Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River did indeed see Mouse look at the remains of the stereo, turning to raise an eyebrow while holding a big bag of what certainly smelled like shrimp. Shrugging, he wandered in and set down the bag, fishing out two baskets from the local seafood place and setting them down. "Nothing really, I don't know anyone, have a stupid budget, and was bored. So I figured, what the fuck, I know River, River likes Shrimp, if I bribe her with shrimp, maybe I can pretend to be social for awhile!" Mouse said, chuckling as he passed her the basket, which turned out to be weighing close to a pound of the delicious little golden brown morsels.

Flopping onto the couch with his own, he popped on in his mouth and sighed happily. "So I'm bored, your stereo is broken, and I have NOTHING better to do. So... eat and be merry? Or should we be drinking to..." Mouse said, chuckling as he thought about it.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Yeah, pass on the booze for me, thanks. Got some in the far shelf over there if you want some yourself, though." She said with a chuckle. pointing it out before taking the offered basket. "Wow, some budget." She said, taking a small handful of the shrimp and putting the basket on the table. "So, get to play with any fancy new toys yet?" She asked, leaning back and popping a few shrimp in her mouth.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Nope~! I got to sit in a small dark room and flail around at my laptop while frigid bitch barked orders at me. Something has her more pissed then usual. She was mad as hell about your laptop being squeaky, ahh well" Mouse said, opting just to munch on his shrimp now that he had properly flopped down.

"Besides, now that I'm free today, and have a pile of shrimp, I'm not touching a computer on anyone elses say so for the rest of the day and to hell with em. What about you? What went wrong on your end?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Ugh. Just... Feels like the whole day is one big, black spot, you know?" She said with a shake of her head, filling her mouth with another round of shrimp.

"You said no computers, right? Does a console count? Game selection is pretty limited, but I grabbed a few of the older ones for cheap when I picked the thing up, might be something we can veg behind for a while."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Considering I lived underground, and rarely left a 20 foot area? Sure, yea I know what that's like. I call it Tuesday" Mouse said, chuckling as he thought for a moment. "as for games? Yup, Though I heard there was some trippy shit called Sunlight that I was itching to try, apparently you can kill ants with it or some shit. So.. I'm eating a fuckload of shrimp instead, that way I'm too full to act on this obviously unhealthy compulsion. So sure, I'm in for Veg, not picky either, but we're going to need soda.... And I brought shrimp, soda's on you" Mouse said.

Tossing several shrimp into the air, the techy caught them all in his mouth, displaying something he had obviously practiced way too often, and grinning after he'd swallowed.

"Game of choice is on you as well. Something with cars, or aliens and explosions, or Tetris."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River gave a laugh at his Tuesday comment. "I'd be careful about that whole Sunlight deal, i head it can cause people to spontaneously combust, first time they see it. I got pepsi the drawer below the booze, have at it. Might get some hot tea for myself, in a bit." She said, standing and moving to the tv. "Caaars, I guess. They went through the trouble of getting me a fake license, And I bought all this to figure it all out, so I may as well get some practice in, right. I, uhh, only have one wheel. You okay using a controller?"

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"Controller's Fine" Mouse said, coming back with his drink and cracking the can with a satisfying snap. Flopping down again and reaching for what could only be called, Shrimp Mountain, Mouse thought for a moment. "I heard about driving to, from what I understand it's something like, 5 points for every pedestrian, 15 if they're old, 25 if they're land whales, and with bonus points for street signs and shopping carts and wheelchairs, right?" He said, poking fun at River as he waited for entertainment to commence.

Soon the soda can became an empty soda can, and then 5 empty cans, and then a small, well built pyramid, at about the same pace that Shrimp Mountain disappeared, at least on Mouse's count, minutes and then hours flying back as River got more familiar with a driving wheel, and Mouse consistently kicked her butt using the more familiar controller.

It was quite easy, and possible, even relaxing, to spend her entire evening like this, and Mouse wouldn't raise any objections, though he'd probably bum around on her couch or the floor. But it was easy to see Mouse was happy as a clam doing something that resembled normal with a friend, even if they'd never been all that close before, and River would have to be the one to kick him out if that was what she wanted.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

"That's road polo, it's a running joke about bad drivers, I think." River said with a chuckle, bringing the cans over and settling herself under the racing wheel.

