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Tobart nodded, bracing himself on Apsalar's cage to attempt to help her out (she probably didn't need it, but he liked to offer). He was moved by Hound's conviction, and decided that it was indeed best to act. "Come on!" he managed to scream, rounding up those that he could and heading behind the behemoth.

See it, startled
Afternoon I had to ask
Or dare I, ever know
Tell us we are dEmENteD
Watch as attention span
Hold, so fast
Then goes up in s m o k e

I don't think you're nervous enough.
It happened to show its own face
Search for the s o u l l e s s ends
Now put him to rest.

You won't find me curling up
A place that should make sEnSE
Well, excuse me for this better judgment
Night is so worth waiting for

((Lol good luck with that door. That's a good few feet of solid steel. razz ))

Finally, TAIS got enough sense to send an entire force of drones towards Hiccadu at once from a single side, slamming into her side and forcing her off Devon, sending her crashing into empty cages.

Whimpering, her rage broke long enough for TAIS to reinstall control, and with a force of iron forced Hiccadu into submission, making her whimper and whine in pain as it felt like a million pounds pressed right behind her eyes.

"How DARE you disobey me?!"

Everything began to reboot - began to get online again as TAIS inflicted as much mental pain as she could without permanently damaging her weapon.

"You will FEEL my wrath!"

Hiccadu audibly squealed in agony, writhing on the floor as her claws scratched the tile floor.

"You will NEVER disobey me again!"

Whimpering, TAIS forced Hiccadu to her feet, stumbling and whining.

"Now GET those Chimerae!"

Hiccadu's vision cleared just enough to lock onto Hound's charging body. Growling, her predatory instincts were activated into overdrive and she leaped forward, her vision immediately clearing as she zeroed in on the escaping Chimera and leaped forward as she neared, slamming into him and knocking him off course, sending both of them sliding across the floor.

Growling, Hiccadu picked herself off the floor, hissing at the other Chimera.

Her rage at Devon had been locked away- it would be artificially deleted later, but the memory of what her disobedience had caused her would remain. As a reminder of who she belonged to.

She hissed again, lowering herself closer to the floor as she waited for Hound to recover, her tail swaying lethally from side to side.

"Let's go."

A BLINDING scare so cauterizing
Arms out pointing, sit and stare
At this proof, this LiVInG pRooF
This proof, this living proof

I don't think you're nervous enough.
It happened to show its own face
Search for the s o u l l e s s ends
Now put him to rest.

Culprits, shudder
Apparitions left in time
If we're honest... sight unknown
Crowing. Frozen. Bedroom.
Awoke up certain
Lays a tomb, her tree holds it
Unbeknownst, still sending cHiLLs

Put him to rest...
Highland's Apparition ~ Chevelle

((He's hanging out. Somewhere. twisted ))

While Hiccadu was distracted, Smoke helped Tobart make his way towards Apsalar's cage. He had a back-up plan for something such as this, and he kept his cell phone at the ready to leave the slaughterhouse. It was either escape, or death. He knew this.

John stepped out of his cage, opening his wings fully. It was the first time in a long time that he had been able to.

His senses directed him to a metal gurney that held a white sheet over a small, humanoid lump. The scene around him faded away as he approached the smell of death emanating from the gurney. He raised his pale hands, barely noticing their trembling, and lifted the white sheet.

Panther's mouth was a mutilation unbearable for John to look at for more than a few moments. Brown trails blazed down her upper jaw from the corners of her mouth, where the blood had dried after the "experiment". Her hair was matted with flecks and clots as well, but the rest of her skin was as white as the sheet they had covered her with.

John could find no words, only feelings. He stood there over her, looking into her half-opened eyes with that sense of pure loneliness and sorrow washing threw him and radiating outwards.

As soon as the alarms had gone off, Jared had taken a semi-automatic handgun out of a holster that was hanging on the corner of his bed post, then headed into the action. When he arrived, he saw the Chimerae running loose, Hiccadu turning against Hound, another Chimera helping one still caged out of his spot, and his old nemesis, John.

He didn't know the entire situation. As far as he was aware, Hiccadu was still the perfect Chimera, Smoke was the perfect--albeit annoying--watchdog, and TAIS's control on the situation was absolute.

So when he raised his handgun to fire at John, he didn't expect to have a heavy desk drawer chucked at his head.

Smoke was standing beside Tobart, his back to the Chimera. He didn't move, nor try to defend himself from the creations.

Jared realized that the tide had turned. He snarled, held the handgun firmly in between his hands, and aimed squarely for Smoke's face.

"You were always annoying."

Many things happened in that instant. John's eyes widened, and his hearing picked up seemingly everything. Most importantly, however, he heard a single step beside him and the telltale click of a weapon being handled.

Without thinking, John slammed into his torturer. It was purely with one intention in mind; revenge. But then it turned into a struggle to protect his pack-mates. His strength and Jared's own were equal, and he had his hands clenched around Jared's wrists, trying to wrestle the gun from his hand and turn the tide.

Smoke took his own handgun from his pocket and pointed it towards Jared, but he never shot it. It was too risky that he would hit John. He lowered his weapon slightly, watching the wrestling match with increasing tension.

