Surviving the Riot

And boom goes the dynamite. One of the monsters exploded into tiny pieces near its friend, sending that one falling head first into a table. It staggered around for a few moments with a broken skull, healing factor not working due to his lack of blood. Instead of returning to attack the humans, it preoccupied itself with eating the tiny bits of dehydrated flesh from its cohort before they crumbled to pieces. There was no blood to speak of still left in them, but it tried all the same.

One vampire was pushed down a shaft, its neck snapping in two as it hit the top of the car still on the fifth floor. Without its healing, it would be dead. The other was already pretty fucked up by a blast of cool, refreshing silver bullets, but wasn't too happy about having a knife in its head. Probably for the best that head tumbled off on an adventure shortly after.

The other two were in a similar state of unhappiness, being shot by more special bullets. Rather than any fancy knifing of cutting or arrowing, they just keeled over from a number of silver bullets to the butt. The only thing left was the guy scrambling across the ground towards the fresh human and other vampire, attempting to cannibalize whatever blood he could find.

The insanity lasted only a moment but it seemed to drag on for an eternity until the gunshots finally stopped echoing through the lab and their targets lay (mostly) lifeless. The archer let out a long sigh before allowing his arms to briefly drop to his sides, his sidearm empty. The used magazine was quickly ejected and replaced with a fresh one only for the first of its bullets to immediately by used to clean up the straggling, vampire attempting to feed off its own. A final bullet to the head and that was that.

Nodding to Harkness, Cole holstered his weapon and stooped down to retrieve his earlier discarded bow. Despite the drama, or perhaps because of it, the archer's entertained grin was still visible when he stepped up to the open elevator shaft with Eleanor and began to climb downwards to the final, mysterious floor.

OOC: Sorry for the wait.

There was a staticky hiss that filled the room in the place of gunfire and snarls; evidently an errant bullet had struck some sort of testing equipment, and the constant, rapid depressurization drowned out all other small sounds.

The spy zips her garrote to its pouch as she sweeps past the felled creatures, one hand reaching down to deftly retrieve her long knife in a practiced motion. The knife is sheathed just as her partner reaches the elevator doors. Before he can step through to make the descent, Eleanor plucks his borrowed blade from the floor where she dropped it, and resheathes it for him as he swings down.

Motioning for Claire to be next, the blonde mentally runs through the few available schematics of the floor below.

"Just so everyone knows...what's down there is highly classified and potentially very dangerous. The floor plans are sketchy at best, and I'm pretty sure we're going to meet shit Steeler doesn't know about."

She slides down the ladder rails just after the medic.

"So...yeah. Keep sharp, watch your back, don't die. The usual."

There is a levity to her words and a small smile towards Cole - not that the man would see it. She pats the medic lightly on the shoulder and moves forward to the ceiling hatch on the elevator car, motioning to the archer to pop it open before she does a quick check over her sidearm.

Keeping a sharp eye out for any more danger Claire kept her pistol at the ready as Brandon made his way down the elevator shaft. By now she had finally managed to get her anxiety under control. Her eyes stayed focused on the creature scrabbling across the floor trying to lick up any remaining blood spilled. As the creature licked up any spare blood Claire bit her lip leveling the muzzle of her weapon to the creatures head but before she could pull the trigger another shot rang out fired from Brandon's weapon snuffing out the starving vampire's life.

Her eyes followed Cole as he moved over to the and began the descent down the elevator shaft. She turned her eyes back towards the lab ensuring nothing else was going to jump out at her before ejecting the magazine of her pistol. There were only five rounds left in the magazine and one in the chamber. Her thumb pressed down on the magazine release while her other hand caught the magazine slipping it back onto her belt while grabbing her final full magazine. She slipped the last magazine into her weapon and holstering it on her belt before walking over to the open elevator at Eleanor's prompting.

She glanced over her shoulder one last time before swinging herself into the elevator shaft gripping the maintenance ladder and sliding down after Cole. "More freaks? Good to know." Claire muttered over her earpiece once she reached the bottom. She offered a small smile at Eleanor she wasn't sure if it was meant to reassure her or congratulate her on surviving perhaps it was both but it added a small amount of confidence to Claire's already dwindling supply.

She moved over the elevator hatch drawing her pistol once more and aiming it at the hatch. She gave a nod towards Brandon "I've got you covered." Claire said intent on not letting her two companions down again.

The lanky man waddled down the stairs, knowing almost for a fact that those soldiers he spotted earlier would be on their way to the generator. It was a secret, of course, but secrets had a way around here. His constant obedience and bending to the will of the meat-headed security around this place wasn't in vain. He hoped so, at least.

With the whispers he'd heard of that room coming into his mind, he remembered all he knew about the occult. If what was said one lazy afternoon by that maintenance man was true, he'd be the only one to know how to restart the power. He had a bargaining chip, and he would soon have his freedom.

Keeping in the stairwell during the commotion, he didn't dare come out of hiding until all the gunshots stopped and all three were confirmed to be on top of the elevator car. From there, he would walk to the side of the shaft, staying out of view as he announced his presence. "What a pleasant coincidence it is meeting the three of you once again," he began, double checking to make sure he was not visible (or in the line of fire) from the open space that was the elevator shaft.

The archer landed against the roof of the elevator with a soft thud, quickly followed by the other two operatives. Nodding in response to Eleanor and Claire, he withdrew the same knife that Harkness had recently returned to him and worked it into the edge of the elevator hatch. Using it as a makeshift pry bar, Brandon popped the hatch open and immediately stepped back to ensure that Eleanor and Claire had clear lines of fire into the elevator. Evidently finding the coast clear, the group moved to enter the final floor of this adventure when an unexpected arrival made himself known just out of sight on the floor above. Judging on the voice, it was most likely the same man that had attempted to lead the riot against them two floors above.

Though he rolled his eyes at yet another headache appearing, Cole could only give himself a mental kick in the ass for not killing the criminal earlier. With a quick glance to Eleanor and Claire, Brandon pointed to his left wrist, silently indicating that they needed to keep on moving. It would be a hassle to climb up and kill him now and he would more than likely become dead weight if they ran into any other combat situations but then again, leaving a murderer to walk unchecked behind them was hardly a good idea.

They were making actual progress now, and while Claire had been frozen before, for the moment she appeared at least collected enough to perform adequately. However, the small digital countdown just at the edge of her vision told her they weren't moving quite fast enough, the pale numbers running steadily down reminding her that there was more than just a monster or two they were up against.

Just as she lowered herself into the dimly lit car, a voice called out, one certainly not of her team. Deciding it would be better to finish her maneuver rather than hang about, the spy drops with barely a sound and looks up to her partner. Already, her hand had reached for the long knife, and at his non-verbal insistence, she moves away from his line of sight to force open the car's jammed doors.  

Shoving her knife between the heavy metal panels, Eleanor makes a quick decision for all of them. "Tell him to hurry the hell up. We don't have time to wait on him."

We don't have time for anything else, either. She couldn't stop the thought as it crashed through her mind; she also couldn't stop the faint feeling of exhilaration from the knowledge that they might not be fast enough, that in the end it wasn't a vampire or a druggie mage that did them in, but a traitor in their midst. Someone she'd missed.

She'd failed.

It isn't a feeling most people can attest to liking, but it was one she held on to with keen interest. If they lived - if - then she was going to have a very detailed conversation with whomever had started this mess.

She might even bring along Cole for the fun of it.

Abruptly, the doors crack open as she feels the medic land in the car behind her, and the voice of her partner snaps quickly through the air above them both; the grumble underneath his repeated words was distinct to just him, and it told her his previous buzz had been cut short.

Curiously, there was light - actual bright light - coming from between the two door panels. Switching off nightvision, the blonde gives one last shove with her blade, which resulted in the doors flying open and the car to be filled with brilliant, sterile white light.

Stepping back into the car, Eleanor sheaths her knife and draws her sidearm, before peering out into the long, pristine white hall. It was unnerving for there to be so much light after all this time, and even more unnerving that everything was so clean. So perfectly kept. Suddenly, the rumors about this floor didn't seem so much like rumors, but more warnings.

Turning to the medic - and ignoring the presence of the convict as he dropped in - the spy nods once before moving out into the hall with her handgun ready, the greys and black of her suit a stark, jarring contrast to the smoothly polished floors and glaring white walls.

"Anyone want to ask our friend what he's doing down here?"

Spoiler:

As the hatch came open Claire kept her weapon trained on the new opening in the top of the elevator car. As Eleanor lowered herself into the car Claire holstered her handgun moving forward to follow. She stopped as a new voice broke the silence echoing from up above them at the top of the elevator shaft. Claire's hand shifted to her holstered weapon but a glance up at the opening above showed her that whoever was speaking was out of her view. She looked back down as she heard the sound of the Elevator doors inside of the car being pried open.

