupid. He forced himself to relax, dropping his tense shoulders, unballing his white-knuckled fist and letting out a long-held breath. A thin trickle of sweat trailed its way down around the harsh angles of his face, having nothing to do with the temperature in the almost-chilly cavern.

"--no, we aren't," he finally managed to force out, inelegantly. Take his portals, fine. Take his sense of security, that was manageable. But now this world designed to take his words from him. Qilby brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, removing his glasses and holding them in his palm at the same time; that headache was getting worse. "Just... Let's just keep moving forward.

"You go first, I'll-- I'll watch behind us." He didn't relish the thought of having the robot at his back.

Barricade simply stared back at Qilby, optic shutters closing once as he waited for his words to register to the Meister. He knew that look, and the body language, as he'd seen it a thousand times over in his lifetime. It was the face of something backed into a corner and more likely to lash out, which Barricade might have actually laughed at. What, exactly, could Qilby possibly do to him? There was no laughter, though, because at present he was about the go up the wall himself if something startled him.

At Qilby's suggestion, he didn't move. Barricade was already jumping at something behind them that wasn't there, so there was no way he was letting the old man drag along behind him. Which pretty much left them right where they were, until one of them cracked completely.

"Here's a better idea," he said. "You've got one good hand and my Weapon form's going to make it better. So you and me - we resonate now or we're not going anywhere."

He really had no idea how difficult this was going to be, and resonating properly was the farthest thing from his mind right now. Transforming under these circumstances was going to be hellish, and he almost wished Bumblebee were here to sock him the face again to trigger it. Almost.

It was a trick. Qilby had pulled the same on enough people to know it when he saw one; his eyes narrowed in spite of himself. This brute thought he could fool him? When he'd played that game -- been forced to win it -- for all his life?

After all this time, he was finally fed up with hiding behind his masks, with plotting behind closed doors. It was so satisfying to be openly hostile for once, to look and sound exactly the way he felt without caring about the consequences, or better yet-- without caring whether or not he was validated. For the first time since he'd been imprisoned in that damned dimension, for the first time since he realized his gift of immortality was as much a prison as that would be-- he felt liberated.

"So eager to resonate--" His words were practically venomous, where they were once just mildy spiteful. "Where was that enthusiasm when we were being attacked?"

The old Eliatrope might not have been king, but he had the voice of one, when he had a mind to use it-- deep, powerful, the sort that filled up rooms and tried to overpower those wills that were weaker than his. The caverns carried his voice and made it seem even louder than it already was. Noisy, to be precise. Conspicuous. If a talkative meister and his sixteen foot tall metal companion had gone unnoticed by any living thing nearby, they certainly weren't now.

"Give me one good reason I should trust you now, machine."

Qilby's tone certainly gave him an impressive presence, but there were few things that truly intimidated Barricade. They started with Megatron and ended with Optimus Prime, both of which had the bite to back up their bark. It wasn't to say his words had no affect on Barricade, as they managed to wind him up even more and make him so tense he was practically vibrating with rage.

That brief moment of solidarity they'd shared after the Madness Wavelength hit was completely gone now, and Barricade stood up to his full height, claws flexing. His teeth rattled as he snarled, the sound reverberating down the passage after Qilby's voice.

"There was no reason for it then, you useless meat bag," he snapped, leaning over the Meister and taking one heavy step forward. Lifting one hand, he scraped his sharp fingers together to make sparks. "And you trust me now, or you don't - pick the second option and I'll take you back out of here in little pieces."

A few hundred yards away and around the blind corner of the passage, something stirred. The sound attracted it first, but now there was the scent of two souls. Not very powerful souls, unfortunately, but a meal was a meal.

Things were escalating. Good, let them escalate! He'd always been an instigator, never one to sit back passively as the world passed around him. Neither was he one to shrink from a challenge; he stood his ground solidly against Barricade's menacing advance, head tilted back arrogantly. Though much of that had to do with the fact that he was less than half the robot's size, he still managed to make it seem as if he was looking down on the much larger person, and not up.

It was with an almost gleeful grin -- full of oddly-sharp teeth, for a humanoid -- that he prepared to prod the lion in its cage even further. Qilby almost got that far, mouth slightly open with more goading words in store, before a faint noise made him snap his head forward down the passage.

A moment of sobering clarity hit him-- for one miraculous second, survival was more important than indulging his starved ego and, incredibly, he balked. He glanced back up at Barricade out of the corner of his eye and in that look was clear, obvious apprehension. "I..." He began, the weaker, gentler tone sounding positively foreign coming out of his mouth, now. "... I'm not useless."

Yeah, that was convincing. Qilby drew a shuddering breath and tried again. "I-- I don't think I'm quite feeling myself right now. You're right." After a moment's hesitation, he held out his hand. "Transform now, while we're both lucid."

Barricade was ready for it, either to snap back or start a damn fight regardless of who instigated. He'd had larger and nastier than Qilby back him into a corner and pressure him into a scuffle. The fact that he was still alive, thousands of years later, was proof enough of what he could face and survive.

The chance to make good on his threat was gone almost as quickly as it had come, as Qilby looked away from him and faltered. Oh, so now he agreed with him? Get him all wound up for a fight he'd been wanting since he arrived here, then revert to the meek old man? Furious, Barricade slammed his fist into the cavern wall above Qilby's head, before pulling away and walking half a stride back. He stilled when he picked up on the same noise that the Meister did, realizing now what had brought about the change. Nothing like a little outside pressure to put things into perspective.

He looked down at Qilby's offered hand, realizing he would have rather fight the man than try to transform. The easy way was never the right way, unfortunately. As for how useless Qilby thought he wasn't, Barricade would believe it only when he saw it.

"Fine," he growled, optics darting between the hand and the steadily increasing sound down the passage. Barricade was all too aware of how phenomenally bad what was about to say would sound. "Just - give me a minute."

Qilby turned his head away from the impact above his head-- not out of fear, or weakness, but simply to avoid the little pieces of cavern wall that showered over him. There it was again, his control was back. If that was Madness just now, it was... Intoxicating. Alluring, even. But the only thing he hated worse than having to fetter himself was not having the discipline to do it if he so desired. He valued freedom -- the freedom to be as horrible to Barricade as he pleased or not -- but not at the expense of his will, his own strength.

For all his assertiveness, that was a weakness he'd shown before, and it wasn't one he was going to show again if he had any say in the matter.

Qilby let his hand drop slowly, forcing himself to look more quizzical than frustrated when he urged, "But I thought you said you could--" He cut himself off, struggling to ignore the insistent pounding in his head. It was comforting, easier to think that the struggling feeling meant that he was warding off the Madness, that he was fighting and winning.

"Hold onto that anger if it helps you," he advised, sounding like his dry old self again and shooting slightly nervous glances up the tunnel. "If you can't transform and we die here, you won't get a chance to try and hurt me the way you've been wanting to this entire venture."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

go go team paranoia

the most ineffectual

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject