Crossover Escape: Gotta be more than Lucky to survive

2.34 Change in State

Rӓv’s team had managed to take out three with the replica. Though the last of those had to be finished off by Ghost. They’d apparently found something suspicious, and Ghost had needed to silence them.

[Tails: Everything looks clear otherwise.] Luca pondered for a moment.

[Lucky: Have the natives stand guard and listen to the talk. Let the panic spread and then decide if we need to kill more.]

“I will move and tell the young ones on this side of the ship.” The Dwarf Elder promised. He handed the web shooter to Shade as Luca nodded. Then with a jaunty wave he started off. Luca in turn headed back to the main room. It was more central so if he needed to offer support, he would be able to reach most areas quickly from there. Aside from that he wanted to check on Nano. Last he’d heard the man still hadn’t come to.

Luca swung down into the room and then paused. “Rӓv why did you leave it in the doorway?” Luca just wasn’t sure if he should feel bad about standing on the replica’s head or not. In the end he decided that since it was a steel construct it probably didn’t matter. Still Luca did quickly step down off the spider and move into the room. He refrained from twitching when said spider raised a leg and attempted to act cute. Sorry it was too realistic to pull that off. Though the next major concern was what sort of programming and how detailed it was that Rӓv had used for it to have an act cute setting.

“It’s easier to take it back out from there,” Rӓv responded in a tone entirely too innocent to be trusted. Actually, you know what, he wasn’t going to ask. He was concerned that the answer would be more disturbing. After all she could say that she programmed no such thing. Right, time to focus on the matters he could deal with. Not the important things there were plenty of those that he just couldn’t deal with at the moment, so he was selectively ignoring them.

“Right. Any change with Nano?” Luca moved across the room to where Nano had been shifted to lay on a bench. They’d provided as much padding as they could, but they really didn’t have that much to offer.

“No, not yet.” Rӓv shook her head with grim look. Luca stopped next to Nano not surprised when Shade passed the web shooter off and moved up next to him.

Like he had done the past twelve times Shade passed a hand over the top of Nano. The faintest of black wisps were pulled off Nano. “I don’t understand there is nothing here that should be keeping him asleep.” Shade Looked honestly distressed each time he checked him over. So Luca didn’t really suspect him of doing anything. After all he could have claimed he couldn’t save him. No one would have blamed him under the circumstances.

“Declan says the same thing, that his magic says he’s perfectly healthy he just refuses to wake up.” Rӓv Looked Nano over with a sad expression. Luca nodded slowly its not like Luca couldn’t understand the psyche behind the issue. It was just that he refused to give up like that. Though if they were going to be jugging that extreme of a de- sleeping weight around they would probably need to make some adjustments.

Luca turned away with a shake of the head. He raised the severed hand and waggled it slightly, “I’m going to go pass this to Lady and co, they can find and appropriate time to vamoose then.”

“I’ll take it, since it’s my fault you had to get another one.” Holly called from the shaft leading to the holding cell. Luca glanced over and then tossed the hand over. It fell short of the shaft and Tails grabbed it before spring up beside Holly.

“Come on let’s go.” Tails waved Holly into the shaft and followed with the hand. Assured that the pair would be fine Luca moved to the central table where the Matron was making notes based on a series of flashing lights around the central map display.

When Luca approached her, she smiled. “It seems that the plan is working, several of the weaker willed Harpies have already left the ship.” Luca smirked back at her. He loved a good success story. It didn’t hurt that it gave him an excuse not to just mindlessly s*******r. Even if they were the ones that had started the fight, he didn’t want to judge an entire race based on the actions and choices of a few.

Luca considered things and then nodded to himself. “I’m going to take the replica and web the control room, make sure to take of the steering of the ship from down here in the next five minutes.” Luca gave his instructions and then tapped the replica twice on the head in one the pre-explained signal patterns to set it to following him.

It was beyond disturbing passing through the shaft with the constant skitter skitter behind him. Intellectually he was aware what the sound was and the reason. However instincts are rarely so rational. Luca reached the room and smiled. It was empty and fully blocked from the sun.

“Web it up.” Luca muttered as he turned back to the spider. Only to have the spider grasp him around the waist and set him aside before it jumped into the room. No way that’s programming. Luca made up his mind to enquire when a breeze rushed at him with the vague scent of smoke. Light flickered before his eyes, and he staggered.

Vaguely as if from a great distance Luca heard Lil’ Miss chirping and grumbling as if having an argument with someone. The voice in return though crackled like a fire or gurgled like a stream. The sigh of the breeze through leaves and the rumble of the earth resounded. Luca could see nothing, but a swirling pool of colours and it felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was like he was submerged and no matter how he thrashed he couldn’t move, couldn’t surface.

Just when he felt the burn to his lungs would kill him it vanished. A weightlessness settled over him and Luca’s mind drifted. The colours where pretty. It was soothing. A truly relaxed state settled over him that he couldn’t remember ever experiencing before.

Luca drifted in that state until an irritating hum in his ears forced his eyes back open. Over the swirl of colours black text appeared.

[Rӓv: Lucky, Lucky are you there?]

[Tails: Come on Rӓv where is he?]

[Rӓv: I can’t tell, his vitals are strong and stable, but I can’t get a fix on his location.]

[Ghost: My friend now is not time for holiday.]

[Holly: How can someone just vanish? He’s not magical so it must be something here.]

[Tails: I checked with everyone there should be nothing here that can do that.] Luca stared uncomprehendingly at the words for a moment and then they registered, and he snapped to attention. A jarring sensation followed by a burning sensation assaulted every nerve before Luca crashed to the ground with a solid thump.