Downstairs: Akechi Goro in: 'The Lab' The stairs down, at first, are blocked by a heavily reinforced steel door, wide enough for two trucks to drive through side by side, the metal standing pristine and impenetrable.
Upon being approached by anyone close to Wolf, however, there's a flicker, a strange distortion that pixelates the scenery for the briefest moment- and the door shakes, as something impacts it from the opposite side. Muffled, hidden behind inches of solid steel, something massive bellows with rage and pain, the sound halfway between a scream and a howl. The metal begins to glow, red-hot, a set of three claws piercing it-
And then the distortion vanishes. The entryway is now badly burned- as though a terrible fire had rampaged through it, a notice on the reinforced front door indicating the building has been condemned. Something, a long time ago, melted through several inches of solid steel, marks left behind by claws and fangs of impossible size, clawing and biting at the molten metal, ripping, tearing, wrenching until a hole had been made- just large enough that a human could fit through, with care. Any sign of what made the hole is, now, long gone- and any Navigators can detect no threats.
Down the lone staircase lies the mazelike structure of the Lab itself. The air *stinks* of old smoke and decay, the complex having been ravaged some time in the distant past by fire, and since left to rot. Occasional cracks in the ceiling- or else sections that have collapsed entirely- reveal distant, blue skies.
There's another flicker, as the party steps forward, and a man's voice crackles through the air, as though playing a corrupted audio file.
"30th April, 2007. Time… -̶̜̋͂ȩ̸͔͗̍v̶̧͛̏ë̴̹́n̸͔̒-̵̡̎͝f̷̛͔̹s̴̛̾ͅz̵͚͊̍ͅz̵͔̹͂̒t̵͍͇̊̊ three arrived this morning. Twelve in all, in terrible condition, as usual, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. Before we begin, I've instructed medical to give them a full evaluation and correct any deficiencies as best they can. I'm not going to lose another promising subject becs̸̲̽h̵̞̲̍̈́ḣ̶͕͘ḧ̷̰́͐h̵̰͎͒h̶̫̪́̑ĥ̸̟͓̊7. Time… fourteen-forty-seven. Had to reject two, seven, and nine, but all else seems to be in order. Proceeding with initial testing, based on the refined procedure from generation two. Kurata reckons that the age range of the last batch was the reason it was so inconsistent, and all of gen three is pre-pubescent, but should still be cognitively s̸̲̽h̵̞̲̍̈́ḣ̶͕͘ḧ̷̰́͐h̵̰͎͒h̶̫̪́̑ĥ̸̟͓̊ we'll see.
The voice fades… and leaves only silence, punctuated by the distant drip of water on stone, and the shuffling movements of errant Shadows.
DOWNSTAIRS
The stairs down, at first, are blocked by a heavily reinforced steel door, wide enough for two trucks to drive through side by side, the metal standing pristine and impenetrable.
Upon being approached by anyone close to Wolf, however, there's a flicker, a strange distortion that pixelates the scenery for the briefest moment- and the door shakes, as something impacts it from the opposite side. Muffled, hidden behind inches of solid steel, something massive bellows with rage and pain, the sound halfway between a scream and a howl. The metal begins to glow, red-hot, a set of three claws piercing it-
And then the distortion vanishes. The entryway is now badly burned- as though a terrible fire had rampaged through it, a notice on the reinforced front door indicating the building has been condemned. Something, a long time ago, melted through several inches of solid steel, marks left behind by claws and fangs of impossible size, clawing and biting at the molten metal, ripping, tearing, wrenching until a hole had been made- just large enough that a human could fit through, with care. Any sign of what made the hole is, now, long gone- and any Navigators can detect no threats.
Down the lone staircase lies the mazelike structure of the Lab itself. The air *stinks* of old smoke and decay, the complex having been ravaged some time in the distant past by fire, and since left to rot. Occasional cracks in the ceiling- or else sections that have collapsed entirely- reveal distant, blue skies.
There's another flicker, as the party steps forward, and a man's voice crackles through the air, as though playing a corrupted audio file.
"30th April, 2007. Time… -̶̜̋͂ȩ̸͔͗̍v̶̧͛̏ë̴̹́n̸͔̒-̵̡̎͝f̷̛͔̹s̴̛̾ͅz̵͚͊̍ͅz̵͔̹͂̒t̵͍͇̊̊ three arrived this morning. Twelve in all, in terrible condition, as usual, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. Before we begin, I've instructed medical to give them a full evaluation and correct any deficiencies as best they can. I'm not going to lose another promising subject becs̸̲̽h̵̞̲̍̈́ḣ̶͕͘ḧ̷̰́͐h̵̰͎͒h̶̫̪́̑ĥ̸̟͓̊7. Time… fourteen-forty-seven. Had to reject two, seven, and nine, but all else seems to be in order. Proceeding with initial testing, based on the refined procedure from generation two. Kurata reckons that the age range of the last batch was the reason it was so inconsistent, and all of gen three is pre-pubescent, but should still be cognitively s̸̲̽h̵̞̲̍̈́ḣ̶͕͘ḧ̷̰́͐h̵̰͎͒h̶̫̪́̑ĥ̸̟͓̊ we'll see.
The voice fades… and leaves only silence, punctuated by the distant drip of water on stone, and the shuffling movements of errant Shadows.
Where to?