songerein | [Semi-closed] | Icarus Was My Best Friend

Entry tags:

[Semi-closed] | Icarus Was My Best Friend

Who: Otto Octavius, Rob, everyone who volunteered for the mini plot
Which: Log | Closed
Where: Riverside warehouse
What: 'Doc Ock' has finally finished his life's work. Again. Turns out, nuclear reactors are dangerous. Who knew?
Warnings: TBA in the comment titles if needed

The morning of the 14th dawns as any other, at least at first. It's brisk and calm, up until it isn't. Clouds begin to gather above the riverside district. In a world where emotions can call upon rain, that may not be so odd. Not long after, the earthquakes begin; just minor tremors. A portrait may slip sideways and the coffee inside one's cup may ripple. The closer one is to the riverside, the more noticeable it is. It would be a small inconvenience, were it not for the fact that the tremors don't stop. They just keep going and going and going…

Magnets stop working and if they were clinging to a surface before, they now fall to the ground, their purpose stripped from them. Then they begin to move, sliding along the floor until they inevitably hit an obstacle. Small bits of metal follow the same pattern, be it a paperclip or a screw, all headed in the same direction: the riverside warehouse district. The more observant characters will realize that something's definitely happening.

All who choose to follow the metal bits along their journey will be led to the source of the problem. The clouds centered over one particular warehouse flash ominously. One might mistake it for lightning, but the color is too warm. It looks more like solar flares. Is that still dreamotion effects caused by one person, or is something happening to amplify these effects? The signs outside the warehouse's outer walls warn against intruding. There's a good reason for that, as those who approach may soon
discover.

((OOC: Please use the nested prompts for your replies!))

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[Throughout this whole ordeal, Eustace had been up on the upper walkways and hidden in the darkest of shadows. With everyone below occupying each other, it had been easier to slip in and get into position, but he had to be careful. The slightest sound or movement would give away his position, and it was one of the best ones he had determined.

Now it was a waiting game, both for his weapon, Flamek, to silently charge and for him to get a clear shot. Otto being so close to the reactor was also a factor—although he could control his shot so that the electricity wouldn't hit the others, he's uncertain if a stray spark would trigger the reactor. So he had to wait until Otto was farther away. It would have been better if they could talk him out, but it was clear it was not going to happen. Not when he was so insistent it would work.

Truthfully, as patient and hardened as he is, there had been times he wished he could act sooner, such as when Ferran was hit or the knowledge that every passing second the conditions around the reactor was worsening. But he's been through these ordeals countless times and he knows: hold onto his resolve and if he has to wait until the last possible second so be it.

And he finally gets that chance.

When Otto swings up to the crossbeam, Eustace has to momentarily steady himself as the section of the warehouse collapses. They might be seconds away from complete disaster and he has no more reason to hold out. It only takes him a second to aim at Otto's back and another to pull the trigger, releasing all the electricity from the fully charged weapon. And just like a lightning bolt it zaps through the air in the blink of an eye, the sound of its release following only right after impact.

It's not enough to kill the man, especially since the tentacles will be taking the brunt of the impact, but enough to shock, stun, paralyze, and short circuit the tentacles. What happens after...]

[The quake and destruction of the back wall meant nothing to Otto. All sacrifices that have to be made. This whole building was expendable to begin with. Ferran's words mean nothing to him either. The sun's stability has to get worse before it can get better, he's convinced of that. Everything that's happening is expected and so, he has no reason to stop it. They have no reason to stop it.

It has to be finished.

But any reply he could've possibly snapped Ferran's way dies in the back of his throat before it could ever go beyond. The light of the electricity headed his way, casting an erratic yellow hue over their surroundings, invades his sight only a fraction of a second before the attack hits him square in the back. The actuators do take the brunt of it and they scream, both inside Otto's mind and outside it, as a most curious metallic screech cuts through the noise that was already present in the hall. So he screams, overwhelmed in that brief moment by just how loud the voices are, unable to differentiate where their misery ends and his own begins. The electricity surges up his spine, the pain and shock washing towards the very tips of his fingers and toes.

And then he blacks out. The actuators' claws open, their hold on the ceiling lost, and his limp body drops.]

Heaven wouldn't let me anywhere near the Pearly Gates even if you planned to show me them.

[Alastor's eyes are locked on those two shotguns as he keeps walking forward. Really, it's impressive that this stranger can dual wield them. Unlike in the picture shows, firing two guns simultaneously was quite difficult. His focus is primarily on the fingers on the triggers. He can teleport away easily but he wants to waste some of this man's ammunition in the process, so that means cutting the teleport very close to the man actually firing.]

[His ears prick up as the doctor screams. He doesn't look away from the triggers. He stops.]

I think that the best course of action right now is to deal with that miniature sun of his, don't you? We can always pick up this game later.

Edited 2022-05-26 23:06 (UTC)

[Well, Eustace's weapon certainly delivers on electricity, there's no denying that.

Ferran doesn't waste any time once he sees the lightning hit its mark and the man and his extra arms seem to lose consciousness—he leaps down and essentially tackles Octavius, but with a spin that means Ferran's magically-sturdy back is the one that hits the ground. It's not an elegant landing by any means, nor one without significant scrapes and bruises, but it's likely a better one than it would have been without his intervention.

It takes him a second to regain his senses and roll the unconscious man off of him, before he finally sits up and turns his attention back to what's now definitely the more dangerous aspect of the situation. But then, he glances momentarily back to Otto, hoping the attack was enough to keep the arms disabled but allow the man to come to the surface.]

Try to wake him up, he might be willing to help!

[Might isn't the best reassurance, he knows. So to stall for time, he summons a circle of plain-looking stones around the reactor with a forward reach of his arms and a red glittering light, and reaches for a power he hasn't used in close to a year. It may only be a weaker recreation of his Fae rings, or perhaps his desperation and determination will be enough to entirely keep the sun from lashing outside of that circle, but for now, its effects should be minimized...]

[Eustace jumps down from his position and lands nearby before approaching the fallen Otto and Ferran. The tentacles are definitely neutralized, though whether Otto will regain consciousness in time is another matter. Seeing the reactor deteriorating, he only glances at Ferran as he seems to be attempting some kind of magic.]

Might not be enough time. Are you trying to contain it?

[Have a smack to the face, Otto, one on wake up. Would some ice help? Because Eustace will unceremoniously conjure some and let it smack Otto's cheek. Yeah it should be water but that would be dangerous with the electricity still crackling around the tentacles.]

[Were it not for that smack across the face, Otto likely would've remained unconscious for several minutes. As it stands, the icey cold invasion to his senses drags him towards an immediate awakening. His ears are ringing and his mind almost seems to be buzzing. His entire body aches from a mixture of long-term exhaustion and the after effects of the electricity. He can barely move; it's just a twitch of the fingers and a sideways roll of the head.

Why is it so quiet? Where is he? What...?

His eyes snap open quite suddenly as he draws in a deep, rattling breath. He's barely aware of the people around him. All he sees is the walls and the ceiling, groaning under the pressure of the reactor. Not again... And he can't even speak, because what is there to say?]

[Both Alastor coming into prime firing range and the Doctor screaming over being electrocuted - oh he knew what that was like - pushed Reaper into engaging. It seemed the old mad scientist would probably need assistance, so he needed to give himself space for his own teleportation abilities to cover the distance quickly.

In less than the blink of an eye, his forefingers moved to the triggers as he discharged one shotgun after the other, suddenly moving to his right at the same time. His aim was perfect, not that it mattered at this range. If any of the pellets struck, they would cause a burning sensation as any energy or life would be drained away.]

Less talking, puppet.

[As he moved, he was looking at the distance where Doc was, estimating the distance visual as black smoke curled off of him as he prepared to teleport.]

[Alastor's timing is off. Some of the pellets do hit, but he fortunately teleported out of the way of the bulk of them. He's clutching at his chest as he reappears on the opposite side of the infernal machine. Being dead doesn't free one from pain...or at least being dead and a demon from Hell doesn't. Could be angels don't have that problem. The injury burns something fierce since Alastor isn't your typical meat sack: He's basically all soul.]

You'll have to forgive the chatter. Holdover from my profession in life.

[He's still smiling though it's wide and filled with fangs. It's sorely tempting to chuck a fireball into the machine just to spite the stranger in the mask.]

[No. Wait until there are no other options left. Then chuck a fireball into the machine since at that point they'll be doomed anyway. Make it quick.]

[To Eustace, Ferran admits:]

I can't keep it back for long...

[He already feels a kind of strain that's decidedly different from the usual—maintaining the ring around the reactor feels like he's struggling to keep a bicycle upright, only certain about what he wants the result to be without knowing entirely how to get there, with more than a few scrapes as a risk to failure. The Fae instinct that might have guided him is gone, so all he can use is his willpower and intent to contain it.

The sound of gunshots doesn't help his concentration, and the idiot in the mask trying to fight them off isn't something he can ignore even without the noise, but hopefully his interference won't matter much... The scientist is awake now, at least.]

Octavius! Snap out of it!

Keep trying, I'll hold them off.

[Already he can sense that Reaper will be heading over or aiming his gun, but he had to prepare for every possibility in a split second. For now he repositions himself to more in front of Ferran and Otto, rifle raised and primed as he aims and fires a shot at Reaper in hopes of getting it off while he's still distracted.

But is he too late?]

[The sound of the shotgun blasts, echoing off what remains of the warehouse's walls, sends Otto into a fresh wave of alarm. Is that gunfire, or an indirect result of the reactor losing its stability? Doesn't matter- either option is awful. This is all his doing. This is all his fault.

The sound of his name has a somewhat sobering effect. Despite the noise, despite the chaos, despite the impending disaster, there are still other people here. Right. Of course there are. He was just fighting them, wasn't he? -Weren't they? One shaky hand is raised to his aching head and the next second, he tries to sit up. It's a struggle, because with the actuators out of commission, they're acting as literal dead weight. Even so, he succeeds in rolling himself onto his side, then pushing himself away from the ground with one arm.]

What are you all still doing here? [His tone of voice is softer than it usually is. Not at all the venomous bark one might associate with this man.] ... Just run.

[Shooting at him? Well, well, finally, someone with some damn class. With the skinny scarecrow backing off, his immediate challenger had changed to who was firing upon him. So be it.

The bullet struck him in the shoulder, but it barely moved him. All it did was earn a hissing growl as he crossed his shotguns over each other and became smoke, suddenly reappearing on the same level as his shooter. He moved quickly to put himself in range as he began to fire on the rifle-wielding man, and he made certain to keep collateral damage mitigated.]

Thought you had control, Doc

Edited 2022-05-30 14:10 (UTC)

[Alastor snorts at the idea that Octavius ever had control. ~~Obviously, that had been the illusion the whole time.~~ However, he looks about, trying to find something to at least delay what was going to happen for a chance at miraculously stopping it.]

[Hope is insidiously annoying that way. You'd think someone who'd spent decades in Hell would've lost it, but nope.]

[A shame that the radio is gone. He could've sent out an evacuation announcement to those who had no idea they were about to become food for a miniature star.]

I don't suppose there's an off switch somewhere?

[Said with dry sarcasm, clearly expecting a "no".]

This isn't just going to affect you if we leave!

[Self-sacrificing idiot—like that would solve any of these problems. The man probably hasn't even seen how it's been affecting everything outside, with the quakes and the clouds and the magnetic fields... but they don't have time for Ferran to berate him. He can do that later, when he's not struggling to keep up the temporary barrier.]

How do we stop it?

[Eustace anticipated Reaper turning to him, but the sudden teleportation catches him a little off guard. He's able to dodge roll out of the way, but not without getting grazed by at least one of the shots. Regardless he fires back in kind, keeping Reaper in his sights as a surge of electricity shoots through the air towards his new opponent.

He intends to keep Reaper engaged and out of Ferran's way.]

[The implication that it would affect him at all hadn't quite made its way through his addled mind yet. Ferran's words are what cement that if the containment breaches entirely, it won't just be the warehouse that gets destroyed. There's no telling just how much damage it could do when unleashed, nor how much of Reverein would still be left standing afterwards. So he struggles to rid himself of the fog in his mind- to gain some clarity. He shakes his head roughly]

You can't... It's self-sustaining now. The reactions will keep cascading. [That's the whole principle of a nuclear fusion reactor- to mimic the sun's almost endless fusion chain. Unlimited power contained for humanity to harness, or so it should've been.] But it's not going to stabilize, is it...? The only way left is to...

[The words won't quite leave his mouth. His life's work. All those years, all that effort, all those sacrifices. People have died for this to succeed. ...No, that's not quite right. They died because Otto wouldn't accept failure- it's not the same thing. It's all his fault.]

... Destroy it. Not just the machine- the sun itself. Drown it.

[Twisting to the side and ducking to avoid the shot returned at him, then he began to run forward to make a rifle far more difficult to use against him. The lightning? Well, that wasn't his first electrical rodeo, and he kept well away from metal to conduct and turned certain body parts at risk to smoke to avoid it.

All the close the distance.