It was all the indication she needed to keep moving as she sat herself down on the edge of the opening and lowered herself into the car dropping down behind Eleanor just as light filtered in through the crack in the door. She winced shielding her eyes from the sudden exposure of light to her darkness adapted eyes. She moved over to the side of the door drawing her sidearm from it's holster. She heard Eleanor's words through her headset and it caused a small frown to pull at the corner of her lips. But she kept any protests she might have had quiet choosing instead to trust in the other woman's judgement.

As Eleanor managed to open the doors fully Claire hissed covering her eyes covering them with one of her arms as light flooded the car. She blinked her eyes trying to get her eyes accustomed to the new lightning bringing her sidearm to bear aiming it at the new opening. She met Eleanor's gaze nodding back following as the woman moved into the hall. Claire followed her own weapon at the ready she directed her line of sight down one end of the hall but from what she could see there wasn't anything hostile within their immediate vicinity.

Unless you counted of course the new tag along they'd recently acquired. Taking a moment to take a good look at her surroundings Claire felt a small shiver run down her spine at the stark white walls and bright lights. "When did we step onto the set of the first Resident Evil movie?" Claire asked quietly her grip on her weapon tightening a bit.

Aside from the gentle hum of electricity, no sounds came from the new floor. A singular path made itself known to the group with a set of stairs leading downward. Within the containment cell were eight blue orbs, twitching on the bottom of the closed container. Small sparks popped from their bodies occasionally, but they remained as they were.

From above, the man heard all three of them descend into the depths. Were they stupid? Did they just not hear him? How did they expect this to work without him? He refused to move until he could hear them leave the elevator. No trigger happy soldiers would be getting the best of him. Once they confirmed what he thought, they'd see. They'd beg him for his help.

Entering the elevator behind Eleanor and Claire, Brandon was already grumbling under his breath over the notion of bringing the annoying convict with them. He knew damn well that it was the most logical course of action but it did little to sooth his general annoyance over the situation. "Just get down here already, dumbass," he called up to their still unseen guest while climbing down into the elevator to join the two women in the blinding white hallway. Without a word, he drew and nocked an explosive arrow. He didn't draw it back just yet. Mechanically assisted draw or not, he was working with a heavy bow and there was no reason to run around with a primed arrow if he didn't have to. Using his right hand, he made a brief series of gestures in view of Eleanor indicating that she and Claire take the lead while he brought up the rear and kept an eye on the con.

She hated the calm, and she hated the cool air that chilled her through the suit from overhead vents. Everything was too bright and too clinical, and while she appreciate the penchant for cleanliness, this was taking it a step into the creepy territory.

Evidently the convict hadn't deigned to follow, so she focused her attention on the task at hand: restarting the generator. Coming to the end of the ridiculously long stair way, Eleanor stops them at the door long enough for her to holster her sidearm and draw her long knife. Nodding, she pops the heavy doors open and is left standing in a remarkably chilly room, two sets of open doors in front of her.

Her jaw drops at the site beyond those doors; the rumors had been fucking true, and God only knew the disaster they would face if these things weren't started up soon. Waiting for everyone to enter, she sheathes her knife and softly makes her way towards the containment unit, almost holding her breath at what she saw.

"One of you needs to get to the generator room and be ready to restart...well, everything. Collars, comms, computers. Air, too, if you are feeling froggy."

Claire followed behind Eleanor her pistol held in front of her at a semi-ready position. Her finger was on the trigger tense yet not too tense just enough to be ready to react at a moments notice. The barrel was aimed towards the floor but was prepared to be raised just as quickly. The sterile white environment gave Claire the creeps she just couldn't comprehend how a place that seemed so pure could exude such a sinister feeling.

The walk through the lonely hallways were quiet for the most part the only sounds being made were the click of their boots against the tiled floors. The silence only served to intensify the eerie feeling that had settled over the group as they continued down a long staircase. Before long they found themselves standing before a lone door at the bottom of the staircase. Seeing Eleanor's nod Claire readied her handgun keeping it aimed toward the door standing beside the other woman as she began to pry it open with her knife.

As the doors opened Claire felt a gust of cool air wash over her causing her to shiver slightly. Keeping her weapon drawn but aimed toward the ground Claire took a few steps into the room. As Eleanor spoke Claire nodded quietly "I'm on it..." Claire said taking a few steps toward the nearby generator room.

