[OOM] Taris, the Labyrinth, Former Undercity Sewers.

[stuck_mynock]

It's very dark.

Not completely dark. There are a few lights, sickly greenish-white, left, to give a little bit of illumination, and they light up the flow of water in the most interesting ways. It's a circular room, clearly deep underground, with a massive hole in the centre through which water crashes down. The railings are broken in several places. There are two doors there, and around each, an array of monitors, screens and machinery, all brand new.

Guppy and Will have been laid out on two blankets, on either side of the pit, and left there, at least until they wake up.

Comments

[guppy_sandhu]

"It's okay Atton, keep still, we're going to get you out."

Guppy rummages through his kit bag for something suitable and finds a swiss army knife.

"Can you hold onto me so I can lean across without touching the lift?"

[will_scarlett]

"Let me get 'is blindfold off first then aye."

Will leans down and unties the blindfold, its a stretch but he knows how hard it is to not being to see where you are,

"Atton, we're goin' to get ye out o'this."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

Atton blinks, slightly, adjusting to the light, then taking stock of his situation.

"Ah. Kriff. Could y'free my legs?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"Working on it." Guppy says, making sure Will can hold onto him before he leans over.

He'd offer to do it the other way around, but he's not sure he's strong enough to hold Will.

He gets his swiss army knife and tries to pick the lock, then spots a rusty bit and tries carefully wedging his knife in it without getting Atton's leg.

[will_scarlett]

Will found something to wedge his feet against and for now is just trying to not fall.

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

The rusty bit gives way fairly easily, freeing up one of Atton's legs.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy works on the other leg, trying another rusty bit. There are beads of sweat on his forehead; he's very conscious that this could go badly wrong.

He breathes as the second leg comes free.

"Can you pull me back in Will?" He asks. "I'm not sure how we're going to reach the top but at least he's not attached to the lift any more."

[will_scarlett]

"Aye."

Its a bit hard but Will's able to pull him back as Will peers at Atton,

"Must be some way we can get that top off."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

Atton looks up.

"Well, now that my feet are unchained, s'a lot easier to brace myself against the lift," Atton says, bracing himself and giving one arm a sharp tug. The chain comes flying out of the wall in a shower of dust. A quick tug of his other arm makes that chain come loose, too.

There's a flicker of the Baron's image on several monitors, and then the lift falls, abruptly. Atton grabs onto the edge of the shaft, dangling there a moment before pulling himself up.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy makes a small squeal of alarm, and is quickly down helping him up.

"Glad we didn't tread on it." he says, hugging Atton as soon as he's up. "Are you hurt?"

[will_scarlett]

Will flinches at the lift drops and he moves to help Atton,

"Glad we've got ye."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, close one, there."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Are you okay?" Guppy asks anxiously, looking him over. "We're in the labarinth."

[will_scarlett]

Will hands over a bottle of water and looks around,

"Aye, an need to get out o''ere."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine. Just a bit sore."

The monitors flicker again. The Baron appears once more, smiling.

"Nearby, if you follow the humming, you'll find a chamber with your weapons in. The entrance is blocked by a torture field. You must decide which one of you will pass through it to retrieve the weapons. The field will intensify each time somebody enters."

[guppy_sandhu]

"F*&king reality tv."

Guppy looks at Atton and Will and takes a deep breath. "I volunteer to go in."

[will_scarlett]

"Guppy, nay, ye dinna 'ave to. I can carry more an will be fast."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Everyone's so eager to be self-sacrificing," Atton remarks dryly. "I'll go in, I'm trained to resist to pain."

[guppy_sandhu]

"You were unconscious less than five minutes ago." Guppy points out to Atton. "And if it goes pear shaped in there, someone out here needs to be capable of getting the other one out."

[will_scarlett]

"Just wish to get the 'ell out o''ere is all."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"You're married with a kid. If this goes pear-shaped, you have the most t'lose. And you," turning to Will, "you're practically married with a kid, if you count Doc."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy, feeling a lump in his throat, nods and looks at the floor. He can't say anything right now, because the only thing stopping him bursting into tears is the fact that he's gripping onto survival with both hands.

If you die in there we're all going to die.

[will_scarlett]

"Ye maybe right but still, shouldna 'ave to go in alone."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"If it intensifies every time something enters it, two people going in'll be worse than one," Atton says, heading towards the humming. "Stay at the edge, I'll toss you the weapons when I come back through. We need to find some rope, too, then one of you can keep a hold of me and drag me out if it all goes wrong."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy follows him, looking around for rope, and fighting back all the graphic mental images of funerals and his baby boy growing up without a dad, knowing that his only defence against these outcomes is to not fall over the line that his sanity has been balanced on for these last few years.

And he's not falling over it. The desperate, intense need to survive seems to have installed some sort of safety rail for him to cling on to.