Hours passed like that, River adding cans to the pyramid as well, slowly getting better with the wheel ,though a good-natured round of cussing followed pretty much every race, the runner blaming her poor standings on the wheel, for the most part. They wound down eventually, River trading the wheel for a proper controller when they switched to an older shooter, gunning down zombies until Mouse looked like he was ready to pass out, laying on the couch with his feet on River's lap. Glancing at her phone, she saw it was nearing three in the morning, so she put the controller down. "Time to crash, eh? Stick on the couch, if ya want, I don't mind." She told him, shifting his legs momentarily to stand.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The nerdfest was awesome in all intended definitions of the word, both Mouse and River having a pretty good time with it, all things considered. Soon the pyramid of cans could be deemed as some kind of strange altar to the pepsi gods, and a look at the clocks pointed out the rather rediculous hour.

Nudging Mouse's feet off her lap, the computer guru mumbled something and just promptly passed out after a short nod. He had driven many cars, and slain many undead, he deserved his sleep, as did River. Standing up, Mouse passed out, and the bedroom calling to her, River wandered in to find nothing out of the ordinary, though something in the air made her hair stand on end.

Well well well~ Look who had a good evening! Attached to the little Mouse? He's a sweet thing if you poke around in his head and heart a little, Really he wouldn't hurt a fly~ You however my Pet, are going to hurt a lot more then that before you're done here. You have 3 days to bring Hervo to me. Do not disappoint me River... Ferenze whispered into her mind, the sigils around her neck glowing in the low light as her Master called out to her and made his expectations clear...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The woman chuckles a bit as Mouse passed out, leaving him there and wandering off to her room, ready for bed herself.

Ferenze's voice sounded in her head, and she stiffened, her eyes searching the room for any sign of him. "Leave Mouse alone." She said to the empty room slowly. Again, she meant it as a threat, but it came out in the tone of a suggestion, or a request, even. "And what am I supposed to do in three days? Hervo runs the portal, I don't even know where he usually is, and i run around asking how to get back into Hell, and they're just gonna lock me up. Your plan ss.. needs some work."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Alright River~ Make you a deal I will, you manage this in 72 hours, and I'll leave Mouse alone, and Jess, and Vorlan, and everyone else, even little Henrietta and I'd love to wring her little insane neck~ Though... She does make me laugh on occasion. I don't care how you do it, I don't care if you have open his throat to make him bleed on that stone, you get him here where I can have him again, and nothing else will matter. But since you seem adamant in having more guidance, allow me to enlighten you on something they haven't told you... Ferenze answered, and River could practically see him in the shadows, like a mist with form for a moment as he reached across the veil.

The Tower, the Council, other such organizations... they all run on information, the more of that you destroy, the weaker they become, less organized, more paranoid, and if you do it right, and I know you can, you can have them at eachother's throats rather then sniffing around yours for blood. In fact, you know it's gotten pretty lonely here in Hell, the Tower and it's helping hand attitude alleviates so much suffering where the other races are concerned, giving them info, rather then letting their hearts turn black as coal, the way I need them... The way MY Masters need them... So why don't you start with that little computer they have downstairs, where you first learned everything~ Hell, I bet Mouse there could tell you, or even help you, find others just like it for you to destroy... Get started River, the clock is Ticking...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River listened, standing stock still in her room, nothing but her eyes shifting around. She gasps when she caught his smoky image in a dark corner, her gaze fixing there.

She stayed silent as Ferenze told her about how the tower ran. She knew the basics of it well enough, given she was paid to run info around as a general rule, she knew it's importance. She hadn't thought of it as a way to help get her to Hervo, though. Now that the thought was in her head, the walls converged on it, and she groaned as Ferenze disappeared, everything pulling her to act on the knowledge, and -now-.

Walking back into her closet, she ported again, this time aiming to get into the info room she had spent all that time in before. Last she was there, under the desk had enough shade for her, though things may have changed, if they thought of adding security against her since then.

