June 12th: Fear Itself ((Team take down Belial))

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon prowled down the stairs in the access tunnel waiting for the other shoe to drop. The density of the psychic energy was getting greater the deeper they descended into the stadium in their pursuit of Belial.

"This is creepy," Gideon said which honestly was saying something.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Just stay focused. Nomic replied, spinning a web around Gid that would hopefully filter off some of the background noise.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby followed, taking deep breaths and practicing the psychic defenses he'd been trying to learn recently.

He regretted is quick decision almost immediately.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon pushed his senses into a corridor beyond the door. Then entered the hallway beyond.

"It's all clear," Gideon said gesturing for the rest of the team to follow him. The lights in the corridor were flickering as if somebody was drawing to much power away from them.

[Lora Zalesky]

Lora didn't like the lights flickering at all. Down this deep, a lost light meant being plunged in total darkness. She tried to draw together her resolve as they moved forward.


How close are we?

[Nick Varkan]

"I've got to admit," Nick said, "The horror movie lighting is a nice touch."

[Gideon Rede]

The lights flickered again before going down completely for a moment. When they came back on the hallway was...different.

"Alright, I didn't even feel that hit us," Gideon said looking around the hallway.

[Rachel O'Brien]

From her position in the heliocopter, Rachel was feeling around frantically, trying to free her comrades from Belial's mind.

[Nick Varkan]

"Remember, any monsters we see could be civilians."

[Belial]

Rachel could feel eyes focus on her as she scrabbled to find a gap in Belial's power.

"Do not worry I haven't forgotten about you my little ruby temptress."

Something was breaking through her mental defenses, the power felt like sewage pushing itself through every gap it could find.

For those in the construct the hallway was silent, the lights continued to flicker, and there was a blood trail leading in the direction they were headed.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon followed the blood trail down the hall cautiously.

"In here that will not stop them from killing you," Gideon said, "You saw what he did to the girl live on TV."

[Nick Varkan]

"Then what? Play by his rules and damn the consequences?"

[Gideon Rede]

"No, you just..." Gideon said interrupted by the blood trail suddenly stopping. With no corpse, no sign of an attacker, it just ended. There was a scraping noise coming from the walls.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Rachel attached a web to the ceiling, pulling herself up and away from the ooze, even as she used more webbing to plug the gaps. She wouldn't be able to help the others just yet, but she could protect herself and distract Evil Gideon.

[Belial]

The pressure built steadily as the sludge continued to try to work it's way in. The sludge already past Rachel's defenses began to change shape, condensing into a humanoid shape.

"Come down little spider the water is fine."

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby advanced cautiously, a little bit more disoriented then the other Psychics present.

"Calm, calm, focus.."

Stretching hesitantly, he looked down the available hallways.

[Gideon Rede]

That's when a vent grate came crashing down from the ceiling nearby. A creature came down after it and charged at the group. Another creature came out of the apparently thin steel wall next to Bobby's head. The scratching noise from the walls grew louder.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Rachel covered the figure in webbing. Where the webbing touched, it would burn like acid.

[Nick Varkan]

Nick sent a blast at the...

...the fuck is that thing?

[Belial]

The figure's skin smoked and it screamed.

"It burns! It Burns! It..." The figure began to cackle and pulled itself up the webbing towards Rachel moving quite quickly apparently either mostly unharmed or completely oblivious to the pain.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby's hands flattened into a strong sheet, as he forced the... thing against the wall.

"Is this a person or not?" he asked generally, holding a giant, spiked fist at its head.

[Gideon Rede]

The one Bobby had pinned didn't seem to care about the spike and stretched it's head forward to try and take a bite from Bobby face. It's arms flailed wildly talons that had torn through the wall trying to get through Bobby.

The one Nick hit stumbled backwards before digging it's talons into the walls to keep itself from stumbling head over heels. It let loose a tortured scream and charged forwards again. A pair of smaller creatures pulled themselves out of the rents it left in the wall, and the barbed tendrils aimed at the group.

Gideon meanwhile stared at the creatures his eyes glowing brighter...as he fought with Belial's psychic construct. His image flickered back and forth between his uniformed self, and...something rather more frightening.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Rachel's avatar exploded into millions of tiny spiders, some swarming over the figure, and some looking for gaps back into Belial's mind.

[Nick Varkan]

He tele-shoved the lot of them.

"Are those... babies? Oh I'm gonna love taking you down you sick fuck."

[Belial]

"Clever girl."

The figure's body became covered in thousands of small mouths filled with sharp teeth, which began to chew through the swarm.

"Unfortunately you're all alone."

The webbing on the walls was stretching as Belial's power built up along the seams of Rachel's defenses.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby shaped his spiked fist into a steel muzzle, trapping the things head against the wall.

[Gideon Rede]

The smaller critters anchored themselves to the wall and then fired off small bone projectiles at the group. The larger critter was apparently more prepared and pulled itself forward through the blast continuing to howl.

Bobby's was effectively pinned, but all good things come to an end as it screamed a familiar female scream.

"They are...They are psychic constructs," Gideon said sounding pained, "Part of the environment."

[Bobby Bowen]

"Best news today!" Bobby replied, forming his free hand into a sharp stake, impaling the creature, and expanding spikes from the stake within the carapace.

[Lora Zalesky]

The apertures in Lora's hands opened as she shot acid in liquid form at the smaller, bone-flinging creatures. "Burn, damn it, burn!"

[Rachel O'Brien]

Some of the spiders were damaged, but more of them crawled into the mouths, moving further into Belial. "No, you're alone." the walls hissed, as the web expanded, forming a dome that pushed against the pressure.

[Nick Varkan]

Nick caught a slew of the projectiles with his powers and launched them at the larger creature.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby continued pummeling his own opponent.

[Gideon Rede]

The creature Bobby was pummeling broke apart messily spraying him with foul smelling ichor. It's form was contorted into that of a somewhat female form, though with the amount of blood and spiky protrusions it was somewhat difficult to tell.

Nick's uncanny sense to redirect the projectiles was rewarded when they exploded upon impacting the creature tossing it against the wall minus an arm, head, and a large chunk of its torso.

Lora's acid ate away into the creature which screamed piteously like an infant burning alive. The second pulled itself back into the wall, and skittering could be heard as the creature escaped.

"Rachel is distracting him," Gideon said his form flickering between his avatar, and his actual shape.

[Belial]

Belial's attention was now focused much more on Rachel, which was probably not a good thing. Two blades tore through the web dome, and two new forms with too many limbs began pulling themselves in.

"You have awakened the beast my dear," Belial growled, "One hopes you understand the consequences."

Belial's form lit on fire to burn away most of the spiders that were on him.

[Nick Varkan]

"Then let's hurry."

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby retracted his spikes, getting ready for whatever came next, hoping he was up to it.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Some of the spiders were damaged, but then new spiders emerged from inside of Belilal, and swarmed over him, stinging and biting, while other spiders began to wrap the two figures who had just entered the room in webbing.

[Belial]

The figures multiple bladed limbs seemed to make rather quick work of the webbing though it did keep them from moving forward for the moment. Belial himself seemed only irritated by the spiders who started to feel each bite draining their life away.

"Come little spider," Belial said eyes glowing a deep red as he began to smell of brimstone. His skin hardening into stone.

Rachel could tell he was rather focused on her, which was a good thing...maybe?

[Gideon Rede]

For those in the construct the world began to crack as Belial focused on Rachel. Small pieces of the hallway began falling away.

"We need to move now," Gideon said before running down the hall leaving the scent of brimstone behind him.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby didn't waste any time, slipping in between the cracking and ripping chunks of reality.