Floundering down the elevator shaft, the prisoner waddled behind the group of soldiers, hands pressed against the front of his belt and prepared to grab the insurance he'd taken from the armory if the need was apparent. With power gone, the collars were no use. His burly ex-associates managed to smash them off before the altercation in the hall. Seeing the big blue balls lazily fallen on the bottom of the chamber confirmed everything he'd thought originally. Running a hand across the glass, he knew what to do next. Waiting for the opportunity was crucial, though.

Advancing through the increasingly disturbing environment, Cole eventually lowered his bow in his left hand but kept the current arrow nocked. With his free hand, the assassin drew his sidearm. The quarters were getting a little tight for his arrows at this point. If things really got hectic he'd prefer to have some blessed bullets between him and whatever was causing the problems.

Reaching the chilled area at the bottom of the stairs, Cole's eyes were instinctively drawn to the strange blue orbs resting on the ground behind glass. Though he had no idea what they were, the mere sight of them was enough to prompt an almost immediate shift in Eleanor's body language. She's worried. The realization hit the archer rather hard. In all the time he'd known Eleanor, he had never seen her truly rattled but these things, whatever they were, had her on edge. This was dangerous territory; very dangerous.

Not taking any chances, Brandon brought his handgun up with the sights aligned at the back of the convict's head. Close enough for a miss to be unlikely, but far enough away to prevent any rapid spins from the criminal leading to a struggle for the gun. "Get your hands off the glass. Keep them above your head and step into the center of the room. You have three seconds." It was a bit dramatic, but the scrawny man's air had an unsettling edge to it. Whatever the orbs were, the con knew enough about them to be dangerous and based on his behavior earlier in the riot there was no way he didn't have some sort of ulterior motive for coming down here. As far as Cole was concerned, there wasn't a short enough leash for a guy like him in this situation.

They had so little time left, so little in fact that she was doubting herself as to whether or not she could get this done.

And then the little man from before showed up in her periphery.

So she read him, like she hadn't been able to before, and his body, his face told her so much. Cole's voice resounded with command, the sort of voice he doesn't use often; he must have noticed her unsettled. It felt easy now to have a partner so in tune with her, so much so that he could gauge her demeanor with even a mask on; that wasn't something she thought she would ever feel again.

Reaching out a hand in a placating manner, Eleanor continues to watch the small, glowing issue they had as she staves off the archer's order.

"No, he's fine. He knows how to fix this." The voice emanating from the mask is distorted, almost mechanical. Brandon, trust me. Her head tilts, and though there is no semblance of a face, no eyes or mouth to gauge appearance, it was apparent she was now focused fully on the convict. "Don't you."

It was a statement, not a question. He was going to help them because it would save his skin, but he would want something in return. She could take a few fair guesses as to what, but at this moment she was willing to offer him near anything to prevent the imminent death of the rest of the base.

Particularly the two standing with her.

"So, the question becomes 'what do you want', because I know you aren't giving it for free." She advances on him, not a menacing stride but one of promise, her suit, armor and mask making her an unknown body, something she capitalizes on regularly; it is easy to intimidate when no one can see your face. "And keep in mind, you have less than six minutes to answer."

She knew this was news to everyone else, but watching the timer on her mask had become a lonely business, and if they were all going to die, well, at least they would know how long they had left.

Claire stepped up to the door leading to the generator room her pistol gripped tightly in one hand as she reached her other hand out to push it open. As she stepped into the room she nudged the door open with her shoulder as her other hand moved back up to reinforce her grip on her weapon. Standing in the doorway she swept the muzzle of her handgun over the room her eyes searching for any possible signs of danger. Though after her quick glance she found nothing that readily posed any danger to her. Lowering the muzzle of her handgun she walked around the room making one last sweep for any hidden dangers before holstering her handgun on her belt. She took one last glance towards the door and frowned as the door seemed to slowly be drifting towards shutting.

Crossing the distance to the door she grabbed the handle pulling it open before sliding a nearby tool box sitting idly beside it in the opening to ensure it stayed open. She'd seen way too many fucked up survival horror situations to let a door shut behind her especially in a place like this. Satisfied with her door stop she walked over to the electrical panels on the wall opening each power and fuse box and studying the inside. As she studied the boxes she could hear Eleanor and Brandon's voices over the headset sitting in her ear. For the most part she focused more on the task at hand with the knowledge that a clock was slowly ticking by. Her hands drifted over the various plugs and fuses trying to find anything that looked out of place.