Jared grunted with the effort of trying to keep John away from him, and his muscles tensed, making him fire off a round. Though he didn't aim it, the bullet flew past Smoke's head, too fast for him to follow it, and headed straight towards Apsalar's shoulder.

Devon still lay on the ground during all the confusion. Blood was pouring out of him and he could feel himself getting weak. He had to chuckle. "Well, at least I know that chimera is strong" he said. He coughed up blood which stained his medical mask. He didn't have a chance to remove it from his face before he was attacked by Hiccadu. He mustered some strength and pulled the mask off his face. He then coughed some more. Would he die there? He was too weak to try and move. Hiccadu really took it out on him.

((OOC: D8 Now I have to catch up.))

He had been quite right about one thing - Apsalar had not understood Tobart's words earlier. They had been too rushed, and she was too confused and in shock to try and break it down into understandable bits. Her name, yes. "Important", yes. The rest was lost. But since she understood "important", she had listened as best she could, staring back at him equally as intently.

Then a lot of things seemed to happen all at once, and Apsalar's cage was open. She clambered out, not noticing Tobart's offered hand - although she gave him a smile to show that she was happy he was alive. Her anger would have to wait.

Following John's lead, her wings opened. They hadn't done so in a long time, and she flinched painfully at the feeling. Her eyes went dark as soon as she spotted Jared, and she shifted to spring - only to have John get there first. But the fight was fairly even. She could help him. She needed to--

The gun went off, and before she even had a chance to react Tobart was in front of her.

Her arms came out in front of her, not really sure what she intended to do, and she supported him to keep him from falling. "Come," she said, not knowing the proper words. "Open." The door was open - at least it looked like it, all carved up. Holding onto Tobart, she moved towards the door.

Dark golden eyes focused briefly on Smoke and John. She needed to help her packmates (Smoke's actions had immediately landed him among 'her packmates'), but Tobart had been injured. Been injured trying to save her, whether she'd needed the saving or not. He had to come first.

She looked back at Lonomia. Making the universal come-on gesture with one hand, she called, "Come!" She would come back to help John and Smoke if she needed to - she hoped they would not need her - but Tobart (and anyone else who followed them) would have to come before them.

'Love' as a word was not something Apsalar understood, but she did understand and obey the driving, instinctive need to get her pack out of this hell.

She pulled Tobart towards the door as quickly as she could. "Hurt," she whispered, her hands gentle and sure as she guided him - ignoring the scent of blood only with great difficulty. It was hard, but she would not give in to it. They were her pack. She had to guard her pack. "Sorry. Tobart."

She wanted to look back again, see if anyone else was following to the door, but she didn't. There was no time. She'd come back if that was what she had to do.

Apsalar had caught him. This was more contact than the two had ever been able to have. Tobart smiled. Why was she apologizing? She would have done the same thing for him. Only she probably wouldn't have survived, which is why it had to be him who was shot. "John..." Tobart mumbled as the pair limped past the distraught Chimera. "John!" he called, not wanting to leave him behind. "Bring Panther and come!" even though she would slow them down, even though she was dead and it didn't matter, Tobart felt something needed to be done to respect her. They couldn't just leave her body in this place; she needed to be free, like they were all going to be. Just a little further...

He could see the outside through the door. The light hurt his eyes a bit, but he did not close them, even as fresh tears began to fall.


---


The vulture girl - Apsalar, was her name? - motioned for him to come. He started to follow, but came to a quick halt. "Smoke!" he said aloud and dashed to their ally. The boy yanked on the scientist's coat. "Come! Come!" he pleaded, pulling him toward the opening and avoiding making contact with his skin.

Smoke felt the tugging on his white coat and cursed Jared. "You go, I'll be right after," he promised, starting towards the wrestlers, keeping his gun pointed at the floor, ready to aim up and shoot at a moment's notice. "Get the rest of them out of here."

When Smoke reached the two, John had been sent sprawling against the floor, his lip bloodied from a savage backhand from Jared's handgun. "Get out of here!"

Jared lunged for Smoke, handgun forgotten in his red rage. His peripherals went dark, focusing his entire being into destroying Smoke, the traitor. The two men went to the floor, knocking over a desk with a crash, fists and limbs flying as they each sought the upper-hand.

John scrambled to his feet, thinking nothing, acting on instinct and the command to obey. He gathered up Panther's limp, surprisingly light form, sheets and all. It felt wrong to sling her over his back, so he carried her in his arms.

It's like carrying a borrowed bride out of a morgue... The white sheets drifted in the air and trickled along his skin, making him shiver. He held his tears though, for the time for grieving was not now.

He shifted Panther's weight and then headed for... Where?

Smoke had been pinned underneath Jared's weight, and he couldn't protect himself with gravity working against him as well. Jared put hands around Smoke's neck, tightening and squeezing, but Smoke could do nothing to prevent it. The grip was too tight. His peripherals were fading from vision, and pinpricks of darkness were taking over his mid-sight.

He stopped trying to take Jared's fingers away from his neck and flailed, looking for his cell phone that he had dropped during the struggle.

Smoke could see it was only a few inches short of his left hand, and Jared hadn't noticed yet...

His limbs grew weaker, until he couldn't feel himself reaching for the phone-turned-detonator anymore.