If she did make it, first order of business was looking around, making sure she didn't appear to have tripped anything.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Shuddering as Ferenze slid away again, River turned to act on his info almost immediately, heading back to her little corner in the closet, and dropping into her own sidespace. Through the black, into the veil of shadows that always seemed so welcoming before. They seemed doubly so now, though they lacked the homey feeling of hell, they felt Right in a sense that her current collar did not.

Rushing through the different shadows around the building, River found that they had installed security against her, the shadows in the room she was trying to enter all but nonexistent as light rods had been added to almost every surface... But it was imperfect, based on old information. Focusing on her original power, on the substance of the Wraith that writhed around her soul like a shield, River started popping the lights, the ones running the floor dimming, and then dying, before River slid into the space under the desk she'd wanted, and everything kicked back on.

If it had looked like anything to someone watching, it would have looked like a power surge, and River was grateful that this interior room, above all others, did not have cameras in it, as the security of it's exterior was so tight that they were unnecessary in almost every circumstance. She could work at leisure, though dawdling would be a mistake.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The woman stepped out from under the desk, glancing around as her hellish features grew back out again, a subconscious response to the plot she was carrying out. At first, her plan was simply to smash the entire setup, but then her gaze passed over the injector beside it.

Her mind went into overdrive, recalling all the options in it from earlier. Trying not to think too hard on it lest the walls close in, she sat at the console, trying to find the list again, booting the device up. Angel, or Mage maybe... Vampire. Much as she would hate losing the ability to go out in the day, it would -have- to be better than now...

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The injector kicked on as soon as River fired up the terminal, sifting through what was available, finding the layout just the same as before with the options for the change setup in their own subsection, a far simpler list available including several strains of lycanthropy, a base strain, and even something else under that subset labeled Proto Receiver. There was Vampirism, Mage, Telekine... But Angel was most notably not among them, neither was demonic.

Underneath all of them was a simple set of instructions, her tail lashing side to side slowly while her wings obliterated her shirt as they burst into existence. "select operable strain, insert left arm for injection, await further prompts from infusion device. Warning, This is not to be done alone." the instructions read, and all she had to do was make a choice, and let the machine do the rest, though it had no consequences of any one choice listed. Apparently, this was meant to be done with some kind of witness to explain things further.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The woman let out a soft curse as she looked at the list, her top pick to try and disrupt her captor out of her reach, at least this way. Scanning the rest, she went over the options, her panic level rising as she read the instructions. There had been a primer on how the thing worked before, but she couldn't remember all of it. At least her mind recalled most of the details on what the pros and cons of each kind were. Reaching over to insert her arm, she paused a moment. If the injection knocked her out or something, there's be too many questions if they found her here. So she used a strip of her now-ruined shirt for a tourniquet, tying it around her upper arm. She'd inject herself now, then port back to her room before letting it hit her bloodstream at large.

She settled on Mage after a few more seconds. Her imagination most certainly included a way out of this mess, it was the best chance she had available. Putting her bound arm in once more, she braced herself, finger hovering over the start button...

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

She could hear Ferenze laughing in the back of her mind as she struggled against the barriers he'd erected in her way, and those most certainly included magic, he didn't want anyone from the council breaking her free so easily, and it amused him greatly that River's hope was not there, that an Angelic Strain was beyond her reach, something he had not known before.


In the depth of Ferenze's amusement however, there was a brush, a push, that if what River wanted was really strength against Master, then she needed to pick something different, Ferenze practically daring her... and then flat out Commanding her to try. Though... Then he changed tactics again, his laughter growing almost seductive as River felt control of her body seized, and she had to watch as Ferenze forced her to take her time, filing through the different options, the strain in her hand and fingers like a bad joke or empty threat as Ferenze made her feel like he was about to force something else on her. And her hand hovered the longest over one of the lycanthrope strains, specifically the one called Proto Receiver. I never thought they'd keep anything this dangerous as a selection, you know what that is River? That's the original strain, not the base, not something a little fairy would have pumping through their veins. That strain is the one that the horror stories are written about, even among your fellow freaks of nature... Ferenze breathed, making it feel as if it was right into her ear, behind her, impossibly close, before an image of a true nightmare, a monster wreathed in fur and towering over her, was shoved into her mind, River barely coming up to it's waist as it breathed down at her in a raspy growl.