Even in the heat of combat, he was listening for signs that this was going fubar, which it definitely sounded like it was. This was what he got for trusting a non-vetted scientist. Half of them were just coo-coo and the other half was too arrogant to realize their own blind spots.]

Fix it, Doc. [It wasn't a question. It was a demand. He'd shoot them all if he had to, especially since he was right at the door step of their position now.]

[Drown it? The hell was that supposed to -- ]

[The clear view of the river answered that question before he could even finish it in his head.]

[Alastor brings two fingers to his lips and gives a loud whistle, getting the attention of the shadows lurking warily at the edges. They swarm around him, eager to have some direction.]

Clear a path between here and the waterfront. I don't want a single bit of debris blocking it.

[The shadows dart away, starting to grab rubble and toss it to either side. It doesn't make a perfectly smooth path, but at least there won't be much the machine could get caught on after they figured out how to start shoving it into the river.]

[Seriously!? Octavius has clearly told them to destroy the machine and this shadowy prick with the shotguns still has the audacity to act like it's something that can be saved, let alone be worthwhile.]

Stop shooting and help us move the thing, asshole!

[If he wasn't already struggling to maintain the barrier ring, he'd consider making it a hypnotic command. Hopefully it won't come to that, but he doesn't have much more to offer to the effort of, as the Doctor said, drowning the machine.]

Edited 2022-06-04 04:37 (UTC)

[Difficult, maybe, but Eustace was well versed in close combat. Skillfully he twirls his weapon like a blade to parry whatever initial attack when Reaper reaches him before ducking out to get into a different stance. In the process he pulls out the long knife he always carries with him to wield, but instead of the weapon there's a sudden wave of ice that he shoves towards Reaper to try and knock or at least force him back to regain some distance.]

We are seconds away from disaster. If you try to interfere I'll stop you, but it would be better for everyone if you helped us instead.

[Fix it? Otto doesn't even know what's meant with those words. Fix the reactor? Fix the situation? Fix himself? He can't do any of that.

It's with extreme difficulty that he moves himself into a complete sitting position, as his muscles still protest and his back in particular aches. The electricity really did a number on him. One of the tentacles twitches awkwardly and something similar to static seems to wash through Otto's mind. His hands move up towards his head, cradling it.

He's not going to be of any help to either side at the moment.]

[Reaper twisted to avoid the ice, but at the same time he tossed one of his massive shotguns at the contained 'sun'. It was, of course, pulled in, and he gave a sort of shudder at the information that was given to him when the shotgun was destroyed.

At the same time, he used his remaining shotgun as a melee weapon to block any knife strokes. He stopped his advance though, accessing the situation and then simply shrugging his shoulders. He had absolutely no skin in the game here, and none of these idiots dying would bring him any sort of care in the world.

Strategically, this had become a worthless situation. Nothing of value would be had.]

None of you have any particular value to me. [He turned his head to Alastor.] Don't die permanently. I'll be disappointed if you do.

[And with that, Reaper simply dissolved into black smoke and retreated well away from the area. There was only one person who he might help in such a situation, and they were tied up probably cursing and howling like a moron anyway. Sorry peeps, you're on your own.]

[Alastor beams at that not-so-friendly farewell.]

What a charming fellow!

[...Alastor, that is the same man who literally shot you a few minutes ago, but okay.]

[Making a mental note to find and meet up with the stranger again (perhaps greet him with a friendly stab or two to return the favor), Alastor quirks an irritated an eyebrow at the not-so-good doctor.]

[He looks to his shadow which shifts unhappily into its shadow stag shape.]

Yes, yes, I know it's humiliating, but we're limited on options.

[Let's see...rope or a spare cable...rope or a spare cable...Spare cable! There you are! He ties one end of it in a loop and wraps it around his shadow's neck. It trots unhappily in the direction of the waterfront while Alastor circles the machine's base, coiling the cable around it.]

[His ears are flat against his skull due to his displeasure at how hot and bright the miniature sun is, particularly having to get so close to it. He's going to be seeing spots for hours, assuming he doesn't just go blind from all this.]

[And tying the end of the coil onto the rest leading to his shadow before grabbing the tow line himself. He's facing the machine, eyes narrowed and smile filled with gritted fangs, as he and his shadow start to tug on the cable. He's not sure if it's the support struts or the cable itself causing that metal groaning due to tension, but he knows he and his shadow aren't making any immediate progress.]

If you gentlemen aren't too busy, some assistance would be appreciated!

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[Semi-closed] | Icarus Was My Best Friend

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