Unfortunately Claire was the farthest thing from an electrician. Tell her to reset someone's ribs or staunch a bleeding artery she could do it quicker than you could count to 3. But staring at this she could only guess what went where. Her hands froze as she heard Eleanor speak of how much longer they had left. A surge of panic passed briefly through her mind but she shoved it to the back of her mind as she continued to look over the plugs and wires paying closer attention to the labels painted alongside them to lead them back to their designated spots. Luckily nothing had been seriously or permanently damaged at least that was the way it appeared to her.

"Eleanor it looks like someone just came in here and pulled a few plugs and rearrange a few wires...But I don't see a switch to turn the power back on." Claire said over the headset.

This man was a bother. Here he was trying his best to fix the situation, but he just had to be impeded at every turn. No fault for ignorance, though. Not everyone was quite as "magically gifted" as he was. Turning as instructed, he smiled warmly. "There's no need for alarm, sir. She's very right. I can fix this." He laughed quietly. "You're quite correct, ma'am. I do want something in return, but it's nothing outside of your capabilities. I desire what all men want: Freedom. I'll tell you have to fix the generator, but only after I've escaped far enough away so there's no chance of...problems." He reached out his hand. "I believe one of those headsets will be quite adequate. Allow me to return to the floor above and I will tell you exactly what to do to help these poor creatures. And don't worry about me betraying you. That would be impossible. I require the power to return just as much as you do."

Despite Eleanor's soothing comments, Cole kept his eyes and weapon trained on the convict. The unpleasant feeling that had been running up his spine since the little worm appeared was getting stronger by the minute. Physique aside, the con knew something that the rest of them did not and in a situation like this that was far more dangerous than any gun or martial arts he could have had. More importantly, it just plain pissed off the normally prepared Cole to have to navigate an unknown situation with next to no knowledge.

That being said, Harkness seemed to have a better grasp of the situation at hand and there was no denying her instincts were good. Without a word, the assassin brought his weapon into a ready position pointed at the ceiling. He'd give Eleanor the breathing room she needed to deal with this clown and if it all went to hell, the most the little worm could get out of this was his freedom, not a terribly high price to pay for saving the lives of everyone in the base.

OOC: Short post is short. Focus appears to be on the DM and Eleanor at the moment so I'll just spectate a bit.

His terms were expected. Without hesitation, she pops open a small pouch on her belt and retrieves an earbud, and holds it out for him to take.

"Take the stairs now that the fourth is clear."

She says nothing else, as nothing else is really needed; the man either knew what he was doing, or was hoping he did. Either way, they were stuck waiting. Turning her attention back to the containment unit, she sighs quietly before addressing the medic's issue.

"Claire, there should be a large panel on the wall. It will probably have been pried open. Behind it will be breakers. They should all be tripped right now."

She pauses for a second, watching the convict make his way out; he tone was smooth and calm, entirely glossing over the tremors of fear she felt in her own chest. Time was slipping past them too fast, and her gut was twisting in a way it rarely did, only in moments she was certain death was close. And hey, her death isn't a thing to lament, but the people she has come to like - or Christ fuck her, love - didn't deserve to go out like this.

"Cole, you remember that Southern Cali mission a couple years ago where we had to play nice with some metaphysical bikers, and one of them found out you had been sitting on one drink for most of the night, and then they all sort of forced you to drink more than a fucking fish, and you always pinned it on me even though I kept telling you I had nothing to do with it and you were just that bad at undercover?"

She takes a breath and gives him a half shrug.

"Yeah, you were totally right."

There is a smile on her lips even though he can't see it. There were a thousand other things she could have brought up, but that seemed to encompass a majority of the themes between them.

[[OOC: Sorry for the shitty post, just not much to do until the convict tells us how to work this thing.]]

Claire walked along the wall of the generator room until she finally found the panel Eleanor had described. Sure enough it had indeed been pried from the wall the door of the panel hanging from a single hinge and the corner bent sharply. She paid little attention to those details though and instead looked at the breaker switches inside. Sure enough all of them were tripped in the off position reaching a hand out to flip one of them back on the switch quickly flipped back to the off position causing Claire's lips to turn down into a frown. "Of course it's not that simple...It's never that fucking simple..." Claire muttered under her breath as she stepped away from the panel.

She moved over to the door and could see the convict moving away towards the staircase they'd just taken to get here. Her fist clenched tightly her knuckles popping as she watched the man walk away without a damn care in the world. The bastard had been actively trying to kill them all for a good chunk of the night and now he was the key to their damn survival. She cast a glance towards the containment unit "All of this because someone didn't want to pay a fucking electricity bill..." Claire said bringing her palm up to her forehead and sighing as she leaned in the door frame. At this point it was all a game of waiting to see what would happen next and hope that it worked in their favor.

