Tales from a lost Universe

[Anonymous]

"Hmm...gothic style of architecture? Seems a bit...odd for a sewer." Olguin quietly murmured to his commanding officer.

Hearing a scuttling noise from behind, Olguin spun around.

Only to see a rat hurry along...

"Now, one of these should lead us to the lab...the problem is which." Extending his rather limited ki sense outwards, he briefly frowned.

"Joy, whatever's above us doesn't lend itself to preserving any sort of energy reading."

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin pondered for a moment, then began walking down the center-left tunnel, ignoring the elaborate architecture as he crept down the tunnel.

[Anonymous]

The tunnel was strangely silent as the duo made their way through it, the roof above them occasionally letting out a faint groan, decay slowly wearing it down through the ages.

=Up ahead=

Shades of red made up the hunter's world as it spotted its prey...

It struck in a blur of movement, a tattered cloak flapping off its malnourished form with the sudden movement.

A pitieous squeak heralded the rat's passing from the world...

The hunter hungered for more...

What's this? Something invading ITS domain...

This wouldn't do at all...

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin slowed, feeling a feral presence ahead of him. He growled low and sank into a crawl, preparing to spring upon any kind of threat to himself or his mission.

[Anonymous]

Facing screwing up in slightly distaste, Olguin slid into a Tendo branch stance. "Death hangs in the air."

Eyes rapidly flickering around their surroundings, he bit back a curse as he briefly spotted something rapidly coming towards them...

Only to duck into a side tunnel...

"It's playing with us..." He growled out.

[Yuthirin]

No longer even listening to the boy, Yuthirin crept toward the side tunnel, dashing against the opposite wall once he reached the corner, preparing himself for anything.

[Anonymous]

"Hey! Wha...it's one of them!" Lewis shouted, spinning around to face Yuthirin, machine gun spitting out fire as its ammunition flew towards the Knight.

Time slowed to a crawl as the bullets closed in.

Only to slam into and bounce off a spinning object that briefly flittered in front of his face.

"What the hell...?" Was all Lewis could get out before his head erupted in a shower of blood, the soft splash of his head and body simulateneous hitting the now rust colored water all the sound he'd make from now on.

Landing with a small plop, a mishapen mass that could only be passed off as humanoid looked up, eyes shining with bloodlust and insanity. A long tongue snaked out from inbetween its lips, revealing wickedly sharp teeth.

Running it along its lips, it closed its eyes in something akin to rapture as it removed the small amounts of blood on them.

Growling deep within its throat, it rapidly rose...

"HEY!"

Only to spin around in place to face the two latest invaders.

"It got Lewis! Kill it!"

Yuthirin was privy to no more as he was pulled away from the scene by Olguin.

"C'mon, let's get the hell outta here!"

A roar of fury shook the sewer, the rapid staccato of machine guns going off answering its challenge...

A moment of silence...

Then a brillant flare of light erupted from within the side tunnel...

Then nothing more...

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin unhappily ran alongside the boy. "Well, what now? This is a fine mess. Why are we running, anyway?"

[Anonymous]

"Something seemed very wrong with the...whatever that was." Olguin desperately said, trying to convey the feeling he briefly felt from the beast.

"Didn't you feel it? That overwhelming darkness from within that...thing?"

"Besides, we can't waste our time fighting every single battle, we have more important matters to handle."

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin nodded. "You are right, we do have more important things to worry about. We must find the weapon, get the information, then report it as quickly as possible."

He continued running, ducking down verious side tunnels, searching for a ladder or vent or some form of entryway into the complex itself.

[Anonymous]

Deep within the ruins of the tunnel, it quietly rested. All around him lay the remains of the humans who dared attack him.

Bringing an severed arm up to his lips, he viciously bit into it, tearing out chunks of flesh. Drinking the little blood that remained, the warm liquid slowly oozed down his throat, causing him moan in bliss as he almost constant pain in his mind dulling ever so slightly.

Turning towards the direction the two survivors had ran off too, he lightly sniffed.

Yes, those two reeked of power. Unlike these...appetizers.

Looking at the arm in something akin to disgust, he flung it away from its person, where it smashed into the wall.

Getting to its feet with animal grace, it took another sniff. Their minds called to him, tempting him with rich, delicious power. Unable to resist the lure any longer, it began to bound away.

Its prey wouldn't get away so easily!

****

The duo searched for ten minutes, the twisting and turning sewer system seemingly mocking them with its refusal to show them an exit.

Just when Olguin was about to complain, they suddenly felt a blast of relatively strong breeze of wind hit them. Looking down, he noticed that the water was running faster in this section of the tunnel as well.

"What the..?"

Olguin cautiously crept forwards, his cautious proving to be wise when he came to the end of the tunnel.

...and the beginning of a LONG fall.

Looking around the huge pit that the tunnel lead to, he saw that several more tunnels seemingly lead to this 'pit', the water from all the tunnels falling into the inky blackness below.

Sighing at the fact they had wasted their time, Olguin turned around. Only to spot a rusted switch. Next to it was a small sign, pieces of it ragged and worn from the ages it must've been there.

Olguin peered at it closely, squinting his eyes to make out the words.

"Bridge...mechanism...courteous...leave off....not in use."

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin turned and read the sign as well. He growled, "What are you waiting for, boy?" and pulled the switch and waited for the bridge to appear.

[Anonymous]

An ominous rumbling filled the sewer, bits and pieces of various debris falling all around them. Moments later the sounds of metal scraping across itself stopped, the rumbling ceasing to be at the same time.

Olguin hissed as solitary pebble conked him on the head, sourly rubbing the sore spot.

"No good. Shall we head back? This is a dead end."

[Yuthirin]

"We retrace our steps. Quickly. Something moved, and it wasn't here. There must be a way into the facility, somewhere near here. Lets go." he hissed, stalking off the way they had come from.

Rounding several corners, he came to a fork in the tunneling; two tunnels he had been down, one lead back to the creature, the other, to the dead end. Choosing the road less traveled by, he darted down the corridor he had not yet been down.

[Anonymous]

The sounds of rats chittering in the darkness and the steady sounds of water running echoed in their ears as they moved down the heavily shadowed sewerways.

Olguin held his staff above his head as to keep it from being ruined by the water. He briefly scowled at the shadows all around them.

At this rate...

Any further thoughts were promptly crushed when he heard the faint roar of the creature they had previously escaped from.

It was getting closer!

Heart pounding in his chest, the young Squire and the Knight plunged onwards.

And into a pitch black chamber.

"...great." He squinted his eyes in the darkness, and spotted a faint red light blinking on the other side of the chamber.