Mmm Bet someone as narcissistic as you would LOVE looking like that, wouldn't you. I could enjoy the show as everyone met you with a scream of terror before you lost all control and decided they were just snack food... Ooo Here's an option! You want to fight River? You think this will help you? There we are... River was freed from the vision, her head turning to watch, as Ferenze slid her hand across the terminal, and highlighted Telekine. If you think you want the headache of trying to slip my leash, then by all means, wear yourself out trying, not like Mouse or your other friends will suffer from your wasting my time, and my patience... the demon hissed, before sliding her hand over and slapping the start button, the needle diving into her arm, before she tore away the feeble barrier her makeshift tourniquet, and she felt whatever had been in that needle pulse through her bloodstream like fire, her head feeling like it was going to explode from the pressure as her vision began to fade. There you are Pet. something new for you to play with. Enjoy... Ferenze whispered, before fading away again, leaving River there in pain to escape on her own.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River let out a grunt as her finger stopped, Ferenze having taken personal notice. "Dammit..." She cursed through gritted teeth. Her body was frozen, but her mind railed against her bonds anew, the small but active part of herself party to the spectacle, watching, helpless.

Her hand flicked along to Ferenze's little speech, the vision of the creature Proto Receiver creates making a shiver of fear spread through her anew. "No, stop this..." She gasped, the vision disappearing in time for her to see the selection. A grunt escaped her as the needle stabbed in, her free hand removing the tourniquet before she slumped, the demon giving her back control of herself just as a wave of dizziness assaulted her, whatever serum the machine held hitting her system far earlier than she had planned. She groaned, trying to bring the lights down so she could port back out, but the walls prevented her. She still had work to do for the demon here, after all.

Gripping her head with one hand, she called shadows with the other, gritting her teeth against the burn as she brought them down, smashing the console and the machine beside it in two or three heavy blows. Then the walls receded, letting her dampen the lights and leave, reappearing under her bed and simply laying there, forcing the demonic features back in as she writhed in pain from the serum, biting her lip until it bled, to keep from making enough noise to wake the twitchy individual in the next room.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River was trapped until she'd accomplished her goal here for Ferenze, and as she thrashed on the floor for a moment, trying to call on her power, it felt strange, alien for a moment, before it was aimed at the terminal, and she slashed it into pieces, before they burst into flames that threw a violet light splashing across the walls, reduced to ash in moments.

Now that the terminal was gone, River was free to enjoy her new headache, and leave, and after a struggle and more pain then she'd endured in awhile, River slid back into her shadowscape, and came out with a thud on the other side, underneath her bed, trying to stifle the pain as her skull pounded and something started to change.

Writhing on the ground, tasting the fresh copper and iron in her own blood as she bit down, eventually River blacked out where she was, not waking until morning as the sun started to creep in from the windows she had neglected, with the sound of Mouse snoring quietly in the other room greeting her.

She'd need to change, and judging from the flashing yellow and blue lights on her wall, she was to be expecting company here pretty soon...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River woke with a groan, trying to rise but bumping her head on the underside of the bed. Oh, right. She'd tried a quick out and dug herself further into the hole she was in, now she remembered.

Sighing as she slid out from under her bed, the blue and yellow light immediately made her jump. Of course there was a general alarm going on. Groaning and hearing the still-snoring Mouse outside, she stripped off the remains of her shredded top, focusing a second as she brought it near a window, lighting it on fire as she held it near the window, letting the draft suck the smoke out. Then she grabbed one of her lazy band shirts, pulling it on and checking herself in a mirror. Way her head pounded, she couldn't be sure she was all 'normal' without a visual second opinion.

Image completed, she wandered into the main room to get herself a glass of water, leaning her pounding skull on the cool marble countertop between sips, simply waiting.