After the night she'd had she would really love to have something be relatively simple for a change.

Taking the earbud, the criminal quickly hobbled backwards through the corridor, smiling as he went. After safely reaching the fourth floor, he placed the transceiver in his ear and began to give the instructions. "Those beautiful creatures are called will-o'-wisps. They're made of spiritual fire. Someone doused them, so all you need to do is find fuel. There should be some down there, I'd imagine." Hobbling up the stairs, he'd pay no more mind to those three. All he had to do was find a dead guard and that would be that. Assuming the soldiers couldn't figure out how to mess up such simple instructions.

It was an odd time to be spilling the beans on old stories between the two of them and an even odder choice in stories to bring up for that matter. In fact, bringing up old stories at a time like this was downright out of character for Harkness. For her to be reminiscing in this situation, things had to be bad. He'd already keyed in on her concern earlier but this was just getting weird. Just how fucking dangerous were these damn things?

The revelation that his partner might have chosen those words to be her last came as something of a mixed bag. He briefly considered sharing something of his own. Maybe the time he used her toothbrush or those mornings when her bra seemed to mysteriously "vanish" in his room when it came time to go out in public. In the end, he decided against it. Imminent death or not, Brandon was never the talkative type. Instead, he took on an expression vaguely similar to the look of a man who had just angrily made out with a lemon in response to her story. The message of "I fucking knew it" strangely came across far more clearly than it ever would have had he used his words.

Following Eleanor's instructions, the criminal quickly departed only to contact them soon after. Glancing about the room, Cole couldn't help but curse his lack of intel once more. "Any idea what these things eat?"

The look on her partner's face wasn't enough to curb her annoyance at the convict, though she had to admit, in his situation she would have done the exact same thing. At his words of "add fuel", the spy abruptly turned and strode out of the main containment area to the "cage" of sorts just beyond.

Sure enough, there were rows of tall cabinets and shelves, all behind padlocks, which seemed a little low tech than normal; thank god they were finally getting a bit of luck. Zipping out the garrote, Eleanor whips it around the first lock, sending the heavy metal clanking to the ground in multiple pieces. Prying open the doors, she is greeted with the sight of containers marked - once again - conveniently enough "starter fuel", "boost", and "other".

Hauling out one of the canisters marked "starter fuel", Eleanor quick steps back to the containment unit. Setting down the canister, she twists off the lid and is left staring into a fluffy pack of what looked dangerously close to cotton candy.

Carefully lifting it back up, she calls out to her two companions. "Well, here's hoping." With that, she dumps a fair amount of the downy stuff onto the little blue balls of light, stepping back immediately to watch if there was any change.

[[OOC: sorry for the poor past few posts. I'm assuming this is what the convict meant by "fuel".]]

Claire could hear the convicts instructions through her ear piece just the sound of his voice made her body tighten from irritation. It still didn't feel right that he just got to walk away after everything he'd no doubt done. For all she knew he could have been the one who set this entire chain of events in motion considering how he seemed to conveniently know how to fix the problem. The knowledge that your own plan could easily kill you could definitely make anyone think twice before going through with it. Was that what this convict was? An accomplice who'd simply gotten cold feet and wanted to punch out before he paid the price?

Claire sighed pushing the though to the back of her mind in her head she could just visualize a timer just counting off the seconds before the worst would happen. They had instructions now but who knew if it would really work or not? She bit her lip crossing her arms as she watched Eleanor cross the room to one of storage cabinets nearby. The lock on the cabinet was swiftly sliced off in a second. Claire stepped out toward the containment unit to stand beside Brandon as Eleanor took up one of the canisters labeled "starter fuel."

She watched holding her breath as Eleanor began to dump the contents of the canister into the containment unit. "Please for the love of god work...Please just work." Claire thought in her mind. It wasn't just for her sake either she'd only known the two beside her for an hour at most maybe a bit over that but fighting and surviving alongside them made her feel like she'd known them for much longer. The strength they gave her made her want to fight all the more harder to make sure they both survived so that what she'd gained here tonight wouldn't go to waste.

It was a slow process as the 90% alcohol solution was dropped into the container. The little blobs eventually rolled towards it, sparking and quickly engulfing in flames. While most creatures would die from this, the little monsters seemed more than happy about it. After a full minute's time, they began rising into the closed air, zipping about and bouncing against themselves and the sides. A hum above them began to draw their excess energy once more. All was ready once the switches were flipped to begin powering the base once more.