dappledleaves | THE WORLD: PSL LIFE

You know how unbelievable that sounds after all that I just saw, right? I can believe the genetic stuff more than you being just part of the clean up team.

[ Maybe he's just a part of the really versatile cleanup team. ]

Hm. I wonder if your company is gonna use this as leverage of saving me so we owe the company compensation or whatever.

[Very, very versatile clean up team. Or rather, Sinclair was mostly on clean up because he didn't have the knowledge to handle the more finicky research.

Also his expression says everything about what he thinks about that idea]

[Two lone drones move out on their own, blocking their path. Focus, Sinclair!]

Ah, well...it's a bit complicated?

[also]

Ugh, I'm really sorry if it does come to that...I don't think they need the money that badly, but...

[Who is funding them anyway? It's a mystery]

We have more than money, Emil.

[ He half-heartedly shrugs. ]

It's what a normal person would expect out of this sort of situation. Give and take. At this point, if they don't ask for anything, I'd find that much more suspicious. Anyway, look alive!

[ Oria shoots and hits his mark, disabling a drone. When it doesn't look like it goes down on a single shot, Oria kicks it down and smashes it under his dress shoes. ]

Ah--

[He is not a business person and it's sometimes hard for him to think along those lines. Sinclair jumps up and smashes another one into bits, disabling it with a good shock]

...you know, you've gotten used to this really quickly.

I'm more used to this with people.

[ Not drones... Is that better or worse? Oria doesn't care, but he takes Sinclair's hand and goes down to the next floor. They're almost there, but on the second floor, they find... strange people with robes draped over them with talismans stuck onto their limbs. Oria squints while peeking over at them from a distance. ]

Bloody hell, they look like cultists.

[Sinclair shakes his head, readying his baton]

...those are the weapons they must have stolen from Kayser Corp.

[Ahhh that was bad]

Those things stuck to them are like...the Abnormality's shed skin.

[ There's a beat of silence before Oria turns to look at Sinclair. ]

What the fuck. Are you for real?

[Sinclair gives Oria a shrug. If he hadn't been living it for so long, he would find it unbelievable too]

I wish I was joking. I don't know all the specifics myself, but...it's a double edged sword too. [He draws in a deep breath, nervous despite himself. The 'cultists' looked alright...for now. ]

Whatever you do, don't let the talismans hit you.

... Can they be burned?

[ Even magical paper can burn, right? ]

Huh? Oh, I've never tried myself, but...

[Fire seems like a proper weakness...but that also means probably burning the terrorists alive? Uh]

...normally I just hit it until it stops moving.

Time to give it a try.

[ Oria gets out something like a grenade, but in a cube shape. He yanks the attached "string" and tosses it over where most of the terrorists are. It's definitely an incendiary and Oria can blame the burn damages on the terrorists? It's fine. The people are on fire. ]

[What is that??? Sinclair stares at the ensuing chaos in alarm but...okay. They're still getting up. They're still coming after them. One particularly clever terrorist goes charging up, screaming]

...um. I guess it mostly works.

[Time to do some clean up and feel like the worst human being in the world now. Sinclair winces as a talisman slaps itself on his arm, but he doesn't let that stop him from knocking the man out with a good blow]

[ Oria also aims to make headshots on the terrorists that are coming their way after swapping bullets. Hollow points are more useful on machines than people... if they can even be called people anymore. ]

[No. It's clear none of them are functioning well on their own anymore, their skin hardening over, their eyes bleeding. This is why you don't wear these things. Sinclair grits his teeth, fighting past his complicated feelings and works on knocking aside the terrorists, beating them down hard with his baton, arcing with electricity. His limbs feel heavier with every talisman that attaches to his arm, but the moment it's all over...they all combust as well, flaking down into ash.]

I think...that's it.

[His radio receiver buzzes and Sinclair grimaces, picking up the remnant of that skin- an Abnormality talisman]

Emil! Are you okay? You touched one of those things...

[ Several of them?? Oria looks concerned as he stands by his side. ]

We can give you first aid the moment we're out. C'mon.

I'm...I'm okay. They didn't stack enough to really hurt me.

[There was that genetic resistance and compatibility again. He carefully rolls up his sleeves to show bruises in the shape of the talismans, but nothing else]

I think...we can exit through this way.

[Hopefully nothing else will stand in their way]

I hope the others are alright.

They should be fine if they're as strong as you are.

[ Even though he hasn't seen their combat experience firsthand, he feels that by watching Sinclair do those things, the others would be just as proficient. Either way, they finally get to the first floor. Is the exit in sight or is there another obstacle...? ]

[ Ah ]

...mm. They're definitely stronger.

[ The exit is there but there are definitely things crawling around now]

[ Oria is at a loss of words for a moment. Those are definitely monsters. There's no way to think otherwise. Terror suddenly grips him, leaving him frozen. They have to fight these? He'd normally get over it and try to think of a plan, but his mind feels utterly blank. Is this what they meant by lack of resistance?

The four legged beast charges at them with its claws up, ready to shred the two. ]

Oria--

[Instinct as Sinclair throwing himself in between; he's no Lord Partizan here, with heavy amounts of armor to guard him. All he has between himself and the howling mass of flesh, teeth and claws is a suit woven to give him some resistance and a genetic disposition to help him fight back. He catches the teeth with his baton but not the claws, that slash across his forearm. He staggers, then with an arc of electricity, slams it into the underside of the beast, and rolls out of the way of another attack.]

[ When Sinclair gets hurt, there's a moment of brief clarity. These seem tough and the four legged beast seems persistent. The other one, Peccatulum Luxurie, strikes down with one of its limbs. There's no way in hell that Oria is going to block that, so he tries to evade it. He's very close to evading it in full, but then he gets smacked when it launches a quick follow up attack. Do bullets work on it? Oria shoots some full metal jacket bullets at it, hoping that it'll do something before he becomes monster food. ]

[Bullets do work, especially if Oria manages to hit it in the eye, making it spasm and howl - eerily humanlike - before it charges again. But now that it's blind, it should be easier to dodge.

Meanwhile, Sinclair is occupied with just keeping this thing off him. It'd be nice, Sinclair thinks, if polearms were easier to carry around in real life. He'd much prefer to have some distance between him and this rabid dog-like creature. He huffs a quick breath out, drawing in his focus. Faust said the new equipment would wreck havoc on his mental state if he spent too much time using it. It's fine. As long as he could buy them enough time to escape...

He ducks behind a pillar and focuses as the baton extends out further with a sharp, pointed tip. Then he launches himself forward and drives the baton into the creature's jaw like an icepick, twisting upwards to reach the brain. In a sudden bolt of power, the creature begins to screech in pain.

Focus, focus. This isn't an animal. This isn't human. It's all just--]

[ He lures the one eyed abnormality far away on the first floor and promptly uses a more forceful bomb instead of an incendiary to hopefully damage it. It being blind is a good safety net. He's a little worried about Sinclair, so he throws another explosive at the blind enemy so that he can go and help him.

He thought about shooting its eye but where the hell is it? Now that he thinks about it, its appearance doesn't look natural—not that these things are natural in the first place, but there's something off about it. ]

Emil! I'm gonna throw a bomb into its mouth, so can you lure it into my direction?

[ tiny bombs, why does Oria have tiny bombs.

But they could help with the last one right now so Sinclair yanks out his baton, electricity arcing down still and begins to run]

Got it--

[Please enjoy the gaping maw with teeth and claws as Sinclair runs by, with more speed than normal]

Now--

[ He's got his baton ready to finish both the abnormalities; a few more minutes and

Thi would have been easier with his actual equipment]

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